De-Anne Margaret Kelly (née Park; born 21 March 1954) is an Australian former politician. Kelly was a

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

member of the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Australian Senate, Senate. Its composition and powers are set out in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. ...

from March 1996 until November 2007, representing the

Division of Dawson The Division of Dawson is an Electorates of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland. It comprises the city of Mackay, Queensland, Mackay and the coas ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. She was the first female member of the National Party to win a seat in the House of Representatives.

Personal life

Kelly was born in

Rockhampton, Queensland Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...

to parents Ian Park and Margaret Park (née Bauman). Kelly's uncle was Kerrod Park, who was known for his involvement with

local government in Queensland Local government in Queensland, Australia, includes the institutions and processes by which towns and districts can manage their own affairs to the extent permitted by the ''Local Government Act 1993–2007''. Queensland is divided into 78 ...

, having served as the

chairman The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the gro ...

Duaringa Shire Council The Shire of Duaringa was a local government area in the Capricornia region of Queensland, Australia. Duaringa Shire covered an area of 18,201 square kilometres and had a population of 6,744 according to the . On 15 March 2008 the shires of Du ...

from 1973 to 1994. Kelly grew up on a cattle property where she obtained her primary education from her mother who taught her at the kitchen table. She then attended high school in Rockhampton and after winning a scholarship to study electrical engineering, Kelly attended the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

. After graduating, Kelly worked as an engineer before she bought a small manufacturing business with her husband. Seven years later, she and her husband purchased a cattle property near

Dingo The dingo (either included in the species ''Canis familiaris'', or considered one of the following independent taxa: ''Canis familiaris dingo'', ''Canis dingo'', or ''Canis lupus dingo'') is an ancient (basal (phylogenetics), basal) lineage ...

where they lived in a shed with their infant son. In 2004, she and her husband owned and operated a sugar cane farm at Mirani, near Mackay.

Parliamentary career

In her first parliamentary speech, Kelly paid tribute to her late father Ian Park who she commended for having a "girls can do anything" attitude. She also said she owed her character and convictions to her father. In her speech, Kelly also said she drew inspiration from Lady

Florence Bjelke-Petersen Florence Isabel Bjelke-Petersen (née Gilmour; 11 August 1920 – 20 December 2017) was an Australian politician. She was a member of the Australian Senate from 1981 to 1993, and was the wife of the longest-serving Premier of Queensland, Sir Jo ...

who had taught her some "valuable lessons". Kelly was Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Transport and Regional Services and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Trade between October 2003 and October 2004, at which time she was appointed

Minister for Veterans' Affairs The Minister for Veterans' Affairs is an Australian Government position. In the Government of Australia, the minister oversees income support, compensation, care and commemoration programs for more than 400,000 veterans and their widows, widowe ...

. She gained the additional position of Minister Assisting the Minister for Defence in November 2004, but was demoted to Parliamentary Secretary (Trade) in January 2006. Kelly served in this position until September 2006, when she was reappointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Transport and Regional Services. At the 2007 general election, Kelly was unseated by

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 ...

candidate and

City of Mackay The City of Mackay was a local government area located in the Central Queensland region of Queensland, Australia, encompassing the regional city of Mackay and the surrounding region. The City was created as a municipal borough in 1869, and pr ...

councillor James Bidgood. Kelly went into the election sitting on a majority of over 10 percent. However, as part of the Labor wave that swept through Queensland in that election, Bidgood defeated her on a swing of more than 13 per cent. Kelly's defeat came as a surprise to most commentators; due to her large majority, there was no hint she was in any danger.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, De-Anne 1954 births Living people National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Dawson Members of the Australian House of Representatives People from Rockhampton Women members of the Australian House of Representatives Women government ministers of Australia 21st-century Australian women politicians 20th-century Australian women politicians Australian MPs 1996–1998 Australian MPs 1998–2001 Australian MPs 2001–2004 Australian MPs 2004–2007