Alan Gordon Corbett (born 6 April 1954) is an Australian former politician. Originally a teacher, he was the founder of A Better Future for Our Children, a

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

political party. At the

1995 New South Wales state election The 1995 New South Wales state election was held on Saturday 25 March 1995. All seats in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and half the seats in the New South Wales Legislative Council were up for election. The minority Liberal Coalition ...

, Corbett was elected to the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...

for that party despite receiving only 1.24% of the vote. He served until his retirement in 2003. The party did not contest the state election of that year. In the late 2010s, Corbett publicly criticised the

Queensland Government The Queensland Government is the state government of Queensland, Australia, a Parliament, parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Government is formed by the party or coalition that has gained a majority in the Queensland Legislative Assembly, ...

for not completely banning the use of

corporal punishment A corporal punishment or a physical punishment is a punishment which is intended to cause physical pain to a person. When it is inflicted on Minor (law), minors, especially in home and school settings, its methods may include spanking or Padd ...

, with private schools still legally permitted to use the

cane Cane or caning may refer to: *Walking stick, or walking cane, a device used primarily to aid walking * Assistive cane, a walking stick used as a mobility aid for better balance * White cane, a mobility or safety device used by blind or visually i ...

. Corbett said that despite Independent Schools Queensland insisting corporal punishment wasn't utilised in their schools anymore, the possibility would always remain that it could be re-introduced at any time while it was still legal under section 280 of the Queensland Criminal Code. In June 2024, Corbett announced he would be running as an

independent candidate An independent politician or non-affiliated politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have polit ...

in the

2024 Queensland state election The 2024 Queensland state election was held on 26 October 2024 to elect all members to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland pursuant to the ''Constitution (Fixed Term Parliament) Amendment Act 2015''. As a result of the 2016 Queensland term l ...

, contesting the seat of

Bundaberg Bundaberg () is the major regional city in the Wide Bay-Burnett region of the state of Queensland, Australia. It is the List of cities in Australia by population, ninth largest city in the state. The Bundaberg central business district is situa ...

. He was unsuccessful.

Personal life

Corbett has one son. His wife died in 2017 at the age of 51 after suffering from a long illness.

References

1954 births Living people Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council 21st-century Australian politicians {{Australia-politician-stub