Kerry Shine

Kerry Shine
Councillor for Toowoomba Region
Assumed office
28 March 2020
Attorney-General of Queensland and Minister for Justice
In office
1 November 2006 – 26 March 2009
PremierPeter Beattie
Anna Bligh
Preceded byLinda Lavarch
Succeeded byCameron Dick
Minister for Natural Resources and Minister for Water of Queensland
In office
13 September 2006 – 1 November 2006
PremierPeter Beattie
Preceded byHenry Palaszczuk
Succeeded byCraig Wallace
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly
for Toowoomba North
In office
17 February 2001 – 24 March 2012
Preceded byGraham Healy
Succeeded byTrevor Watts
Personal details
Born
Kerry Gerard Shine

(1948-10-05) 5 October 1948 (age 76)
Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia
Political partyLabor
Children3
Alma materUniversity of Queensland
OccupationSolicitor

Kerry Gerard Shine (born 5 October 1948) is an Australian Labor politician who was member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland for Toowoomba North from 2001 to 2012 and served as Attorney-General of Queensland from 2006 to 2009. He was elected as a member of Toowoomba Regional Council in March 2020.[1]

Career prior to politics

Prior to his election to Parliament, Shine was admitted as a solicitor in 1972 and, in June 1977, founded Shine Lawyers, a litigation firm that has grown into a nationwide company with over 40 offices providing personalised legal assistance to tens of thousands of Australians.[2] In 1999 he co-founded Gouldson Legal (then known as Shine Gouldson Lawyers) alongside Faran Gouldson. Gouldson Legal is a plaintiff personal injury litigation firm specialising in Queensland personal injury compensation claims.[3]

Political life

Shine first ran for election in the seat of Toowoomba North in the 1998 state election. Shine was first elected in the landslide 2001 state election that saw the re-election of Peter Beattie as Premier of Queensland, and Shine retained his seat in 2004.[4]

In July 2005 as part of a ministerial reshuffle, Shine was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to Warren Pitt (the Minister for Communities, Disability Services and Seniors) and Premier's Advisor on Western Queensland. On 1 November 2006, Shine was appointed as Queensland's Attorney-General and Minister for Justice.[citation needed]

Shine was sworn in as Minister for Natural Resources and Water in September 2006 and subsequently became the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice and Minister Assisting the Premier in Western Queensland in November 2006.[citation needed]

While Attorney-General, Shine oversaw many legislative reforms including a massive review of the Queensland Criminal Code, a review into the defence of Accident and Provocation and a review into the Queensland Courts. Shine was responsible for the establishment of the new Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, (QCAT) and for the introduction of reform for the benefit of victims of crime.[citation needed]

The 2009 state election saw Shine retain the seat of Toowoomba North with a reduced margin against Liberal National challenger Trevor Watts. He subsequently returned to the backbench, out of a desire to spend more time in the electorate.[5]

Shine was the Chair of the new Industry, Education, Training and Industrial Relations Committee and a member of several Ministerial Legislative Committees including: the Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations, Police, Corrective and Emergency Services, Transport and Main Roads, and Infrastructure and Planning.[citation needed]

In 2008 Kerry Shine became under fire for his comments about judges who gave lenient sentences in regards to rape. Mr Shine was interviewed on ABC Radio in Brisbane about figures on the rate at which rapists were jailed. Figures for 2007-08 showed one in eight people sentenced for rape or attempted rape avoided jail. "You have to look at the various circumstance of each case - some rapes can be of minor effect on the victim ... some circumstances can be of minor, some can be of major, damage to the victim," Mr Shine said. Mr Shine later called the station back to apologise after talkback callers expressed their outrage.[6]

At the 2012 election, Shine faced Watts again and was heavily defeated in the massive landslide that brought the LNP to power, suffering a swing of almost 13 percent.[7] He contested it in the 2015 election, but, despite his party winning a minority government, Shine narrowly lost to Watts.[8][9]

Shine had another rewatch with Watts at the 2017 election and despite Shine's party gaining majority government he again lost to Watts this time with Watts gaining an increased majority.[citation needed]

In 2020 Shine was elected to the Toowoomba Regional Council.[10][11]

Community involvement

Shine is a Member of the Downs and South West Law Association, a Life Member of Queensland Law Society and a member of the Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce. He has previously served on the Council of the University of Southern Queensland and as a member of Toowoomba City Council.[12]

Sporting associations include previous service as Secretary of the Rangers Rugby Union Football Club, Honorary Solicitor of the Queensland Country Cricket Association, President of the Toowoomba Cricket Association, Honorary Solicitor of the Darling Downs Rugby Union Club and membership of the Toowoomba Turf Club and Brisbane Racing Club. He is a member of the Australian Services Union.[12]

Personal life

Shine has three adult children.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Vote Results, Toowoomba Regional Council". Electoral Commission of Queensland. Archived from the original on 12 August 2022. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  2. ^ "Shine Lawyers - Compensation Lawyers". Shine Lawyers. Archived from the original on 9 January 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
  3. ^ "Gouldson Legal - Personal Injury Law Firm - Queensland". Gouldson Legal. Archived from the original on 10 January 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  4. ^ "Toowoomba North - Queensland Votes 2012 - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". abc.net.au. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  5. ^ "Kerry Shine moves to the backbench". abc.net.au. Archived from the original on 15 December 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  6. ^ "'Minor rapes' remark insensitive: Bligh". smh.com.au. 17 December 2008. Archived from the original on 10 June 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  7. ^ "Southern Queensland votes". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. March 2012. Archived from the original on 24 February 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  8. ^ "Kerry Shine to run for Labor at state election". Brisbane Times. 4 November 2013. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  9. ^ "Kerry Shine to run for Labor again". NewsComAu. Archived from the original on 16 January 2014. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  10. ^ Walker, Helen (6 March 2020). "Toowoomba voters have quite a choice in local government elections". Queensland Country Life. Archived from the original on 30 June 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  11. ^ "Race costs candidates". Daily News; Warwick, Qld. 8 May 2020. p. 6.
  12. ^ a b "Kerry Shine". Queensland Parliamentary Library. September 2003. Archived from the original on 1 April 2004. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  13. ^ "First Speech" (PDF). Parliament of Queensland. April 2001. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 February 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
Parliament of Queensland
Preceded by Member for Toowoomba North
2001–2012
Succeeded by