Paul Lucas (politician)

Paul Thomas Lucas (born 9 July 1962) is an Australian former politician who served as the Attorney-General of Queensland and Minister for Local Government and Special Minister of State in the Bligh Government and the Member for Lytton from 1996 until his retirement at the 2012 state election. Lucas was a solicitor prior to entering Parliament, and has a bachelor's degrees in Economics and in Law and a Master of Business Administration.

The Honourable
Paul Lucas
31st Deputy Premier of Queensland
In office
13 September 2007 – 16 September 2011
PremierAnna Bligh
Preceded byAnna Bligh
Succeeded byAndrew Fraser
Attorney General of Queensland
In office
21 February 2011 – 26 March 2012
PremierAnna Bligh
Preceded byCameron Dick
Succeeded byJarrod Bleijie
Minister for Local Government of Queensland
In office
21 February 2011 – 26 March 2012
PremierAnna Bligh
Preceded byAndrew Fraser
Succeeded byDavid Crisafulli
Minister for Health of Queensland
In office
26 March 2009 – 21 February 2011
PremierAnna Bligh
Preceded byStephen Robertson
Succeeded byGeoff Wilson
Deputy Leader of the Labor Party in Queensland
In office
13 September 2007 – 16 September 2011
LeaderAnna Bligh
Preceded byAnna Bligh
Succeeded byAndrew Fraser
Minister for Transport and Main Roads of Queensland
In office
12 February 2004 – 13 September 2007
PremierPeter Beattie
Preceded bySteve Bredhauer
Succeeded byJohn Mickel (Transport)
Warren Pitt (Main Roads)
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
for Lytton
In office
5 October 1996 – 24 March 2012
Preceded byTom Burns
Succeeded byNeil Symes
Personal details
Born (1962-07-09) 9 July 1962
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Political partyLabor
Alma materUniversity of Queensland, University of Southern Queensland

Political career

Lucas was elected to the Queensland Parliament in October 1996 at a by-election for the seat of Lytton, vacated by former Deputy Premier Tom Burns.

Lucas was previously the Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure and Planning between September 2007 and March 2009. Lucas served as Minister for Transport and Main Roads between 2004 and 2007. Prior to that he was Minister for Innovation and Information Economy, with ministerial responsibility for Energy between 2001 and 2004.

Lucas was once under investigation for electoral malpractice in the Shepherdson Inquiry, but he was cleared of any wrongdoing.[1]

While Lucas was Minister for Transport, he was issued a speeding ticket, which his driver paid for instead due to a mix-up. The incident attracted much negative attention from the media and the public.[2]

There were calls for his resignation over the bungled rollout of a payroll system for Queensland Health workers in 2010.[3] An online petition was started by the Queensland Public Sector Union as part of a campaign to force Lucas to resign after the Auditor-General released a report which heavily criticised the implementation of the new payroll system.[4]

On 15 September 2011, Lucas announced he would step down as Deputy Premier the following day and would retire from the parliament at the next election.[5]

Community affiliations

Lucas belongs to many community organisations, including the Wynnum Manly Leagues Club, and is a patron of organisations such as Bay FM, Wynnum Softball Association, Eastern districts Orchid Society Inc and the Aid and Recreational Association for the Disabled and Wynnum Table Tennis. He was also a founding member of the Bayside Community Legal Service. He has played an important role in environmental issues, in particular fighting for a buffer zone between residential areas of Wynnum North and the Port of Brisbane. He has also worked to ensure that the Wynnum Manly community has benefited from the economic development of the Port and the Australia TradeCoast area.[6]

Personal life

On 20 January 2010, upon release from the Mater Private Hospital in Brisbane, Lucas admitted to having suffered an epileptic seizure but that he had returned to work and was "fighting fit", providing an example to the community that people with chronic medical conditions can participate fully in public life.[7]

References
  1. Lachlan Heywood & Sam Strutt (8 March 2007). "Raid leader a Labor member". The Courier-Mail. Queensland Newspapers. Archived from the original on 12 June 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
  2. The World Today - Qld Transport Minister caught speeding Archived 5 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine Nicole Butler. 20 September 2007.
  3. "Minister keeps job despite Queensland Health payroll debacle". The Australian. News Limited. 30 June 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
  4. "People power to topple health minister?". Brisbane Times. Fairfax Media. 3 July 2010. Archived from the original on 20 August 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
  5. Wardill, Steven (15 September 2011). "Paul Lucas to quit politics at next state election". The Courier-Mail. Archived from the original on 26 September 2012.
  6. Paul Lucas - State Member for Lytton Archived 19 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. Cameron Atfield (20 January 2010). "Deputy Premier reveals he has epilepsy". Brisbane Times. Fairfax Media. Archived from the original on 20 November 2010. Retrieved 12 November 2010.
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