Christian Rowan

Australian politician and physician

Christian Rowan MP
Queensland Parliament

Shadow Minister for Education
Incumbent
Assumed office 15 November 2020
Leader	David Crisafulli
Preceded by	Jarrod Bleijie
Shadow Minister for Arts
Incumbent
Assumed office 15 December 2017
Leader	Deb Frecklington David Crisafulli
Preceded by	Tim Nicholls
Shadow Minister for Communities, Disability Services and Seniors Shadow Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships
In office 15 December 2017 – 15 November 2020
Leader	Deb Frecklington
Preceded by	Ros Bates (Communities, Disability Services and Seniors) Steve Minnikin (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships)
Succeeded by	John-Paul Langbroek (Communities, Disability Services and Seniors) John-Paul Langbroek (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships)
Shadow Minister for Environment and Heritage Protection, Shadow Minister for National Parks and the Great Barrier Reef
In office 6 May 2016 – 15 December 2017
Leader	Tim Nicholls
Preceded by	Stephen Bennett
Succeeded by	David Crisafulli
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Moggill
Incumbent
Assumed office 31 January 2015
Preceded by	Bruce Flegg

Personal details
Born	(1972-10-05) 5 October 1972 (age 51) Brisbane, Queensland
Political party	Liberal National Party
Spouse	Jane Louise Rowan
Children	4 children
Education	University of Queensland
Profession	Physician

Christian Andrew Carr Rowan (born 5 October 1972) is an Australian politician and specialist physician. He has been the Liberal National Party State Member for Moggill in the Queensland Legislative Assembly since 2015.^[1]

Professional career

Rowan is a specialist physician in addiction medicine^[2]^[3] and medical administration.^[4]

Rowan served as President of the Rural Doctors Association of Queensland (RDAQ) from 2006 to 2007, and served as President of the Australian Medical Association of Queensland (AMAQ) from 2013 to 2014. Rowan was awarded an Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine Distinguished Service Award in 2010.^[5]

Rowan was previously the Deputy Chief Medical Officer for Uniting Care Health and Director of Medical Services at St Andrew's War Memorial Hospital. He has also worked as a Director of Medical Services and Medical Superintendent in rural and regional Queensland, predominantly in South-West Queensland but also on the Darling Downs.^[6]

Rowan has also advocated about the growing public health problems of over-the-counter codeine misuse and the emergence of new synthetic drugs.^[2]

Political career

Rowan was first elected to the Queensland Parliament on 31 January 2015 in the seat of Moggill at the Queensland State Election defeating the then Labor candidate Louisa Pink with 58.2 per cent of the two-party preferred vote after preferences.^[1] He was a Deputy Chair of the Health, Communities, Disability Services and Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Committee in the 55th Queensland Parliament.^[5]

In 2014, Rowan was sidelined as a spokesman for the AMAQ after he informed doctors he supported the Newman LNP Government's public hospital contracts. Rowan said the contracts had the "capacity to drive productivity, efficiency, value for money and enhance transparency of outcomes for the public hospital system." The AMA federal president Steve Hambleton replaced Rowan as spokesman for the Queensland campaign to force the State LNP Government to continue negotiating with doctors over dispute resolution procedures, transfers, and dismissal procedures. Rudd reaffirmed that the Queensland division of the association fully supported the doctors' stance on the contracts.^[7]

Rowan in his maiden speech to the Queensland Parliament said "The sustainability of our health system requires productivity, efficiency, accountability, transparency and the ongoing measurement and public reporting of the effectiveness of government investment. Unfortunately, often in health-care individuals and sectional interest groups pursue conflicted agendas related to power, profit and prestige with little regard to the interests of patients, despite the public protestations of those individuals and sectional interest groups to the contrary. That was evident during the recent public sector medical contracts dispute in Queensland."^[6]

Early life and education

Rowan was born in Brisbane, Australia. He completed his secondary education at the Anglican Church Grammar School in East Brisbane. He received his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from The University of Queensland in 1996. He attained a Master of Diplomacy & Trade from Monash University in 2002.^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b Green, Antony. "Moggill". Queensland Election 2015. Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
^ ^a ^b Scott, Leisa (31 August 2013). "Codeine addiction a growing problem". QWeekend The Courier Mail.
^ "Dr Christian Rowan, The Wesley Hospital". The Wesley Hospital.
^ "New Brisbane service to help tackle pain and pharmaceutical dependence". St Andrew's War Memorial Hospital. 2 September 2014.
^ ^a ^b "Queensland Parliament, Dr Christian Rowan".
^ ^a ^b ^c "Inaugural Speech, Christian Rowan" (PDF). Queensland Parliament, Record of Proceedings. 27 March 2015.
^ "AMAQ boss Christian Rowan sidelined after backing Newman Government doctor contracts". Courier Mail. 21 February 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2020.