Mark Brindal

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Hon. Mark Brindal

Mark Brindal is a former Australian politician. He was a Liberal Party of Australia member of the South Australian House of Assembly, Adelaide, South Australia, between 1989 and 2006, representing the electorates of Heywood (first term) and then Unley.

Brindal held portfolios including Minister for Water Resources, Minister for Employment and Training, Minister Assisting for Tourism, Minister for Local Government, Minister for Employment, Minister for Youth, Minister Assisting for Environment and Heritage, Member of the Executive Council, and shadow portfolios for Water Resources, Youth, Employment and Training, and Local Government.

Brindal's senior advisory staff included: Paul Butler: Chief of Staff 1998 - 2000; Steve Ronson: Chief of Staff 2000 - 2002; Simon Kelly: Adviser 1999 - 2002; Wade Connolly: Parliamentary Clerk 2000 - 2002; Paul Griffin: Researcher 2000 - 2002;

Brindal was credited for achieving significant legislative reviews and policy reforms in all portfolio areas of his responsibility including Local Government, Water Resources, Employment and Training, and Youth.

Brindal was involved in a media controversy leading up to the 2006 state election involving claims of extortion and a relationship with a 24-year-old man whose financial affairs were administered by the public trustee due to "mental incapacity". He was forced by his party division to withdraw, he retired in October.^[1] The following paragraph is a quote from the site pollbludger.com:

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Brindal survived for a second time, but his star waned after the Liberals entered opposition and he was dumped from the front bench in the April 2004 reshuffle to "make way for new talent". A few months earlier, The Advertiser anonymously received a statement from one of Brindal's school students from the late 1960s who alleged he used to hit pupils with a yardstick. This prompted Brindal to threaten those circulating it with criminal defamation action that would "cost them their houses, their savings and possibly their careers". All the while his position in party branches weakened and he ultimately decided to jump rather than be pushed. He later said he was hoping a compromise candidate would emerge to thwart Pisoni; on another occasion he said he might have held on had he forced the issue, though most published opinion suggests otherwise. A candidate did emerge in the person of Chris Kenny, a former journalist and media adviser to Alexander Downer whom Brindal thought the "type of person" who might become leader. Kenny only managed 19 preselection votes to Pisoni's 36, with company consultant Tim Hender scoring seven. At first Brindal threatened to challenge Pisoni as an independent at the election, but he was persuaded to settle for Liberal endorsement for the much less attractive prospect of Adelaide. That came to an end in August 2005 when he outed himself as a bisexual and admitted to an affair with a 24-year-old man whose financial affairs were administered by the public trustee due to "mental incapacity". Brindal said he had been compelled to go public because the man's foster father was trying to extort him. Forced by his party division to withdraw, he continued to keep open the option of contesting Adelaide as an independent, before finally accepting the inevitable and announcing his retirement in October.[1]