Tim Mulherin

Born in Mackay, he was a clerk on the Mackay Electricity Board before becoming involved in politics.

From 1994 to 1995 he was a state organiser of the Labor Party. In 1995, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland as the Labor member for Mackay, replacing Ed Casey, a former ALP leader. He served as a backbencher until he was named to the Beattie Ministry to replace the disgraced Gordon Nuttall as Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries in December 2005. He was given additional responsibility for Regional Development in 2009, and his title was recast as Minister for Primary Industries, Fisheries and Rural and Regional Queensland. In February 2011, his title was again changed, this time to Minister for Agriculture, Food and Regional Economies[1]

At the advent of the ALP's heavy defeat at the 2012 election, Mulherin barely held on to his seat of Mackay, a Labor stronghold for the better part of a century. He suffered a 16-point swing, reducing his majority from a comfortably safe 16 per cent to an extremely marginal 0.5 per cent, making it the most marginal Labor seat in the Assembly. He was one of only three Labor members elected from outside South East Queensland. Following the election, he was elected unopposed as deputy leader of what remained of Labor, and hence Deputy Opposition Leader.

During the 2015 election campaign, Mulherin announced his retirement citing family and health reasons but remained as Deputy Opposition Leader until polling day.[2] At the time of his retirement, he was the longest-serving Labor member of the Legislative Assembly, and the only one to have previously served in Opposition prior to 2012, having been in Parliament during the 1996–98 Coalition ministry of Rob Borbidge.

Tim Mulherin was married to Erin and had three children, Declan, Liam and Rory.[3] He died of cancer on 7 September 2020 at the age of 63.[4]