Liz Cunningham

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Elizabeth Anne "Liz" Cunningham is an Australian politician. She has been an independent member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly since 1995, representing the electorate of Gladstone. She is most famous for bringing the Borbidge Coalition minority government to power in the same year.

Cunningham served on the Calliope Shire Council from 1988 to 1995 and was the Council's mayor from 1991 to 1995. Her first attempt to enter state parliament was in 1992 when she was narrowly defeated by Australian Labor Party candidate Neil Bennett. She defeated Bennett on her second attempt in 1995 with the help of National Party preferences, depriving Labor of what would normally have been a safe seat.

It initially appeared that the incumbent premier, the ALP's Wayne Goss would retain a one-seat majority in the Legislative Assembly, limiting Cunningham's influence. However, after election irregularities in the seat of Mundingburra, narrowly won by the ALP's Ken Davies, the Court of Disputed Returns ordered a by-election. When Frank Tanti, Davies' Liberal rival, won the Mundingburra by-election in February 1996, Queensland found itself with a hung parliament. As the only independent member of Parliament, the somewhat conservative Cunningham was left as the kingmaker. After prolonged negotiations with both sides, she agreed to support the National-Liberal coalition, mainly in return for promises of government attention to local concerns, such as the Gladstone hospital, allowing Rob Borbidge to be installed as Premier. While there was some suggestion that Cunningham may become Speaker in the new parliament, she continually refused, insisting that this would compromise her ability to represent her electorate.

Throughout her first term, Cunningham generally supported the Coalition government. With her support, Borbidge was able to fend off numerous no-confidence motions and pass most of his major legislative proposals. When the ALP moved against the government over the Carruthers and Connolly-Ryan inquiries, Cunningham helped block a no-confidence motion in the government and, although she passed a motion against Attorney-General Denver Beanland, insisted that she did not demand his resignation. This resulted in criticism from some quarters that she was effectively another National Party MP.

She nevertheless insisted that the government consult with her on most legislation, including budgets and, when willing, she was also able to exercise significant power. This was made clear in 1996, when she watered down the government's workplace compensation reforms, despite strong government resistance, so as to retain access to the common law for injured workers. As a generally conservative MP, Cunningham became known for her opposition to abortion and her support of capital punishment. In 1996, she was the only member of the parliament to oppose new gun control reforms in the aftermath of the Port Arthur Massacre, which otherwise received bipartisan support. The following year, Cunningham was responsible for a Private Member's Bill which successfully defined the term "life" in the state's criminal code as "beginning at conception".

Cunningham increased her primary vote at the 1998 state election, but her political influence severely declined when Peter Beattie formed an ALP government with the support of newly-elected independent Peter Wellington. Taking a similar line to the state National Party, Cunningham had noted in the lead-up to the election that she would be willing to work with any members of the far-right One Nation party if they were elected. She again held her seat at the 2001 election.

In April 2002, Cunningham was stopped by police while driving and asked to undergo a breath test. She refused on the grounds of suffering asthma, and was subsequently charged. After receiving little sympathy from Premier Beattie, she was fined and had her driving license suspended. Her third term was also marked by an attempt to ban flag-burning, which failed after the government blocked her Private Member's Bill on the grounds that it violated free speech, and an attempt to call a Commission of Inquiry into child sexual abuse in foster care, which also failed due to opposition from the government. She received her highest primary vote yet at the 2004 election and easily held the seat without going to preferences.