Billy Gordon
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Billy Gordon MP |
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| Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Cook |
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Assumed office 31 January 2015 |
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| Preceded by | David Kempton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Innisfail, Queensland, Australia |
| Political party |
Australian Labor Party (2015) Independent (2015–present) |
| Website | http://www.billygordon.com.au |
William John "Billy" Gordon is an Australian politician. He was elected as a Labor member for Cook in the Queensland Legislative Assembly at the 2015 election before becoming an independent two months later. Gordon is one of the first indigenous members in a generation.
Gordon first entered politics as the Labor candidate in the federal seat of Leichhardt for the 2013 election, losing to Liberal National incumbent Warren Entsch. However, he increased his profile enough that he was able to successfully stand in the state seat of Cook, essentially the far northern portion of the federal seat.
In 2015, tip offs to the media led to Gordon publicly disclosing a criminal history dating back to the 1980s that he had not disclosed to his colleagues including driving offences, break and entering offences, breach of bail and probation, and an apprehended violence order taken out by his mother. Gordon’s former de facto partner has accused him of domestic violence and routinely not filing tax returns to avoid child support payments to his five children.
In response Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk expelled Gordon from the Labor caucus, and has asked the state party's organisational wing to have Gordon expelled from the party altogether. Although Palaszczuk was well aware that the loss of Cook could potentially put her premiership in jeopardy, she said that given the circumstances, she had no other choice.
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