Peter Beattie - Early Parliamentary Career (1989-1996)

Early Parliamentary Career (1989-1996)

At the 1989 election Beattie was elected to the Queensland Parliament as MP for Brisbane Central. Something of a maverick within the parliamentary party during his early term, Beattie was mistrusted by faction leaders and kept out of the ministry. His main post was as chairman of the parliamentary committee overseeing the Criminal Justice Commission (now the Crime and Misconduct Commission), a role in which he frequently took the side of CJC Commissioner Sir Max Bingham against the Goss government, earning Goss's ire. Beattie also publicly criticised Goss for being out of touch. Goss did not appoint him to the ministry until Labor's near defeat at the 1995 election, where Beattie became Minister for Health. He was only in office for three months before the Goss government lost office following defeat in the Mundingburra by-election.

Goss then stood down as ALP leader, and Beattie was elected in his stead, thus becoming Opposition Leader.

In his first act as Opposition leader he moved a motion in Parliament that was passed preventing the new Coalition government under Rob Borbidge from calling an early election. Labor feared that an early election could give the Coalition an outright majority.