Brett Raguse

Brett Raguse
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Forde
In office
24 November 2007 – 21 August 2010
Preceded byKay Elson
Succeeded byBert van Manen
Personal details
Born (1960-03-24) 24 March 1960 (age 64)
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Political partyIndependent (since 2016)
Other political
affiliations		Labor (until 2016)
Alma materGriffith University
OccupationTeacher, political advisor

Brett Blair Raguse (born 24 March 1960) is a former Australian politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 2007 to 2010, representing the Division of Forde for the Australian Labor Party (ALP).

Early life

Raguse was born in Brisbane, Queensland.[1] His unwed 17-year-old mother Denise gave him up for adoption at birth. Prior to entering politics he worked as a compositor, schoolteacher and director of a TAFE college.[2]

Politics

Raguse gained Labor pre-selection to contest the normally safe Liberal seat of Forde at the 2007 federal election. A position previously held by retiring Liberal Kay Elson. He won an unexpected 14% swing on election day, easily defeating new Liberal candidate Wendy Creighton in what was generally viewed as one of the main upset results of the election.[3][4] He lost his seat in the 2010 federal election to the LNP candidate Bert van Manen.

In March 2015, Raguse confirmed he would be a candidate for mayor of Logan City in the Queensland local government elections set for 19 March 2016.[5] He placed 2nd behind incumbent Luke Smith.[6]

In 2016, Raguse resigned his Labor party membership to run for Mayor as an Independent.[7]

In 2020, Reguse again ran for mayor and placed 2nd to new Mayor Darren Power.[8]

In 2024, Reguse ran a 3rd time for Logan city Mayor. [9]

References

  1. ^ "Mr Brett Raguse MP". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  2. ^ Houghton, Des (28 March 2008). "New MPs make true confessions". Courier-Mail. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
  3. ^ Chambers, Geoff. "ALP Forde lesson". Gold Coast Bulletin, 26 November 2007.
  4. ^ Flack, Mark. "Raguse rides Labor wave to parliament". Albert and Logan News, 9 November 2007.
  5. ^ Joshua Paterson (25 March 2015). "Brett Raguse wants Logan City mayoralty". Jimboomba Times.
  6. ^ "2016 Logan mayoral results". Electoral commission of Queensland.
  7. ^ "In 2016, when I first decided to run for Mayor, I cut all ties with Labor and have truly been an Independent from that time". Brett Raguse. 3 February 2024.
  8. ^ "2020 Logan mayoral results". Electoral commission of Queensland.
  9. ^ Royce Wilson (25 January 2024). "BRETT RAGUSE ANNOUNCES 2024 LOGAN MAYORAL CANDIDACY". Logan West News.
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Member for Forde
2007–2010 		Succeeded by