Rosa Lee Long

Australian politician

Rosa Lee Long

Mayor of Tablelands Regional Council
In office 28 April 2012 – 19 March 2016
Preceded by	Tom Gilmore
Succeeded by	Joe Paronella
Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly for Tablelands
In office 17 February 2001 – 20 March 2009
Preceded by	Shaun Nelson
Succeeded by	Constituency abolished
Leader of One Nation Queensland Elections: 2006, 2009
In office 7 February 2004 – 20 March 2009
Deputy	Jim Savage
Preceded by	Bill Flynn
Succeeded by	Ian Nelson

Personal details
Born	Rosa Theresa Schmid (1945-10-02) 2 October 1945 (age 78) Atherton, Queensland, Australia
Political party	One Nation
Occupation	Small business proprietor (Self–employed)
Profession	Public servant Businesswoman Politician

Rosa Therese Lee Long (née Schmid, born 2 October 1945) is a former member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland representing the electorate of Tablelands in Northern Queensland, Australia for the One Nation Party. Lee Long served three consecutive terms in office between 2001 and 2009, making her One Nation's longest-serving politician.^[1]

Prior to the 2009 Queensland state election, the electorate of Tablelands was abolished, and much of its territory was merged with neighbouring Charters Towers to form the new seat of Dalrymple. Lee Long contested the new electorate against Shane Knuth, the Liberal National member for Charters Towers. However, the new seat contained more of Knuth's territory than Lee Long's, and Lee Long took only 44 percent of the two-party vote to Knuth's 55 percent.

Lee Long was the mayor of the Tablelands Region from April 2012 until March 2016.

Personal life

Lee Long was born in Atherton, Queensland, and has three daughters.^[2] Lee Long is a widow, and her late husband was of Chinese descent,^[3] a fact that aroused considerable interest given One Nation's strong anti-immigration stance.^[4]

Before Parliament

Before entering parliament, Lee Long worked as a grazier, a public servant, and owned a small business.^[2]

Parliamentary career

Lee Long was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland in 2001 to represent the seat of Tablelands. Tablelands had before 1998 been a safe seat for the National Party, but fell at the 1998 election to Shaun Nelson of the One Nation Party. Lee Long was a campaign worker for Nelson during this election. Nelson subsequently left the party in 1999 amid internal tensions, and recontested the seat at the 2001 election as an independent, losing out to Lee Long. By this point, support for the One Nation party had sharply declined from the party's high point, and Lee Long was one of only three One Nation MPs in the Legislative Assembly.

In her inaugural address to parliament, Lee Long attacked globalisation and the Government's policy of privatisation, blaming them for a decline in the agricultural and mining industries in her electorate.^[3]

She was a member of the Legal, Constitutional and Administrative Review Committee from 11 October 2006, and a member of the Estimates Committee in both 2006 and 2008. She also served on the Members' Ethics and Parliamentary Privileges Committee from 18 March 2004 to 15 August 2006, the Scrutiny of Legislation Committee (3 May 2001 – 13 January 2004), and the Select Committee on Travelsafe (2 May 2001 to 13 January 2004).^[2]

Political views

Despite the disintegration of the One Nation Party and Pauline Hanson's departure to form a new party, Pauline's United Australia Party, in a television interview leading up to the 2006 state election, Lee Long stated that she still agreed with Hanson's policies: "Pauline Hanson was right back then, she's right now, and we have to continue the fight".^[5]

Elections contested

Date of election	Constituency	Party	Result	Primary %	2PP %
2001	Tablelands	ONP	Elected	36.99	63.81
2004	Tablelands	ONP	Elected	46.96^[6]	65^[7]
2006	Tablelands	ONP	Elected	50.06^[8]	69.5^[9]
2009	Dalrymple	ONP	Defeated	32.0^[10]	44.8^[11]

External links

"Lee Long, Rosa". Queensland Parliament. Archived from the original on 4 February 2009. Retrieved 9 January 2017.

References

^ "Queensland Parliament - FAQ". Archived from the original on 6 April 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2008..
^ ^a ^b ^c "Former Members". Parliament of Queensland. 2015. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
^ ^a ^b Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Steketee, Mike (8 September 2006). "Pauline Hanson's legacy". The Australian. Archived from the original on 17 August 2008. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
^ Berkman, Karen (1 September 2006). "September Poll". Stateline Queensland. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 13 February 2009. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
^ "District Summary - Tablelands - 2004 Election". Archived from the original on 28 July 2008. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
^ "2004 Queensland Election, Electorate Results (Tablelands)". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 7 March 2005. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
^ "District Summary - Tablelands - 2006 Election". Archived from the original on 28 July 2008. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
^ "2006 Queensland Election, Electorate Results (Tablelands)". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 12 October 2008. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
^ "2009 Queensland Election - ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
^ Electoral results for the district of Dalrymple