Billy Gordon
| Billy Gordon MP | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Cook | |
|
Assumed office 31 January 2015 | |
| Preceded by | David Kempton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Innisfail, Queensland, Australia |
| Political party |
Australian Labor Party (2015) Independent (2015–present) |
| Website | http://www.billygordon.com.au |
William John "Billy" Gordon is an Australian politician. He was elected as a Labor member for Cook in the Queensland Legislative Assembly at the 2015 election before becoming an independent two months later.[1] Gordon is one of the first indigenous members in a generation.[2]
Gordon first entered politics as the Labor candidate in the federal seat of Leichhardt for the 2013 election, losing to Liberal National incumbent Warren Entsch. However, he increased his profile enough that he was able to successfully stand in the state seat of Cook, essentially the far northern portion of the federal seat.
In 2015, tip offs to the media led to Gordon publicly disclosing a criminal history dating back to the 1980s that he had not disclosed to his colleagues[3] including driving offences, break and entering offences, breach of bail and probation, and an apprehended violence order taken out by his mother. Gordon’s former de facto partner has accused him of domestic violence[4] and routinely not filing tax returns to avoid child support payments to his five children.[5]
In response Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk expelled Gordon from the Labor caucus, and has asked the state party's organisational wing to have Gordon expelled from the party altogether. Although Palaszczuk was well aware that the loss of Cook could potentially put her premiership in jeopardy, she said that given the circumstances, she had no other choice.[6]
In September 2015, Queensland Police dropped the domestic violence charges against Gordon, citing insufficient evidence to prosecute.[7] On the same day, police charged a woman with extortion for allegedly attempting to blackmail Gordon by claiming he had sent her an explicit image by SMS.[8]
Gordon was charged with drink driving and unlicensed driving on 1st June 2016 while pulled over at a random traffic stop on the Kennedy Highway at Kuranda, on the Atherton Tableland west of Cairns. He was taken to the Kuranda police station and allegedly returned a blood-alcohol content reading of 0.094.[9] On 1st July 2016 Gordon pled guilty to both charges in the Brisbane Magistrates Court. He was fined $750 and disqualified from driving for 4 months.[10]
References
- ↑ Green, Antony. "Cook". Queensland Election 2015. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
- ↑ "MP Billy Gordon is the man who could crash the Queensland government". News.com.au. 29 March 2015.
- ↑ "Billy Gordon: Queensland Labor thrown into turmoil after Cook MP admits to undisclosed criminal history". ABC News. 29 March 2015.
- ↑ "Queensland MP Billy Gordon sacked from Labor party after allegations of domestic violence". ninemsn Pty Ltd. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
- ↑ Steven Wardill (27 March 2015). "Former partner of new Labor MP Billy Gordon claims he has dodged child support payments". courier mail. News Corp. Retrieved 30 March 2015.
- ↑ "Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk expels Cook MP Billy Gordon over criminal record". ABC News. 29 March 2015.
- ↑ "Queensland MP Billy Gordon will face no charges over domestic violence allegations". The Guardian. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
- ↑ "Billy Gordon: Woman charged with extorting Queensland MP". ABC News. 25 September 2015. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
- ↑ "Billy Gordon charged with drink driving". Brisbane Times. 2016-06-02. Retrieved 2016-06-02.
- ↑ "Billy Gordon fined, disqualified for drink-driving". ABC News. 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2016-07-01.
External links
| Parliament of Queensland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by David Kempton |
Member for Cook 2015–present |
Incumbent |