Lionel William "Lin" Powell (born 10 March 1939) is a former Australian politician. He was a Member of 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 ...

for

Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

Early life

Powell was born in Maryborough to Lionel Mitchell Powell and Helen Irene, ''née'' West. Lin Powell is a great-grandson of

Native Police Australian native police were specialised mounted military units consisting of detachments of Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal troopers under the command of European officers appointed by British colonial governments. The units existed in va ...

officer

Walter David Taylor Powell Walter David Taylor Powell (25 March 1831 – 23 December 1906) was an English mariner and paramilitary Native Police officer in the British colonies of New South Wales and Queensland. He played a significant part in the practical implementation o ...

. He was educated at state schools in

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 ...

and then at

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, ...

. After studying at

Kelvin Grove Teachers College Kelvin Grove Teachers' College was established in 1961 to provide courses in primary and secondary teacher education from its predecessor the Queensland Teachers' Training College. History The Brisbane School of Arts was formed in 1849 and it wa ...

and 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 ...

, he became a schoolteacher. He taught at

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

and Bundaberg and was a school principal at Lyndhurst, Cooloolabin, Forest Station and Cattle Creek Valley.

Politics

A long-time member of the

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 ...

, he was secretary of the

Mundubbera Mundubbera ( ) is a rural town and a locality in the North Burnett Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Mundubbera had a population of 1,120 people. Mundubbera is the self-proclaimed "Citrus Capital of Queensland", although ...

branch from 1965 until his election as president in 1967, serving until 1970. In 1974, he was elected to the

as the member for

. Promoted to the front bench as

Minister for Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

in 1982, he was briefly Leader of Government Business in the House in 1987 before being elected

Speaker Speaker most commonly refers to: * Speaker, a person who produces speech * Loudspeaker, a device that produces sound ** Computer speakers Speaker, Speakers, or The Speaker may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * "Speaker" (song), by David ...

in December, immediately after

Joh Bjelke-Petersen Sir Johannes Bjelke-Petersen (13 January 191123 April 2005) was an Australian politician and farmer who served as premier of Queensland between 1968 and 1987, for almost 20 years, as state leader of the National Party (earlier known as the C ...

's ousting by Mike Ahern. On 3 May 1989, Powell resigned from the National Party and declared himself 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 ...

. He continued as Speaker until 5 July 1989, when the government voted against him on a matter of privilege; his resignation prompted scenes of chaos in the chamber. He remained a Member of Parliament until his sudden resignation on 31 July 1989; he was urged to form a new Conservative Party but declined. He ran for Isis as an independent at the

1989 election The following elections occurred in the year 1989. Africa * 1989 Beninese parliamentary election * 1989 Botswana general election * 1989 Equatorial Guinean presidential election * 1989 People's Republic of the Congo parliamentary election * 1 ...

, but without success.

References

1939 births Living people National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Queensland Independent members of the Parliament of Queensland Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly People educated at Brisbane State High School Speakers of the Queensland Legislative Assembly {{Australia-National-politician-stub