Aidan McLindon

Aidan Patrick McLindon (born 26 February 1980) was an Australian politician. He was first elected for the seat of Beaudesert to the Queensland State Parliament for the Liberal National Party at the 2009 state election. He resigned from that party to become an independent in May 2010, and in June 2010 he established The Queensland Party, which he merged with Katter's Australian Party in August 2011. He lost his seat to the LNP at the 2012 election.[1][2] Bob Katter appointed McLindon as National Director for the newly created Katter's Australian Party. 18 months later McLindon resigned to spend more time with his family.[3][4] McLindon established an independent political consultancy, AMac Consultants Pty Ltd, following the 2013 federal election. He is no longer affiliated to any political party.

Aidan McLindon
Leader of the Queensland Party
In office 20 June 2010 – 24 March 2012
Deputy	Peter Pyke
Preceded by	Party created
Succeeded by	Party dissolved;State Leader of Katter's Australian Party in Queensland)
Member of the Queensland Parliament for Beaudesert
In office 21 March 2009 – 24 March 2012
Preceded by	Kev Lingard
Succeeded by	Jon Krause
Personal details
Born	Aidan Patrick McLindon 26 February 1980 Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
Residence	Mornington Peninsula, Victoria, Australia Australian (2012–2013) Queensland (2010–2012) Liberal National (2008–2010) Liberal (1997–2008)
Education	Springwood State High School St. Joseph's College
Alma mater	La Trobe University Griffith University
Occupation	Consulting company chairman (AMAC Consultants Pty Ltd)
Profession	Consultant Businessman Politician

Early life and background

McLindon was born in Darwin, Northern Territory, and was a bar attendant and musician before entering politics. He attended school at Springwood State High School where he was elected a prefect.

McLindon gained some publicity in the media for his musical interests, especially his involvement in the alternative rock band KiLLTV. [5][6]

His military service included roles as an infantry soldier and driver 1997–2002 in the Australian Army.

McLindon cites an early interest in politics at the age of 15 from work experience at Queensland Parliament House in 1995. He later went on to complete a degree in Government and Politics, majoring in Public Policy, at Griffith University.[7] McLindon acknowledged a number of academics and political scientists from the university in his inaugural speech to Queensland Parliament.[8]

Political career

In 1998 McLindon was preselected by the Liberal Party to run for the state seat of Waterford as Australia's youngest politically endorsed candidate at the age of 17 years and completed a personal door to door campaign to 17,500 homes.[9]

McLindon served as a Logan City councillor 2004–2009, including as Chair of the Environment and Sustainability portfolio. In 2009 he was preselected to succeed Kev Lingard as the Liberal National Party candidate for Beaudesert.[10]

The Beaudesert campaign of 2009 saw several high-profile identities and McLindon successfully defended the seat for the LNP against former One Nation leader Pauline Hanson who contested the seat as an independent.

In early 2010, McLindon attracted significant media attention by challenging Deputy Leader of the Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP), Lawrence Springborg, for his position in the party at a parliamentary meeting of the LNP.[11]

In May 2010, McLindon and Burnett MP Rob Messenger, who had seconded McLindon's nomination as deputy leader, resigned from the LNP to sit as Independents, claiming that the party had become victim to "flawed political process".[12]

In June 2010, McLindon announced the formation of a new party, The Queensland Party, based on "moderate" ideals. McLindon stated that the party would run in all Queensland seats at the next state election, with the exception of the five seats held by Independent MPs.[13]

McLindon has advocated the removal of poker machines from towns and cities around Queensland to be moved into a new "AusVegas" in the Cairns region.[14] He has also been a vocal advocate for the restoration of the Upper House in Queensland.[15]

In August 2011, McLindon announced the merger of The Queensland Party with Bob Katter's Australian Party. Some members of The Queensland Party opposed the merger but an Electoral Commission of Queensland investigation found that they did not have the required numbers to maintain the separate registration of the party and it was removed from the register of political parties in December 2011.[16] Most Queensland Party candidates were endorsed by Katter's Australian Party.[17] As part of the deal, McLindon became the merged party's Queensland state leader.

McLindon has had no political party affiliations since 2013.

 Conservatism portal

References

1. "Rumours of Kevin Rudd return 'sparked shotgun merger'". Herald Sun. 23 September 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
2. Houghton, Des (11 August 2011). "Merger talk threatens new party". Courier Mail. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
3. Jabour, Bridie (8 May 2013). "McLindon resigns as KAP national director". Brisbane Times. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
4. "Aidan McLindon new lead Senate candidate for Family First". The Chronicle. 9 August 2013. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013.
5. Syvret, Paul (6 February 2010). "Inside the party yelling out". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 5 April 2017.
6. Barrett, Chris (25 February 2009). "Hanson faces up against Big Brother pest". Brisbane Times. Archived from the original on 5 May 2009. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
7. "Aidan McLindon – Lawrence Springborg's Representative for Beaudesert". Liberal National Party of Queensland. 2009. Archived from the original on 12 March 2009.
8. "Extract from Daily Hansard Wednesday, 22 April 2009" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
9. Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
10. "Former Members". Parliament of Queensland. 2015. Archived from the original on 4 February 2015. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
11. "Home truths must be told: editorial". The Courier-Mail. 1 February 2010. Archived from the original on 5 February 2010.
12. "LNP revolt as MPs Rob Messenger and Aidan McLindon quit the party to become Independents". Courier Mail. 5 May 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
13. Binnie, Kerrin; Kim Lyell (7 June 2010). "McLindon unveils new 'Queensland Party'". ABC. Archived from the original on 11 June 2010. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
14. "Push to turn Cairns into Australia's Las Vegas". The Sydney Morning Herald. 6 July 2010. Archived from the original on 9 July 2010.
15. "QLD Mayors to form Upper House". The Queensland Party. Archived from the original on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
16. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 26 January 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
17. "Our People – Katter's Australian Party". ausparty.org.au. Archived from the original on 20 March 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2018.