Henry Palaszczuk

Who is Henry Palaszczuk?

Heinrich "Henry" Palaszczuk is a former Australian politician. Born in Germany of Polish parents, he moved to Queensland. A school teacher prior to his entry into politics, he joined the Australian Labor Party in 1980. In 1984, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland as the Labor member for Archerfield, moving to Inala in 1992.

In 1995 the Goss ALP Government was re-elected with a one-seat majority and the ALP Caucus nominated Palaszczuk as its candidate as Speaker after dumping sitting Speaker Jim Fouras.

However Palaszczuk's nomination for Speaker was withdrawn after the ALP changed its mind and retained Fouras as Speaker. This was due to fears that Fouras would be re-elected as Speaker with the support of the Coalition on the floor of Parliament.

When Labor won office in 1998, Palaszczuk was appointed Minister for Primary Industries and in 1999 also took the Rural Communities portfolio. In 2004 he became Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries, and transferred to Natural Resources and Mines in 2005. In 2006 he had Water added to his portfolio. Palaszczuk retired from politics in 2006 and was succeeded in his seat of Inala by his daughter Annastacia, who is currently the leader of the Queensland ALP Opposition.