David Gibson (Australian politician)
David Gibson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chair, State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee | |
| In office 15 November 2012 – 31 January 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Ted Malone |
| Minister for Police and Community Safety of Queensland | |
| In office 3 April 2012 – 16 April 2012 | |
| Premier | Campbell Newman |
| Preceded by | Neil Roberts (Police, Corrective Services and Emergency Services) |
| Succeeded by | Jack Dempsey |
| Member of the Queensland Parliament for Gympie | |
| In office 9 September 2006 – 31 January 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Elisa Roberts |
| Succeeded by | Tony Perrett |
| Personal details | |
| Born | David Francis Gibson 13 October 1967 Fremantle, Western Australia |
| Political party | Liberal National (2008–2015) |
| Other political affiliations | National (2006–2008) |
| Awards | Australian Defence Medal |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | Australian Army |
| Rank | Captain |
David Francis Gibson (born 13 October 1967) is an Australian former politician who was the 18th member for Gympie in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 2006 to 2015.[1][2] In January 2015 Gibson retired from State politics.[3]
Early life
[edit]Born in Fremantle, Western Australia, as the eldest of two children to deaf parents. As a child of deaf adults he took on the role of interpreting for his parents to help them communicate in a hearing world.[citation needed]
Early career
[edit]Gibson began his military career in 1985 as an Army Reserve private in the West Australian University Regiment while still at high school. In 1986 he entered the Royal Military College Duntroon and graduated serving as an Army officer for 8½ years before embarking on a career in media marketing and management.[4] In 2001 he started working for the APN newspaper NewsMail as its newspaper sales and marketing manager. In June 2004 he was promoted as to the position of general manager of the APN publication The Gympie Times in Gympie, Queensland.[5]
Parliamentary career
[edit]Gibson was elected to the Queensland Parliament at the September 2006 state election, winning the safe independent seat of Gympie for the National Party from a field of seven candidates. In the 52nd Parliament he served on the Public Accounts Committee. Promoted to shadow cabinet 16 months after entering Parliament he took on the responsibilities as Shadow Minister for Sustainability, Climate Change & Innovation, and Shadow Minister for Clean Energy Strategy.
After his re-election in the March 2009 state election, the electorate of Gympie was the safest seat in the Parliament according to the post-election pendulum. He held the senior portfolio as the Shadow Minister for Infrastructure and Planning until September 2010.
Gibson was the first member of any Parliament in Australia to give a maiden speech in sign language and many give him credit for lobbying to bring the National Week of Deaf People activities into the Parliament, including the provisions of interpreters for question time and a debate between members of the deaf community and members of parliament on disability issues in 2009.[6] David was also the first MP to engage a deaf student as an intern.[7]
Prior to the 2012 state election, Gibson was the Shadow Minister for Local Government and the Shadow Minister for Sport. Following the LNP's winning government in the 2012 state election he was promoted to minister for Police and Community Safety.[8] He resigned in April 2012 when it was revealed that he had been caught driving while unlicensed.[9]
On 18 July 2012, the Newman government unveiled a plan to reinvigorate the Mary Valley, after the previous Labor Government's failed Traveston Crossing Dam project, and appointed Gibson to chair the Mary Valley Economic Development Advisory Group.[10]
On 15 November 2012, Gibson was appointed to chair the State Development, Infrastructure and Industry Committee.[11]
In his valedictory speech on the 27 November 2014 he said to parliament using Auslan "I use sign language to remind us all that we come here to give a voice to those who elect us. We must be true to them."[12]
Public life
[edit]Gibson was often described as a vocal progressive moderate within the Liberal National Party,[13] particularly during the civil union debate in Queensland.[14] In 2010, Hansard records his support for "having the age of consent for heterosexual and homosexual sex made the same age" and that "There is no reason we should discriminate between male and female and between gay and straight."[15]
Gibson claimed he was targeted by his colleagues for these and other progressive views,[16] which led to a nervous breakdown, resulting in him not contesting the 2015 state election.[17] After politics Gibson advocated for mental health care and in 2021 revealed how he was driven towards suicide by an internecine plot within his own party to oust him from politics.[18]
Gibson also faced a number of controversies during his time as a Member of Parliament, including historical allegations of theft from his time in the Australian Army in the 1990s,[19] and of unlicensed driving and of a speeding fine from before he was Police Minister.[20]
After Parliament
[edit]Since retiring from the Queensland Parliament, Gibson has remained active on various not-for-profit boards while continuing his advocacy and volunteer work both nationally and internationally. He has spoken on the global stage, presenting at the World Federation of the Deaf conference in Budapest in 2017,[21] and the CODA International Conference in San Diego in 2024.[22] Gibson has also authored several articles, including "Disability, Inclusion and Democracy – an Uncomfortable Fit" and, more recently, "Queering Up the Debate: Freedom of Speech Seen Through a LGBTI Lens" in 2023. His volunteer work has included roles in DFAT-funded aid programs, and he has chaired the committee overseeing the restructuring of CODA International for global representation.[23]
He has also had various articles published, including "Disability, Inclusion and Democracy - an Uncomfortable Fit"[24] in the journal of the Australasian Study of Parliament Group and "Queering Up the Debate: Freedom of Speech seen through a LGBTI lens".[25]
Volunteer work in Bhutan
[edit]In 2024, Gibson took on the role of Deaf Advocacy and Empowerment Mentor at the Wangsel Institute for the Deaf in Bhutan as part of the Australian Volunteers International program.[26]
As a volunteer, Gibson's work focused on three main objectives:
- Enhancing the advocacy skills of Deaf individuals, enabling them to engage in personal, individual, and systematic advocacy.
- Laying the foundation for the establishment of a Deaf organisation in Bhutan, with the goal of joining the World Federation of the Deaf.
- Empowering Deaf individuals in Bhutan to become role models within their local communities and across the country.
Gibson’s work has been instrumental in supporting the Bhutanese Deaf community in its efforts to establish a Bhutan Deaf Organisation to achieve greater inclusivity and recognition on both a national and international level.[27]
Board work
[edit]Gibson currently serves on the board and as Chair of GRAI - GLBTI Rights in Ageing Inc.[28] In 2024 the Minister for Social Services, the Hon Amanda Rishworth MP appointed Mr Gibson to the National Carer Strategy Advisory Committee.[29]
He has also served as the chairman of Deaf Services[30] a not for profit company working with the community to enhance services and programs that benefit deaf and hard of hearing across Australia, and as chairman of Jacaranda Housing, a non-profit, community housing provider in Brisbane.[31] and on the board of Valued Lives.[32]
He is also a former director of Deafness Forum,[33] a national peak body representing the interests and viewpoints of the deaf, hard of hearing and deaf-blind communities, and former chair of the Queensland Chapter of the Australasian Study of Parliament Group, a non-partisan body to encourage and stimulate research, writing and teaching about parliamentary institutions in Australia to generate a better understanding of their functions.[34]
In 2015 he took on a 2-year role as the executive director of the Gympie Music Muster, an Australian music festival held in the Amamoor Creek State Forest near Gympie, Queensland.[35] In 2017 he became the CEO of Access Plus WA Deaf (the former WA Deaf Society Inc)[36] and finished in that role in April 2020.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Former Member Details | Queensland Parliament".
- ^ "Representatives of Queensland State electorates 1860 - 2017" (PDF). www.parliament.qld.gov.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
- ^ Geoffegan, By (28 November 2014). "MPS farewell David Gibson". The Courier Mail.
- ^ "David Gibson LinkedIn".
- ^ Green, Antony (7 September 2006). "Gympie Profile". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
- ^ "Deaf community invited to parliament". The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 October 2007.
- ^ "Australian First". Gympie Times. 27 August 2008.
- ^ "Premier announces new Ministry". Department of Premier and Cabinet. 30 March 2012. Archived from the original on 6 August 2012. Retrieved 30 March 2012.
- ^ "Police Minister resigns". 9 News.
- ^ Seeney, Jeff (18 July 2012). "New vision for Mary Valley's future". Queensland Government.
- ^ Newman, Campbell (15 November 2012). "David Gibson appointed to new role".
- ^ Gibson, David (27 November 2014). "Valedictory Speech" (PDF). Queensland Parliament Hansard.
- ^ Gibson, David (21 June 2012). "Civil Union Debate" (PDF). Queensland Parliament Hansard.
- ^ "Gay issue fires up parliament". The Courier Mail. 22 June 2012. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
- ^ Gibson, David (10 February 2010). "Surrogacy Bill" (PDF). Queensland Parliament Hansard.
- ^ Remeikis, By Amy (5 June 2014). "Gympie MP claims police officer 'delivered death threats'". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
- ^ Vogler, Sarah; Fraser, Kelmeny (2 May 2014). "Nervous breakdown claims MP". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
- ^ "Former Newman MP's suicide shock as new love revealed". www.couriermail.com.au. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
- ^ "Call for Gympie MP David Gibson to resign over $7,000 theft". ABC News. 23 April 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
- ^ Hurst, Daniel (16 April 2012). "Police minister resigns after less than a fortnight in job". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 13 February 2020.
- ^ "WFD Program 2017 Budapest" (PDF). World Federation of the Deaf. 8 November 2017.
- ^ "CODALeague Year Book 2024". 29 September 2024.
- ^ https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14396040/
- ^ Gibson, David (1 April 2015). "Disability, Inclusion and Democracy – an Uncomfortable Fit". Australasian Parliamentary Review. 30, No 1 (Autumn/Winter): 154–161.
- ^ Gibson, David. "Queering Up the Debate: Freedom of Speech seen through a LGBTI lens" (PDF). Australian Parliamentary Review. 38 No 2 (Spring/Summer): 51–57.
- ^ "Welcome new volunteers to Bhutan". Facebook. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
- ^ https://www.signs-of-serenity.com/daily-life-in-bhutan/why-volunteer
- ^ Berry, Michael (28 February 2023). "Letter from the Chair".
- ^ https://www.dss.gov.au/disability-and-carers-carers/national-carer-strategy-advisory-committee
- ^ "DEAF SERVICES QUEENSLAND EXPERIENCES STELLAR GROWTH AS NEW CHAIRMAN NAMED". Deaf Services Queensland. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- ^ "Jacaranda Housing 2018 Annual Report" (PDF).
- ^ "Valued Lives Board". Valued Lives.
- ^ "Executive | Deafness Forum". Archived from the original on 6 April 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2017.
- ^ "ASPG - QLD Events".
- ^ "New Music Muster CEO and recording studio". The Courier Mail. 6 March 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2019.
- ^ "WA Deaf Society New CEO". Facebook. Retrieved 17 June 2020.