NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Russell Cooper

The Hon Theo Russell Cooper (born 4 February 1941) is a former Australian National Party politician. He was Premier of Queensland for a period of just six weeks, from 25 September 1989 to 7 December 1989. His loss at the state elections of 1989 ended 32 years of continuous National Party rule over Queensland. Image File history File links Russell_Cooper. ... February 4 is the 35th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party. ... List of Premiers of Queensland Before the 1890s there was no formal party system in Queensland. ... Motto: Audax at Fidelis (Bold but Faithful) Nickname: Sunshine State/Smart State Other Australian states and territories Capital Brisbane Government Governor Premier Const. ... September 25 is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years). ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... December 7 is the 341st day (342nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Cooper, a cattle breeder, followed the customary path to politics in the National Party, becoming involved in the Bendemere Shire Council before being elected for the seat of Roma in 1983, the least populous electorate in a state notorious for its gerrymandered system of rural electorate weighting. At the time of Cooper's election, Queensland was under the reign of long-serving Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen, whose government had heavily fostered state development. Binomial name Bos taurus Linnaeus, 1758 Cattle (called cows in vernacular usage) are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. ... Roma (26Â°33â€² S 148Â°48â€² E) is a town and Local Government Area in the western Darling Downs area of Queensland, Australia, 515 km (318 miles) by rail W.N.W. of Brisbane. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Redrawing electoral districts in this example creates a guaranteed 3-to-1 advantage for Party 1. ... The Hon. ...

By the late 1980's, the once impregnable Bjelke-Petersen government had begun to falter amid the failure of Bjelke-Petersen's ill-fated foray into national politics, and the establishment of the Fitzgerald Inquiry into police corruption, which implicated a great many senior governmental and police figures in widespread official corruption. By 1987, the National Party had turned against Bjelke-Petersen, replacing him in December as leader and Premier with Mike Ahern. Ahern appointed Cooper to cabinet as part of an influx of younger National parliamentarians who had not been associated with the previous Cabinet. Cooper was given the difficult portfolio of Corrective Services, in which he performed capably. 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... The Fitzgerald Inquiry into Queensland Police corruption was a judicial inquiry presided over by Tony Fitzgerald QC. The inquiry was established in response to a Four Corners report, aired May 1987, entitled The Moonlight State alleging high-level corruption involving both the police force and the then-Bjelke-Petersen government. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Look up December in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Template:DecemberCalendar2006 December is the twelfth and last month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... Michael John Ahern (born 2 January 1942) is a former Queensland National Party politician who was Premier of Queensland from December 1987 to September 1989. ...

Ahern was a very different leader from Bjelke-Petersen. His moderation and focus on consensus leadership was to many Nationals a rude shock after the lengendarily strong-willed approach of his predecessor. An embittered Bjelke-Petersen worked publicly to undermine and destabilise the National Party leadership, and still held the allegiance of many Nationals supporters.

In the beginning of 1989, Cooper was promoted to Minister for Police, another challenging portfolio that had been at the heart of the turmoil associated with the Fitzgerald Inquiry. The promotion was seen as an attempt by Ahern to remove the stigma of Fitzgerald from the area and minimise the damage it was causing as an electorally. The effect, however, was to raise Cooper's personal profile among Nationals supporters disaffected with Ahern. 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

As Ahern's leadership became increasingly beleaguered, Cooper began to be promoted as an alternate leader, particularly to shore up the National Party's vote in its conservative rural heartland. Portraying himself as a strong leader who was closer to the Bjelke-Petersen mould, Cooper launched a leadership challenge and in 25 September was chosen by the Nationals as the new Premier. September 25 is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years). ...

All three political parties in Queensland had changed their leaders by 1989, which was both an election year and the year Fitzgerald handed down his report including a blueprint for wide ranging electoral and administrative reforms. The Liberals had changed to Angus McInnes and the Labor Party had changed to Wayne Goss. Cooper had a dimmer view of the proposed Fitzgerald reforms than Ahern and put off their implementation. Although the legislation establishing the Criminal Justice Commission (CJC) was passed under Cooper, he would later have an adversarial relationship with the Commission itself. Although Cooper's elevation did have some effect within rural electorates, the overall decline of the National's fortunes continued. 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian liberal conservative political party. ... The Australian Labor Party or ALP is Australias oldest political party. ... Wayne Keith Goss (1951-) was Premier of Queensland from December 7, 1989 until February 19, 1996. ...

Cooper led the National Party into the 1989 election with traditional National focuses: law and order, social conservatism, and attacks on the federal Labor government. The Nationals produced a number of controversial advertisements, one of which alleged that the Labor Opposition's plan to decriminalise homosexuality would lead to a flood of gays from southern states moving to Queensland. These advertisements were satirised by Labor ads depicting Cooper as a wild-eyed reactionary. Goss won the election by a large margin and Cooper became Leader of the Opposition. Law & Order is the longest-running primetime drama currently on American television (2004). ... The Parliamentary Opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. ... Since its inception, the word homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. ...

Cooper's term as Leader of the Opposition was brought to an end in 1991, when allegations were made in the Courier-Mail that a large number of Queensland parliamentarians from all parties had abused their travel entitlements (the "travel rorts affair"). The CJC began an investigation, and although the names of those under investigation were suppressed, it became obvious through indirect published hints that one of them was Cooper. On 9 December Cooper announced that he was under investigation for the funding of a trip to Hamilton Island with his wife, refunded the cost of the trip, and stood down as National Party leader. This was widely seen as a tactical move aimed at shaming senior members of the government such as Terry Mackenroth. Cooper was succeded as Leader by Rob Borbidge. The CJC subsequently cleared Cooper of impropriety. 1991 (MCMXCI) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Courier-Mail is a Queensland-based newspaper published in Brisbane. ... December 9 is the 343rd day (344th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... There is more than one Hamilton Island: Hamilton Island, Australia Hamilton Island, Canada This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... The Hon Robert Edward Borbidge, (born August 12, 1954), Australian politician, was the 35th Premier of Queensland, and leader of the Queensland branch of the National Party. ...

Following Goss' electoral reform legislation, Cooper became member for Crows Nest under the redrawn boundaries in 1992. He returned to the Nationals' front bench in November of that year as Shadow Minister for Police. In February 1996, when Borbidge formed a minority government after winning a closely-fought by-election in Mundingburra Cooper was named Minister for Police, Corrective Services, and Racing. For other uses, see November (disambiguation). ... February is the second month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1996 (MCMXCVI) is a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ...

Soon afterwards Cooper was named in what would become the central scandal of the Borbidge government, when it was revealed that during the Mundingburra by-election campaign, Borbidge and Cooper had signed a secret Memorandum of Understanding with the Queensland Police Union guaranteeing the QPU the repeal of unpopular Goss government measures, the power of veto over senior police appointments, and increased police funding in return for a donation of $20,000 to the by-election campaign. This close relationship evoked many memories of the Bjelke-Petersen era, where relations between the executive and the police service were (sometimes improperly) close. When the matter came under investigation by the CJC (the Carruthers Inquiry), Cooper led strident attacks on the body and its independence. Cooper ignored repeated Opposition calls for him to resign. The word veto comes from Latin and literally means I forbid. ... The Australian dollar, AUD or A$, is the official currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including the Australian Antarctic Territory, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Heard Island and McDonald Islands and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu. ...

In 1998, the Borbidge government lost office and Labor's Peter Beattie became Premier. Cooper became Shadow Minister for Primary Industries but stepped down from the frontbench in December 1999. He retired from Parliament in the state elections of 2001. 1998 (MCMXCVIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ... Peter Beattie Peter Douglas Beattie (born November 18, 1952), Australian politician, is the Premier of the Australian State of Queensland and leader of the Australian Labor Party in that state. ... Look up December in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Template:DecemberCalendar2006 December is the twelfth and last month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ...

Michael John Ahern (born 2 January 1942) is a former Queensland National Party politician who was Premier of Queensland from December 1987 to September 1989. ... List of Premiers of Queensland Before the 1890s there was no formal party system in Queensland. ... Wayne Keith Goss (1951-) was Premier of Queensland from December 7, 1989 until February 19, 1996. ...

Categories: 1941 births | National Party of Australia politicians | Premiers of Queensland | Politicians of Queensland List of Premiers of Queensland Before the 1890s there was no formal party system in Queensland. ... File links The following pages link to this file: Queensland Flags of the Australian states and territories Flag of Queensland Categories: Flag images | Australia images ... Robert George Wyndham Herbert (1831-1905), was the first Premier of Queensland, Australia. ... Sir Charles Lilley was a former premier (1868-70) and chief justice of Queensland (1879_93). ... George Thorn, jnr, (b. ... Sir Thomas McIlwraith KCMG (1835-1900) was for many years the dominant figure of colonial politics in Queensland. ... Sir Samuel Griffith Sir Samuel Walker Griffith (June 21, 1845 - August 9, 1920), Australian politician and judge, was the principal author of the Constitution of Australia. ... Boyd Dunlop Morehead (1843-1905) was premier of Queensland, Australia from November 1888 to June 1890. ... Sir Hugh Muir Nelson KCMG (31 December 1835-1 January 1906) was Premier of Queensland from 1893 to 1898. ... Thomas Joseph Byrnes (11 November 1860-27 September 1898 was Premier of Queensland from April 1898 until his death, having previously served in several ministerial positions in his parliamentary career. ... Sir James Robert Dickson (30 November 1832 - 10 January 1901), Australian politician, was Premier of Queensland and a member of the first federal ministry. ... Andrew Dawson (usually known as Anderson Dawson) (1863-1910), was Premier of Australia for one week in 1899, this was the first Labor Party government anywhere in the world. ... Robert Philp (1851-1922) was a Queensland businessman and politician who was Premier of Queensland from December 1899 to September 1903 and again from November 1907 to February 1908. ... Sir Arthur Morgan (born 19 September 1856 in Warwick, Queensland; died 1916) was the Premier of Queensland, Australia from 1903 to 1906. ... William Kidston (1849-1919) was Premier of Queensland, Australia, from January 1906 to November 1907 and again from February 1908 to February 1911. ... Digby Frank Denham (1859-1944) was Premier of Queensland, Australia, from February 1911 to June 1915. ... A statue of T J Ryan stands in Queens Gardens, Brisbane Thomas Joseph Ryan was Premier of Queensland, Australia from May 1915 until October 1919 when he resigned to enter federal politics. ... Hon Ted Theodore Edward Granville Theodore (29 December 1884 - 28 February 1950), Australian politician, was born in Adelaide, South Australia, the second son of a Romanian immigrant called Basil Teodorescu. ... William Neil Gillies (1868-1928 was Premier of Queensland from 26 February to 22 October 1925 for the Australian Labor Party. ... William McCormack (1879-1947), was Premier of Queensland, Australia, from 1925 to 1929. ... Arthur Edward Moore (1876-1963), was an Australian politician, the first Country Party Premier of Queensland, from 1929 to 1932. ... William Forgan Smith (1887-1953), was Premier of Queensland from 1932 to 1942. ... Frank Arthur Cooper (1872-1949) was Premier of Queensland from 1942 to 1946 for the Australian Labor Party. ... Edward Michael Hanlon (1887-1952), was Premier of Queensland from 1946 to 1952. ... Vince Gair Vincent Clair Gair (25 February 1902 - 11 November 1980) was an Australian politician. ... Sir George Francis Reuben Nicklin (1895-1978) was Premier of Queensland from 1957 to 1963, the first Country Party Premier since 1932. ... Jack Charles Allan Pizzey (1911-1968 was Premier of Queensland from 17 January 1968 until his death on 31 July. ... Sir Gordon William Wesley Chalk (1913-1991) was Premier of Queensland for a week, from 1 August to 8 August 1968 following the death of Jack Pizzey. ... The Hon. ... Michael John Ahern (born 2 January 1942) is a former Queensland National Party politician who was Premier of Queensland from December 1987 to September 1989. ... Wayne Keith Goss (1951-) was Premier of Queensland from December 7, 1989 until February 19, 1996. ... The Hon Robert Edward Borbidge, (born August 12, 1954), Australian politician, was the 35th Premier of Queensland, and leader of the Queensland branch of the National Party. ... Peter Beattie Peter Douglas Beattie (born November 18, 1952), Australian politician, is the Premier of the Australian State of Queensland and leader of the Australian Labor Party in that state. ...