Brett Raguse
Encyclopedia
Brett Blair Raguse is an Australia
n politician. He was an Australian Labor Party
member of the Australian House of Representatives
from November 2007 until July 2010, representing the electorate of Forde
.
Raguse was born in Queensland
, and began his career as an apprentice in the printing industry. He later studied education at Griffith University
, and worked as a teacher, subsequently rising to become director of the Morningside and Ithaca TAFE campuses. He returned to the private sector for a period, operating a small business and working for private education provider Quantm College. He briefly returned to the newspaper industry before entering politics, establishing the Riverland News and publishing the Beaudesert Shire News. He later worked as a ministerial adviser for state ministers Desley Boyle
and John Mickel
and as a staffer for backbencher Barbara Stone
. Raguse was the Labor candidate for the safe National seat of Beaudesert
at the 2006 state election, losing to incumbent MP Kev Lingard
.
Raguse subsequently gained Labor preselection to contest the normally safe Liberal seat of Forde
at the 2007 federal election. It had been held by retiring Liberal Kay Elson
on a margin of more than 11%, but began to be seen as potentially winnable during the campaign as Labor continued to poll well in the state, with the betting odds having more than halved by September. He won an unexpected 14% swing on election day, easily defeating new Liberal candidate Wendy Creighton in what was generally viewed as one of the main upset results of the election. He lost his seat in the 2010 federal election to the LNP candidate Bert Van Manen
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n politician. He was an Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
member of the Australian House of Representatives
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
from November 2007 until July 2010, representing the electorate of Forde
Division of Forde
The Division of Forde is anAustralian Electoral Division in Queensland.The division was created in 1984 and is named for Frank Forde, who was briefly Prime Minister of Australia in 1945...
.
Raguse was born in Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, and began his career as an apprentice in the printing industry. He later studied education at Griffith University
Griffith University
Griffith University is a public, coeducational, research university located in the southeastern region of the Australian state of Queensland. The university has five satellite campuses located in the Gold Coast, Logan City and in the Brisbane suburbs of Mount Gravatt, Nathan and South Bank. Current...
, and worked as a teacher, subsequently rising to become director of the Morningside and Ithaca TAFE campuses. He returned to the private sector for a period, operating a small business and working for private education provider Quantm College. He briefly returned to the newspaper industry before entering politics, establishing the Riverland News and publishing the Beaudesert Shire News. He later worked as a ministerial adviser for state ministers Desley Boyle
Desley Boyle
Desley Carole Boyle is an Australian Labor Party politician. Boyle represents the electoral district of Cairns, Queensland in the Queensland Legislative Assembly and was elected in the 1998 State election-Career:...
and John Mickel
John Mickel (politician)
Reginald John Mickel is an Australian politician who is currently Speaker of the Queensland Legislative Assembly and MP for the electoral district of Logan, but he will retire from those roles at the next election.-Early life:...
and as a staffer for backbencher Barbara Stone
Barbara Stone
Barbara Gwendoline Stone is an Australian politician. She is a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Springwood and a member of the Australian Labor Party.-Biography:...
. Raguse was the Labor candidate for the safe National seat of Beaudesert
Electoral district of Beaudesert
-External links:*...
at the 2006 state election, losing to incumbent MP Kev Lingard
Kev Lingard
Kevin Rowson "Kev" Lingard is an Australian politician. He was a National member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 1983 to 2009....
.
Raguse subsequently gained Labor preselection to contest the normally safe Liberal seat of Forde
Division of Forde
The Division of Forde is anAustralian Electoral Division in Queensland.The division was created in 1984 and is named for Frank Forde, who was briefly Prime Minister of Australia in 1945...
at the 2007 federal election. It had been held by retiring Liberal Kay Elson
Kay Elson
Kay Selma Elson , Australian politician, was a Liberal Member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1996 until her resignation in November 2007. Kay represented the Division of Forde, Queensland...
on a margin of more than 11%, but began to be seen as potentially winnable during the campaign as Labor continued to poll well in the state, with the betting odds having more than halved by September. He won an unexpected 14% swing on election day, easily defeating new Liberal candidate Wendy Creighton in what was generally viewed as one of the main upset results of the election. He lost his seat in the 2010 federal election to the LNP candidate Bert Van Manen
Bert Van Manen
Albertus Johannes "Bert" Van Manen is an Australian politician. He has been a Liberal National Party of Queensland member of the Australian House of Representatives seat of Forde since the 2010 federal election, defeating Australian Labor Party incumbent Brett Raguse.Bert grew up in Waterford and...
.