Stirling Hinchliffe

Stirling James Hinchliffe (born 23 November 1970) is an Australian politician. Born in Dalby, Queensland, he was educated at state schools and received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland. He was a property industry analyst, policy manager, policy advisor and executive officer before his entry into politics. He had a long involvement with the Australian Labor Party, which included a position as National Secretary of Young Labor in 1995. In the 2006 Queensland state election, he was elected to the safe Labor seat of Stafford, which he represented until being defeated in the 2012 Queensland state election. Hinchliffe previously served as a cabinet minister in the Bligh Ministry[1]

The Honourable Stirling Hinchliffe MP
Minister for Local Government, Racing and Multicultural Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office 12 December 2017
Premier	Annastacia Palaszczuk
Preceded by	Mark Furner (Local Government) Grace Grace (Racing, Multicultural Affairs)
Minister for Transport and the Commonwealth Games
In office 8 December 2015 – 6 February 2017
Premier	Annastacia Palaszczuk
Preceded by	Jackie Trad (Transport) Kate Jones (Commonwealth Games)
Succeeded by	Jackie Trad (Transport) Kate Jones (Commonwealth Games)
Assistant Minister of State Assisting the Premier of Queensland
In office 16 February 2015 – 8 December 2015
Premier	Annastacia Palaszczuk
Preceded by	Glen Elmes (Minister assisting the Premier of Queensland)
Succeeded by	Mark Ryan
Leader of the House of Queensland
In office 16 February 2015 – 11 December 2017
Premier	Annastacia Palaszczuk
Preceded by	Ray Stevens
Succeeded by	Yvette D'Ath
Minister for Employment and Skills of Queensland
In office 21 February 2011 – 26 March 2011
Preceded by	Andrew Fraser (Employment)
Succeeded by	John-Paul Langbroek (Training and Employment)
Minister for Mining of Queensland
In office 21 February 2012 – 26 March 2012
Preceded by	Stephen Robertson (Mines)
Succeeded by	Andrew Cripps (Mines)
Minister for Infrastructure and Planning of Queensland
In office 26 March 2009 – 21 February 2011
Preceded by	Paul Lucas
Succeeded by	Paul Lucas (as Minister for Local Government)
Member of the Queensland Parliament for Stafford
In office 9 September 2006 – 24 March 2012
Preceded by	Terry Sullivan
Succeeded by	Chris Davis
Member of the Queensland Parliament for Sandgate
Incumbent
Assumed office 31 January 2015
Preceded by	Kerry Millard
Personal details
Born	(1970-11-23) 23 November 1970 Dalby, Queensland
Political party	Labor
Spouse(s)	Megan Clarke
Children	Three
Alma mater	University of Queensland

Hinchliffe returned to parliament in 2015 as the member for Sandgate. He was sworn in as Assistant Minister of State Assisting the Premier in the Palaszczuk Ministry on 16 February 2015. He was also nominated as Leader of the House, an appointment confirmed when the Legislative Assembly of Queensland met for the first time following the election.[2]

In December 2015, he was elevated to Minister for Transport and the Commonwealth Games. In February 2017, he resigned as the Minister for Transport and the Commonwealth Games following an ongoing series of railway passenger services being cancelled due to there being an insufficient number of train drivers, a situation exacerbated by the opening in 2016 of the Redcliffe Peninsula railway line. Hinchliffe's resignation came despite a commission of inquiry not attributing any blame to him, finding that the difficulties were a result of structural and cultural problems within Queensland Rail.[3]

Following the 2017 State Election, Hinchliffe re-entered Cabinet as the Minister for Local Government, Minister for Racing and Minister for Multicultural Affairs. He was charged with responding to a number of integrity issues with the local government sector in Queensland, culminating in him dismissing the entire Ipswich and Logan City Councils.[4][5] He also oversaw the return of racing to the Eagle Farm Racecourse after extensive track remediation,[6] and has increased funding to multicultural community groups across Queensland.[7]