Leon Bignell

Who is Leon Bignell?

Leon William Kennedy Bignell, Australian politician, is the member for Mawson representing Labor since 2006. He is the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Tourism, Minister for Recreation and Sport and Minister for Racing.

Bignell finished ahead of incumbent Liberal member Robert Brokenshire with a 52.2 percent two party preferred vote at the 2006 state election, delivering Mawson to Labor for the first time since it was lost in the 1993 election landslide. He increased his two party preferred vote to 54.4 percent at the 2010 election and to 55.6 percent at the 2014 election.

Previous to his entry into parliament he was a high-profile ABC sports reporter and more recently a media adviser to Pat Conlon.

Bignell is affectionately known as "Biggles" in media circles, and was once caught drawing caricatures of his Opposition colleagues while in the chamber. Bignell was engaged to Labor colleague and member for Bright Chloë Fox between March 2006 and March 2007.