Hermann Vorster is an Australian politician who has been a member of 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 ...

since 2024, representing the district of Burleigh. Prior to entering the state parliament, he served as a prominent city councillor on the

Gold Coast City Council The City of Gold Coast is the Local government in Australia, local government area spanning the Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, and surrounding areas. With a population of 606,774, it is the second most populous local ...

between 2016 and 2024.

Early life

Vorster was born in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

and raised in

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, before moving to the Gold Coast at 15 years of age where he completed his secondary schooling at Somerset College. Following graduation, he enrolled at

Bond University Bond University is Australia's first private university, private not-for-profit university and is located in Robina, Queensland, Robina on the Gold Coast, Queensland. Since its opening on 15 May 1989, Bond University has primarily been a teachi ...

and completed his degree before pursuing a career in politics.

Political career

Prior to his election to public office, Vorster had worked as the press secretary to Gold Coast mayor

Tom Tate Thomas Richard Tate (born 15 January 1959) is an Australian businessman, property investor, and politician who is the current mayor of the City of Gold Coast. Early life Tom Tate was born in 1959 in Vientiane, Kingdom of Laos, Laos, to a Tha ...

. He had also served as the president of the

Young LNP The Young Liberal National Party, also known simply as Young LNP and abbreviated as YLNP, is the youth division of the Liberal National Party of Queensland, and membership is open to those between 16 and 30 years of age. It exists only in Queen ...

. In March 2016, Vorster stood for and was elected to the

, representing Division 11 (covering Robina and

Varsity Lakes Varsity Lakes is a Suburbs and localities (Australia), suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Varsity Lakes had a population of 16,493 people. The suburb was originally known as ''Stephens'' but in 2002 Stephens, Quee ...

). He succeeded retiring councillor Jan Grew. Despite nominating 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 ...

, ''The Australian'' reported in May 2016 that he had received "thousands of dollars worth" of free support from Liberal National Party members, organised by senior employees in the offices of

Stuart Robert Stuart Rowland Robert (born 11 December 1970) is an Australian former politician who served as Minister for Employment, Workforce, Skills, Small and Family Business from 2021 to 2022, following his appointment as Minister for Government Service ...

and Tate. The ''Gold Coast Bulletin'' also reported in May of the same year that he had established a residents' group, "Friends of Robina," with only three members, in order to advertise himself as the president of the group in campaign materials. Vorster courted controversy during his council term by declaring that

Chevron Island Chevron Island is an urban island that lies in the Nerang River and is a neighbourhood within the suburb of Surfers Paradise onn the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. History Chevron Island is a natural island previously known as Goat Islan ...

was "the home of drug labs" on the Gold Coast and "should be the subject of considered

gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...

efforts." Vorster was the target of harassment from a number of

hoon A hoon () is an Australian and New Zealand term describing a person who deliberately drives a vehicle in a reckless or dangerous manner, generally in order to provoke a reaction from onlookers. Hoon activities (or hooning) can include speeding ...

groups, after vocally working on efforts to reduce hooning in Robina. Vorster is a supporter of the Gold Coast offshore cruise ship terminal proposal. In October 2023, it was reported that Vorster would retire from the Gold Coast City Council at the 2024 council election, as he had been preselected by the Liberal National Party as their candidate for the Legislative Assembly seat of Burleigh, succeeding retiring incumbent Michael Hart.

References

Living people Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Liberal National Party of Queensland politicians 21st-century Australian politicians Year of birth missing (living people) {{Australia-LiberalNational-politician-stub