Michael Darrel Joseph Ferguson (born 23 March 1974) is an Australian politician who served as the Deputy Premier of Tasmania from April 2022 to October 2024. He has been a

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 ...

member of the

Tasmanian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or Lower House, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Tasmania in Australia. The other is the Tasmanian Legislative Council, Legislative Council or Upper House. It sits in Parliament House, Hobart, Parliament Hou ...

in the

Division of Bass The Division of Bass is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian electoral division in Tasmania. It includes most of the city of Launceston, Tasmania, Launceston and its surrounds. It has traditionally been a margin ...

since the 2010 state election. Ferguson was appointed to cabinet after his party's victory in the 2014 state election and has served continuously as Minister in a range of portfolios including Finance, Health, Infrastructure, Transport, State Growth and Science and Technology. Ferguson previously served in federal parliament as a

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia (LP) is the prominent centre-right political party in Australia. It is considered one of the two major parties in Australian politics, the other being the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The Liberal Party was fo ...

member in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

from 2004 to 2007, representing the federal electorate of Bass. He was defeated at the 2007 federal election.

Background and early career

He was educated at the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

, holding degrees in Applied Science and Education. In the past, his broad community activities include many local tourism and progress associations as well as

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. He has worked as a teacher from 1996 to 2002, and a member of the Meander Valley Council. He has received awards including winning the Regional Initiative category for the Young Australian of the Year Awards for Tasmania in 2002, and Tasmanian Young Achiever of the Year (2002) by the National Australia Day Council. Before entering politics, he was a teacher in public secondary schools in Northern Tasmania and adviser to Guy Barnett, Liberal

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

for Tasmania.

Political career

In his parliamentary term in the Commonwealth Parliament Ferguson concentrated on issues such as education, health, family and employment and served on numerous parliamentary and backbench committees. He was the secretary of the Government Education, Science and Training policy committee and is acknowledged as having played a key role in brokering the passage of the Voluntary Student Unionism legislation through the Senate with his (implemented) proposal for a sports infrastructure transition fund. Soon after the 2007 election when he failed to be elected, Ferguson was appointed as the CEO of the Clifford Craig Medical Research Trust. He was subsequently elected to the

at the 2010 state election, securing the highest number of primary votes in Bass (1.5 quotas) and the second highest vote in the state. In April 2010 Ferguson was appointed as Shadow Minister for Education and Skills; and Shadow Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology. Ferguson was re-elected at the 2014 state election, at which the Liberals gained government, and was appointed Minister for Health and Minister for Information Technology and Innovation. As Health Minister, Ferguson led a somewhat contentious reform of the Tasmanian health system by merging the previously three health services into one and changing the services delivered at each of the four hospitals in the state. He has also taken charge of the redevelopment of the Royal Hobart Hospital to ensure that the much-promised building eventuates. His tenure has not been without incident with his appointment of an interim CEO of the merged health service having a side interest in alternative therapies and a series of electrical and computer failures at the ambulance service. He was removed as Health Minister in 2019 after an increasing number of complaints and mistakes in his portfolio including widespread complaints from medical practitioners and a damning report from the Tasmanian Auditor-General. In January 2020, Premier Will Hodgman resigned and Ferguson was a candidate to succeed him as Premier and Liberal leader but ultimately withdrew from the leadership contest. Treasurer Peter Gutwein was instead elected unopposed as Hodgman's successor. There was speculation that Ferguson would succeed Gutwein as Treasurer but in the end Premier Gutwein chose to retain the Treasury portfolio. On 8 April 2022, after Gutwein resigned as Premier, deputy party leader Jeremy Rockliff became party leader, and Ferguson was elected as deputy party premier to replace Rockliff. Ferguson was sworn in as Deputy Premier of Tasmania that afternoon. Ferguson was also sworn in as Minister for Infrastructure and Treasurer

Resignation as minister

Significant problems with the construction of two new '

Spirit of Tasmania TT-Line Company Pty Ltd, trading as Spirit of Tasmania, is a Tasmanian Government-owned business that has been offering ferry services between mainland Australia and Tasmania since July 1993. Navigating the Bass Strait, Spirit of Tasmania f ...

' ferries, including production delays, cost blow-outs, ongoing arguments with the ferry management board and the port authority, plus bungled re-design of the port to accommodate the new ferries and subsequent claims of misleading Parliament resulted in his resignation as Minister for Infrastructure. He continued to hold the position of Deputy Premier and State Treasurer. Anticipating a successful no confidence motion in the Tasmanian Parliament the following day, Ferguson resigned from the Cabinet on 14 October 2024, but will remain a backbencher.

Political views

Ferguson has been described as a "

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

" Liberal, and is opposed to

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

and

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

. In 2018, he criticised the Tasmanian Greens and the Labor Party for their reforms to make birth certificates gender-optional, citing it as a social experiment on children that Tasmanian parents would be "disgusted" by. Ferguson opposed the 2023 Voice to Parliament.

References

External links

Michael Ferguson – official siteClifford Craig Medical Research Trust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Michael 1974 births Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Tasmania Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Bass Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Tasmanian House of Assembly Deputy premiers of Tasmania Treasurers of Tasmania People from Burnie, Tasmania Australian MPs 2004–2007