Jason Noel Costigan (born 13 June 1971) is an Australian radio commentator and former politician who was a Member of Parliament in the

Queensland Legislative Assembly 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 h ...

and leader of the North Queensland First party. Costigan was previously an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

politician and

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

commentator. He was a member of the Liberal National Party (LNP) until being expelled from the party in February 2019. He had 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 ...

for

Whitsunday Whitsun (also Whitsunday or Whit Sunday) is the name used in Britain, and other countries among Anglicans and Methodists, for the Christian holy day of Pentecost. It falls on the seventh Sunday after Easter and commemorates the descent of the Ho ...

until 2020, first being elected in 2012 after defeating Jan Jarratt at that year's state election.

Broadcasting career

Costigan's broadcasting career began in northern Queensland in the late 1980s and he began calling rugby league in 1987 for regional television in Queensland. He later joined New Zealand's

SKY Network Television Sky Network Television Limited, more commonly known as Sky, is a New Zealand broadcasting company that provides pay television services via satellite television, satellite, media streaming services, and broadband internet services. Sky had 1,0 ...

as their main NRL commentator and served in the role until the end of the 2010 season. Costigan has also worked as a media manager for the

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilitated by ...

and

Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, and compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. The club have won the League Championship six times, the Challenge Cup f ...

and was an advisor to the Central Queensland NRL bid. He left his role as project co-ordinator for the NRL bid team to spend more time with his family.Family first for Costigan
''Central Telegraph'', 22 January 2010

Political career

Costigan worked as an adviser to the Sports Minister in the Howard Government and a media adviser to Senator

Ian MacDonald Ian MacCormick (known by the pseudonym Ian MacDonald; 3 October 1948 – 20 August 2003) was an English music critic, journalist and author, best known for both '' Revolution in the Head'', his critical history of the Beatles which borrowed te ...

. He was a member of the

for

, having defeated Jan Jarratt at the 2012 state election. Costigan was suspended from the LNP in January 2019 after a complaint alleged that he harassed a woman. He denied the charges, but was formally expelled from the party by the executive on 1 February 2019. In April 2020, the woman withdrew her complaint and offered an "unreserved apology" to Costigan. In September 2019, Costigan founded the North Queensland First party which aims for Northern Queensland statehood. He contested his Whitsunday seat in the

2020 Queensland state election The 2020 Queensland state election was held on 31 October to elect all 93 members to the 57th Parliament of Queensland, 57th Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The Queensland Labor, Labor Party was returned to government for a third-term, led ...

as the sitting candidate but lost to

Amanda Camm Amanda Jane Camm (born 18 April 1979) is an Australian politician. She is a member of the Parliament of Queensland representing the Liberal Nationals. She first stood for the seat of Whitsunday as a member of Katter's Australian Party in the ...

. He received 9.37% of the first preference votes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Costigan, Jason Liberal National Party of Queensland politicians 1971 births Living people Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Australian rugby league commentators 21st-century Australian politicians