Stuart Copeland
| Stuart Copeland | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Cunningham |
|
|
In office 17 February 2001 – 20 March 2009 |
|
| Preceded by | Tony Elliott |
| Succeeded by | Seat abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Stuart William Copeland 19 January 1968 Taroom, Queensland, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Liberal National Party |
| Other political affiliations |
National Party, Independent |
| Spouse(s) | Rae McCaull |
| Occupation | Petroleum industry |
Stuart William Copeland (born 19 January 1968 in Taroom, Queensland) is an Australian politician. He was a National/Liberal National from 2001 to 2009, representing the district of Cunningham.
Copeland won preselection to contest the state seat of Cunningham for the National Party defeating the Mayor of the Jondaryan Shire Peter Taylor. Taylor went on to be elected Mayor of the Toowoomba Regional Council in 2008.
Copeland was elected at the February 2001 State election after a three cornered contest with the Liberal Party. He was one of only 11 National Party MPs to form the official Opposition following Premier Peter Beattie's landslide win gaining 66 seats in the 89 seat Assembly. Ray Hopper MP, elected as an Independent for the seat of Darling Downs, joined the Nationals in December 2001.
Copeland was appointed Shadow Minister for Families, Disabilities, Youth and The Arts, and went on to hold the portfolios of Education, Training, Multicultural Policy, Health, Open Government, Justice and Attorney General.
He served on the Criminal Justice Committee, the Crime and Misconduct Committee, The Public Works Committee, the Broadcast of Parliament Select Committee, and various Parliamentary Estimates Committees. He was also Shadow Cabinet Secretary and served as Temporary Speaker/Deputy Speaker.
In 2007 Copeland was appointed Leader of Opposition Business.
During Question Time on 22 March 2005, as Shadow Minister for Health, Copeland asked the then Minister for Health, Gordon Nuttall MP, a question on an internal Queensland Health investigation into allegations against the competence of Jayant Patel, a surgeon at Bundaberg Base Hospital. Soon after that morning’s Question Time, the Member for Burnett, Rob Messenger MP, made a five-minute ‘Matters of Public Interest’ speech. The speech contained serious allegations against the clinical competence of a Dr Patel, an overseas trained surgeon working at the Bundaberg Base Hospital.
The Doctor Death scandal and other problems within Queensland Health dominated Queensland politics for a significant period.
On Friday 8 July 2005, in a public hearing of a Queensland parliamentary estimates committee, 'Estimates Committee D - Health', Copeland questioned Health Minister Gordon Nuttall over his knowledge of the problems surrounding the proficiencies of Overseas Trained Doctors. At the time, the minister was accompanied by senior officers of Queensland Health, including the then Director General of Queensland Health (Dr Buckland) and the then Senior Executive Director, Health Services (Dr Scott).
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