Chris Bombolas (born 12 May 1960) (often known as ''Bomber'') is a communications and media specialist, and a television and radio presenter. A former sports reporter for 21 years with the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

. A former

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n politician, he served for one term as the

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

member for Chatsworth in the

Legislative Assembly of Queensland The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly ...

from 2006 to 2009.

Early life

Bombolas was born in

Newcastle, New South Wales Newcastle, also commonly referred to as Greater Newcastle ( ; ), is a large Metropolitan area, metropolitan area and the second-most-populous such area of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of City of Newcastle, Newcastle and Ci ...

. He attended Cannon Hill State School followed by

Brisbane State High School Brisbane State High School (BSHS or commonly State High) is a partially selective, co-educational, state secondary school, located in South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is a member of the Great Public Schools Association of Queensland, ...

. He graduated from the

Queensland University of Technology The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public university, public research university located in the city of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. It has two major campuses, a modern city campus in Gardens Point, Brisbane, Gardens Point ...

with a Bachelor of Business (Communications) which he completed while working for the

Queensland Police Service The Queensland Police Service (QPS) is the principal law enforcement agency responsible for policing the Australian state of Queensland. In 1990, the Queensland Police Force was officially renamed the Queensland Police Service and the old motto ...

Career

He became a radio host and worked for 4BC, 4BK and

Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 45 radio stations with flagship stations broadcasting a mainstream/classic rock music format in Sydney, Melbourne, and B ...

, before joining the Channel Nine as a sports presenter. In July 2006, Bombolas believed he could "make a difference in my community", and announced his intention to run for the

in the seat of Chatsworth in the 2006 election. Bombolas won the seat against the incumbent member Michael Caltabiano of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

. On 9 July 2007, Bombolas became Parliamentary Secretary for the Minister for Sport and Local Government, Andrew Fraser. Bombolas announced on 19 February 2009 that he would not contest the 2009 state election. In June 2009, Bombolas became the Chairman of the

A-league A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

football club

Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland. competing in Australia's premier men's competition, A-League Men, which is the top tier Australia's football pyramid. When Queensland Lions F.C. were ...

. His controversial decision to replace coach Frank Farina with Ange Postecoglou saw the Brisbane Roar win the record for the longest unbeaten run at the top level of any Australian football code, which stands at 36 league matches without defeat. Brisbane Roar are also the first and only club to win back to back A-League Championships. In 2012, Bombolas joined Hancock Coal/GVK to work as External Affairs Advisor (Media & Corporate Communications Advisor). He now works as a freelance Media and Communications Specialist and is a qualified Auctioneer.

References

1960 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Queensland Australian television presenters Australian auctioneers Australian people of Greek descent Politicians from Brisbane Politicians from Newcastle, New South Wales Australian reporters and correspondents Queensland University of Technology alumni People educated at Brisbane State High School 21st-century Australian politicians Brisbane Roar FC chairmen {{Australia-Labor-Queensland-MP-stub