View source for Rob Borbidge

{{Short description|Australian politician}}
{{Use Australian English|date=September 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix = [[The Honourable]]
| name             = Rob Borbidge
| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=AUS|size=100%|AO}}
| image            = 
| image_size       = 
| caption          =
| office           = 35th [[Premier of Queensland]]
| term_start       = 19 February 1996
| term_end         = 20 June 1998
| monarch          = [[Elizabeth II]]
| governor         = [[Leneen Forde]] <br />[[Peter Arnison]]
| deputy           = [[Joan Sheldon]]
| predecessor      = [[Wayne Goss]]
| successor        = [[Peter Beattie]]
| office1          = 28th [[Leader of the Opposition (Queensland)|Leader of the Opposition in Queensland]]<br /> {{small|Elections: [[1992 Queensland state election|1992]], [[1995 Queensland state election|1995]], [[2001 Queensland state election|2001]]}}
| term_start1      = 29 June 1998   
| term_end1        = 2 March 2001
| deputy1          = [[Mike Horan (politician)|Mike Horan]]<br />[[Lawrence Springborg]]
| predecessor1     = [[Peter Beattie]] 
| successor1       = [[Mike Horan (politician)|Mike Horan]]
| term_start2      = 10 December 1991
| term_end2        = 19 February 1996 
| deputy2          = [[Brian Littleproud]]<br />[[Kev Lingard]]<br />[[Joan Sheldon]]
| predecessor2     = [[Russell Cooper]] 
| successor2       = Peter Beattie
| office3          = 11th [[National Party of Australia – Queensland#Leaders|Leader of the National Party in Queensland]]
| term_start3      = 10 December 1991
| term_end3        = 2 March 2001
| deputy3          = [[Brian Littleproud]]<br />[[Kev Lingard]]<br />Mike Horan<br />[[Lawrence Springborg]]
| predecessor3     = Russell Cooper 
| successor3       = Mike Horan
| office4          = Deputy Leader of the<br />[[National Party of Australia – Queensland|Queensland National Party]]
| term_start4      = 13 December 1989
| term_end4        = 10 December 1991
| leader4          = [[Russell Cooper]]
| predecessor4     = [[Bill Gunn (Queensland politician, born 1920)|Bill Gunn]]
| successor4       = [[Brian Littleproud]]
| office5          = Minister for Environment, Conservation and Forestry
| term_start5      = 25 September 1989
| term_end5        = 7 December 1989
| premier5         = [[Russell Cooper]]
| predecessor5     = [[Geoff Muntz]]
| successor5       = [[Pat Comben]]
| office6          = Minister for [[Queensland Police Service|Police]] and [[Queensland Fire and Emergency Services|Emergency Services]]
| term_start6      = 31 August 1989
| term_end6        = 25 September 1989
| premier6         = [[Mike Ahern (Australian politician)|Mike Ahern]]
| predecessor6     = [[Russell Cooper]]
| successor6       = [[Vince Lester]] <small>(Police)</small><br />[[Tony FitzGerald]] <small>(Emergency Services)</small>
| office7          = Minister for Tourism
| term_start7      = 19 January 1989
| term_end7        = 7 December 1989
| premier7         = [[Mike Ahern (Australian politician)|Mike Ahern]]<br />[[Russell Cooper]]
| predecessor7     = [[Geoff Muntz]]
| successor7       = [[Bob Gibbs (Australian politician)|Bob Gibbs]]
| office8          = Minister for Industry, Small Business, Communications and Technology
| term_start8      = 9 December 1987
| term_end8        = 31 August 1989
| premier8         = [[Mike Ahern (Australian politician)|Mike Ahern]]
| predecessor8     = [[Peter McKechnie]] <small>(Industry and Technology)</small><br />[[Vince Lester]] <small>(Small Business)</small>
| successor8       = [[Huan Fraser]]
| office9          = Member of the [[Queensland Legislative Assembly]] for [[Electoral district of Surfers Paradise|Surfers Paradise]] 
| term_start9      = 29 November 1980
| term_end9        = 20 March 2001 
| predecessor9     = [[Bruce Bishop]]
| successor9       = [[Lex Bell]]
| birth_date       = {{Birth date and age|1954|08|12|df=y}}
| birth_place      = [[Ararat, Victoria|Ararat]], [[Victoria (state)|Victoria]], Australia
| death_date       = 
| death_place      = 
| restingplace     = 
| birthname        = Robert Edward Borbidge
| nationality      = [[Australians|Australian]]
| party            = [[National Party of Australia – Queensland|National Party]]
| otherparty       = 
| spouse           = 
| alma_mater       = 
| occupation       = [[Motel]]ier 
| relations        = 
}}

'''Robert Edward Borbidge''' (born 12 August 1954) is a former Australian politician who served as the 35th [[Premier of Queensland]] from 1996 to 1998. He was the leader of the [[Queensland]] branch of the [[National Party of Australia – Queensland|National Party]], and was the last member of that party to serve as premier. His term as premier was contemporaneous with the rise of the [[One Nation Party]] of [[Pauline Hanson]], which would see him lose office within two years.

== Early life ==
Borbidge was born in the town of [[Ararat, Victoria]] in 1954. His parents owned a sheep property and were attracted to Queensland by Premier [[Joh Bjelke-Petersen]]'s abolition of death duties, moving to the [[Gold Coast, Queensland|Gold Coast]]. He worked in his family [[motel]] business. At this time, the Gold Coast was the home of the property development boom that the Bjelke-Petersen government actively fostered, working in close co-operation with a group of developers known as the "white-shoe brigade".

== Parliamentary and ministerial career ==
In an attempt to broaden its electoral base and reduce the influence of its coalition partner, the [[Liberal Party of Australia (Queensland Division)|Liberal Party]], the Country Party renamed itself as the National Party in 1974. Also in the mid-1970s, it began a concerted effort to retake seats in the Gold Coast. The area had been a National stronghold until the 1960s, but growing urbanization resulted in the Liberals taking most of the seats there. This was part of the Nationals' broader strategy of contesting seats in urbanised areas outside of its rural heartland. As a sign of this, in 1980 Borbidge contested and won the seat of [[Surfers Paradise, Queensland|Surfers Paradise]] from sitting Liberal member [[Bruce Bishop]], who had alleged corruption in property development by the Bjelke-Petersen government.

By the late 1980s, the scandal of the extreme corruption revealed by the [[Fitzgerald Inquiry]] had engulfed Bjelke-Petersen, who was replaced as Premier and National Party leader in 1987 by [[Mike Ahern (Australian politician)|Mike Ahern]]. Borbidge, as a member of the new generation of Nationals untouched by political scandal, was promoted by Ahern to [[Cabinet (government)|Cabinet]] as Minister for Small Business, Communications and Technology.  He received the important portfolio of Tourism in 1989 and was briefly made Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Tourism by Ahern's successor [[Russell Cooper]] before he lost office at the hands of the [[Australian Labor Party (Queensland Branch)|Labor Party]]'s [[Wayne Goss]] in the 1989 election.

== National Party leadership ==
In the post-election party room ballot, Borbidge was elected deputy leader of the party, and hence Deputy Leader of the Opposition. He was also made Shadow Minister for Small Business, Manufacturing and Regional Development.

The shell-shocked Nationals worked at rebuilding the [[Coalition (Australia)|Coalition]] with the Liberals, which had been torn apart seven years earlier, and adjusting to opposition after 32 years in office. In December 1991 an inquiry by the [[Criminal Justice Commission (Australia)|Criminal Justice Commission]] was announced to investigate irregularities in the travel allowances of members of Parliament. Cooper announced that he was one of the individuals under investigation and resigned as National Party leader in favour of Borbidge.

In the lead-up to the [[1992 Queensland state election|1992 election]] Borbidge attempted to make overtures to the Liberals about reforming the coalition, but was rebuffed by the Liberals, who were aiming to finally achieve long-awaited senior coalition party status in Queensland after having been the junior partner since 1925. This did not eventuate; Goss remained in office, and the chastened parties discussed merging before agreeing to sign a new coalition agreement.

Borbidge and Liberal leader [[Joan Sheldon]] initially failed to make much headway against the [[Goss government]], with some disgruntled Nationals comparing Borbidge unfavourably to Bjelke-Petersen. In response to speculation about the leadership, Borbidge called a spill for the leadership in June 1994. He was re-elected unopposed.

The [[Goss government]]'s fortunes suffered a sharp reversal when it announced plans to construct a bypass through areas of bushland that comprised significant reserves of [[koala]] habitats. Borbidge harnessed the ground swell of opposition arising from this and other controversial decisions to encourage a large [[protest vote]]. Combined with the cynical mood engendered by the unpopular [[Paul Keating|Keating]] Labor federal government, this protest vote nearly destroyed the [[Goss government]]'s majority in the July 1995 election. While the Coalition won the popular vote, most of that vote was wasted on large margins in the Nationals' heartland.  As a result, while it managed an eight-seat swing, it won only nine seats (out of 40) in Brisbane, allowing Goss to rely on a majority of one vote in the [[Legislative Assembly of Queensland|Legislative Assembly]]. The Court of Disputed Returns ordered a reballot after alleged irregularities in the narrowly Labor held electorate of [[Electoral district of Mundingburra|Mundingburra]], which the Coalition had lost by only 12 votes. In February 1996 the Liberal candidate, [[Frank Tanti]], won the [[1996 Mundingburra state by-election|subsequent by-election]]. This resulted in a [[hung parliament]] with 44 Coalition seats and 44 Labor seats with one Independent, [[Liz Cunningham]], the newly elected member for [[Electoral district of Gladstone|Gladstone]]. Cunningham announced that she would support the Coalition, and Borbidge became Premier.<ref>[http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/hansard/1996/960220ha.pdf Queensland, Legislative Assembly, ''Weekly Hansard'', 20 February 1996 at 7] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924082408/http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/documents/hansard/1996/960220ha.pdf |date=24 September 2015 }}.</ref>

== Premiership ==
Borbidge's government imitated that of Goss when it initiated sweeping changes in the public service when it won office. In some cases, figures who had been demoted or dismissed when Goss had come to power were reinstated to their former positions. Borbidge was criticised for attempting to stack the public service, but he counter-alleged that the public service was already subject to severe Labor bias.

The [[Borbidge government]] also initiated changes to the industrial relations system by introducing Queensland Workplace Agreements (QWA's), similar to the [[Australian Workplace Agreement]]s later created under the Federal Liberal government of [[John Howard]]. Borbidge also supported Howard in his efforts to reform Australian gun ownership laws after the [[Port Arthur massacre (Australia)|Port Arthur massacre]], a move that brought him unpopularity in some traditional National Party quarters. When in 1997 the [[High Court of Australia]] expanded the recently introduced concept of [[Native title]] in bringing down the [[Wik decision]] (for which Borbidge criticised the bench as "historical dills"), Borbidge argued that Howard's proposed changes to the Native Title Act did not go far enough in abolishing native title from pastoral leases. However, the Act was supported by the National party federally.

The Borbidge government was almost immediately beset by scandal when it was revealed that, during the Mundingburra by-election campaign, Borbidge and Cooper (now Minister for Police) had signed a secret Memorandum of Understanding with the [[Queensland Police Union]] guaranteeing the QPU the repeal of unpopular [[Goss government]] measures, the power of [[veto]] over senior police appointments, and increased police funding, in return for a donation of [[Australian dollar|$]]20,000 to the by-election campaign. This close relationship evoked many memories of the Bjelke-Petersen era, where relations between the executive and the police service were frequently close.

The matter was referred to the [[Criminal Justice Commission (Australia)|Criminal Justice Commission]] (CJC), a body that had been established on the recommendation of the Fitzgerald Inquiry and one that was regarded poorly both by the National Party and the Queensland Police.  Retired New South Wales Supreme Court judge Kenneth Carruthers was appointed to lead the inquiry, which also investigated an allegedly improper agreement between the Labor Party and the Sporting Shooters' Association.

The government became embroiled in a war of words with the CJC, and Sheldon's first budget as [[Treasurer]] reduced funding for the body.  In October 1996 the government announced an inquiry into the CJC itself.  This had a dramatic sequel when after the new inquiry, led by retired Queensland Supreme Court judges Peter Connolly and Kevin Ryan, requested that Carruthers hand over all records from his inquiry, he resigned without completing his inquiry, alleging interference.  The Carruthers Inquiry was completed by Bob Gotterson and Brendan Butler, who ultimately exonerated all the participants from facing potential criminal charges.

In June 1997 Carruthers and the CJC went to the [[Supreme Court of Queensland]], applying for an end to the Connolly-Ryan inquiry.  The Court closed the inquiry in August, stating that it had acted outside of its terms of reference and Connolly was compromised by bias.  A subsequent motion of [[no confidence]] was passed in the Parliament against [[Denver Beanland]], Attorney-General, with Cunningham's support, but Beanland, with Borbidge's support, refused to resign.

In the lead-up to the 1998 election, intense speculation surrounded the role that the new [[One Nation Party]], formed in April 1997 by Queensland federal MP [[Pauline Hanson]], would play.  Hanson's positions on issues such as [[multiculturalism]], gun ownership and [[native title]] were well received in the Nationals' heartland of rural and regional Queensland.  Indeed, for much of 1997 and 1998, there was fear in National circles that One Nation could sweep the Nationals out of existence.  The Nationals struggled to prevent leakage of their support to One Nation.  The cynical mood in the electorate that Borbidge had harnessed to win office now began to turn against him, as he endeavoured to satisfy both the hard-line conservatives deserting the Nationals, and the urban Liberal supporters who detested Hanson and her views. Knowing the threat One Nation posed to his own party, Borbidge attempted to ensure that One Nation would be placed last on coalition [[how-to-vote card]]s. However, the organisational wings of both the Liberal and National parties rebuffed him and insisted that they would preference One Nation ahead of Labor (see [[Australian electoral system]]).  This was done under pressure from the federal Liberal and National organisations, who apparently believed that One Nation's populism would strike a chord with Labor voters and thus peel enough of them off to keep Labor out of power.

In the 1998 election, the Coalition was severely punished for this stance, experiencing a 17.7% primary vote swing against it from 1995 and suffering an 11-seat swing.  One Nation picked up 11 seats, and unexpectedly finished second in the primary vote, ahead of the Liberals and Nationals. Indeed, One Nation's showing was strong enough to render any attempt to calculate a two-party preferred vote meaningless.  The Coalition was reduced to 32 seats to Labor's 44.  Indeed, Labor was only denied outright victory when leakage of Coalition preferences allowed One Nation to win seven seats that would have otherwise gone to Labor.<ref name=2012preview>[[Antony Green|Green, Antony]]. [http://www.abc.net.au/elections/qld/2012/guide/preview.htm Queensland election preview] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161111031021/http://www.abc.net.au/elections/qld/2012/guide/preview.htm |date=11 November 2016 }}. [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]], 2012-01-25.</ref> Labor only needed the support of one of the two independents in the legislature—Cunningham and [[Peter Wellington]]—to make [[Peter Beattie]] premier, while Borbidge needed the support of both independents and the One Nation MPs to stay in power.  However, this was brought undone when Wellington agreed to support a minority Labor government. Borbidge promptly resigned.

Borbidge made little headway as Opposition Leader against Beattie. The Coalition reaped no benefit when One Nation imploded, or when an inquiry ended the careers of several Labor MPs—including Deputy Premier [[Jim Elder (politician)|Jim Elder]].  Before the [[2001 Queensland state election|2001 state election]], Borbidge, remembering what happened three years earlier, promised that the Coalition would never preference One Nation again.  However, several of his own MPs reneged on that promise after the writs were dropped. Beattie seized on this, arguing that this proved a Coalition government would only survive with the support of One Nation and former One Nation MPs. At the 17 February election, the Coalition saw its seat count more than halved, to 17 seats.  Notably, it lost all but one seat in Brisbane.<ref name="2012preview"/> Amid this severe defeat, Borbidge created controversy when he immediately resigned from parliament, forcing a by-election in Surfers Paradise.  The Nationals felt the brunt of voter backlash at going back to the polls for the second time in three months; their primary vote collapsed to eight percent, resulting in the election of independent member [[Lex Bell]] in the traditionally safe National seat.

As National Party leader, Borbidge led his party either on its own or in coalition with the Liberals to four elections but did not win any of them and only became Premier in 1996 as the direct result of the Mundingburra by-election. He was premier for only two of his nine years as National Party leader.

==Post-premiership==
Borbidge was featured on the 23 April 2013 episode of ''[[The Daily Show with Jon Stewart]]'' for his stance on gun control following the [[Port Arthur massacre (Australia)|Port Arthur massacre]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-april-23-2013/gun-control---political-suicide |title=The Daily Show with Trevor Noah &#124; Comedy Central |access-date=2013-04-24 |url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130424202117/http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-april-23-2013/gun-control---political-suicide |archive-date=24 April 2013 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

In 2013 Borbidge became chairman of the aero-medical organisation Careflight (since July 2016 known as [[LifeFlight (Queensland)|LifeFlight]]).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lifeflight.org.au/page/what-we-do/about-us/Board/Hon_Rob_Borbidge_AO/|title=Hon Rob Borbidge AO|website=[[LifeFlight (Queensland)|LifeFlight]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108220106/https://www.lifeflight.org.au/page/what-we-do/about-us/Board/Hon_Rob_Borbidge_AO/|archive-date=8 November 2017|url-status = live|access-date=9 November 2017}}</ref>

== References ==
<references/>

== Further reading ==
* Wear, Rae. Robert Edward Borbidge: In the Shadow of Bjelke-Petersen. In Murphy D, Joyce R, Cribb M, and Wear, R (Ed.), ''The Premiers of Queensland'' pp.&nbsp;388–399. Brisbane: University of Queensland Press. {{ISBN|0-7022-3173-8}}.

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|au-qld}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Bruce Bishop]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Electoral district of Surfers Paradise|Member for Surfers Paradise]]|years=1980{{ndash}}2001}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Lex Bell]]}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Russell Cooper]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[National Party of Australia – Queensland|Leader of the National Party in Queensland]]|years=1991{{ndash}}2001}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Mike Horan (politician)|Mike Horan]]}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Russell Cooper]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Leader of the Opposition (Queensland)|Leader of the Opposition in Queensland]]|years=1991{{ndash}}1996}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Peter Beattie]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Wayne Goss]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Premier of Queensland]]|years=1996{{ndash}}1998}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Leader of the Opposition (Queensland)|Leader of the Opposition in Queensland]]|years=1998{{ndash}}2001}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Mike Horan (politician)|Mike Horan]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Premiers of Queensland}}
{{Leaders of the National Party in QLD}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Borbidge Rob}}
[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Australian monarchists]]
[[Category:Delegates to the Australian Constitutional Convention 1998]]
[[Category:Leaders of the opposition in Queensland]]
[[Category:National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Queensland]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of Australia]]
[[Category:People educated at the Southport School]]
[[Category:People from Ararat, Victoria]]
[[Category:People from the Gold Coast, Queensland]]
[[Category:Premiers of Queensland]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian politicians]]
[[Category:21st-century Australian politicians]]