Leisha Harvey
| Leisha Harvey | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Greenslopes |
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In office 22 October 1983 – 2 December 1989 |
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| Preceded by | Bill Hewitt |
| Succeeded by | Gary Fenlon |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Leisha Teresa Piasecki 4 April 1947 Münsingen, West Germany |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | National Party |
| Spouse(s) | Barry Noel Harvey (m.1983) |
| Alma mater | Griffith University |
| Occupation | Teacher, Businessperson |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Leisha Teresa Harvey (born 4 April 1947) is an Australian politician. She was a National Party of Australia member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1983 to 1989, representing the electorate of Greenslopes. She served as Minister for Health in the government of Mike Ahern government from 1987 until her sacking in January 1989. She lost her seat at the election that December, and was not long out of parliament when she was charged with numerous counts of misappropriation of public funds concerning her usage of her official credit card. After a high-profile trial in 1990 and subsequent conviction, she spent five months in prison and a further seven months in home detention.
Harvey was born in 1947 to displaced Polish parents in Münsingen, West Germany. The family immigrated to Queensland when she was three, and she was raised in Brisbane thereafter, attending St Mary Immaculate Convent, Annerley, Buranda State School, St Ursula's College and Coorparoo High School. She studied education at Griffith University and was a teacher in the special skills program at Springwood High School for most of her career. A devout Roman Catholic, Harvey attended the evangelical Garden City Christian Church in Brisbane's southern suburbs. Harvey married in 1965 and had one son and one daughter, but divorced in 1975. She remarried in 1983.
Harvey contested and won National preselection for the seat of Greenslopes at the 1983 election. On paper, it seemed unusual for the Nationals to contest a seat in the Brisbane suburbs, since they are traditionally an agrarian conservative party. However, the urban-rural divide is far less pronounced in Queensland than in other states. In a reverse of the situation both nationally and in most other states, the National Party had long been the senior party in the non-Labor Coalition, and had recently begun contesting seats in the Brisbane area.
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