Colin Lamont (politician)
| Colin Lamont | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for South Brisbane |
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In office 7 December 1974 – 12 November 1977 |
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| Preceded by | Fred Bromley |
| Succeeded by | Jim Fouras |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Colin Charles Bird 18 November 1941 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Died | 7 July 2012 (aged 70) Queensland, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Liberal Party |
| Spouse(s) | Janette Alexander (m.1974) |
| Alma mater | University of Queensland |
| Occupation | Teacher, Police officer |
Colin Charles Lamont (18 November 1941 – 7 July 2012) was an Australian politician. He was a Liberal Party of Australia member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1974 until 1977, representing the electorate of South Brisbane.
Lamont was born Colin Bird in Brisbane, and changed his name officially in 1965. He was educated at Wilston State School, Brisbane Grammar School and Brisbane Teachers' College, and subsequently studied political science, history and government at the University of Queensland. While at university, he was the arts representative on the student representative council, editor of Semper Floreat, and was the Queensland education officer of the National Union of Australian University Students in 1963. In 1964, Lamont served as national director of Abschol, a committee of the union supporting scholarships for indigenous students.
Lamont worked as a state secondary school teacher after graduating from university, undertook further study in London, before serving a stint as a Detective-Inspector with the Royal Hong Kong Police from 1966 to 1971. He was injured at one stage during his Hong Kong service when a homemade bomb exploded while he was attempting to defuse it. He was seconded to MI6's special intelligence branch upon for a period upon his recovery. Lamont subsequently returned to Australia, where he served as senior history master at Brisbane Grammar School until his election to parliament. He was also active in debating circles, serving as President of the Queensland Debating Union in 1973 and as president of the Queensland Liberal Speakers' Group from 1973 to 1975.
In 1974, Lamont was preselected as the Liberal candidate for the usually safe Labor seat of South Brisbane, in what was seen at the time as a test run for a future bid for the federal seat of Brisbane. Lamont reportedly told a senior cabinet minister on the day before the election that he thought he might win, only to be told "Don’t get carried away, Col, you need 11 per cent and the state swing is going to be about seven per cent." He won the seat with a 17% swing as Labor suffered one of the worst defeats in its history, taking a seat that had since 1912 only ever fallen to the conservatives for one term following the 1957 Labor split and for one term during the Great Depression.
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