Brett Raguse
Australian politician (born 1960)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Brett Blair Raguse (born 24 March 1960) is an Australian former 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).
Brett Raguse | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Forde | |
| In office 24 November 2007 – 21 August 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Kay Elson |
| Succeeded by | Bert van Manen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 March 1960 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
| Party | Independent (since 2016) |
| Other political affiliations | Labor (until 2016) |
| Alma mater | Griffith University |
| Occupation | Teacher, political advisor |
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, Raguse again ran for mayor and placed 2nd to new Mayor Darren Power.[8]
In 2024, Raguse ran a 3rd time for Logan city Mayor.[9]