Rosa Theresa Lee Long (born 2 October 1945) is a former member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly representing the electorate Tablelands in Northern Queensland, Australia for the One Nation Party. Lee Long served three consecutive terms in office between 2001 and 2009, making her One Nation's longest serving politician.[1]
Prior to the 2009 Queensland state election, the electorate of Tablelands was abolished and the Electoral district of Dalrymple was introduced. Lee Long contested the new electorate but lost to Liberal National candidate Shane Knuth.
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Lee Long was born in Atherton, Queensland, and has three daughters.[2] Lee Long is a widow, her late husband was of Chinese descent,[3] a fact that has aroused considerable interest given the One Nation Party's strong anti-immigration stance.[4]
Before entering parliament, Lee Long worked as a grazier, a public servant, and owned a small business.[2]
Lee Long was elected to the Queensland Legislative Assembly in 2001 to represent the seat of Tablelands. Tablelands had before 1998 been a safe seat for the National Party, but fell at the 1998 election to Shaun Nelson of the One Nation Party. Lee Long was a campaign worker for Nelson during this election. Nelson subsequently left the party in 1999 amid internal tensions, and recontested the seat at the 2001 election as an independent, losing out to Lee Long. By this point, support for the One Nation party had sharply declined from the party's high point, and Lee Long was one of only three One Nation MPs in the Legislative Assembly.
In her inaugural address to parliament, Lee Long attacked globalisation and the Government's policy of privatisation, blaming them for a decline in the agricultural and mining industries in her electorate.[3]
She has been a member of the Legal, Constitutional and Administrative Review Committee since 11 October 2006, and a member of the Estimates Committee in both 2006 and 2008. She has also previously served on the Members' Ethics and Parliamentary Privileges Committee from 18 March 2004 to 15 August 2006, the Scrutiny of Legislation Committee (3 May 2001 – 13 January 2004), and the Select Committee on Travelsafe (2 May 2001 to 13 January 2004).[2]
Despite the disintegration of the One Nation Party and Pauline Hanson's departure to form a new party, Pauline's United Australia Party, Lee Long in a television interview leading up to that election, stated that she still agreed with Hanson's policies, saying "Pauline Hanson was right back then, she's right now, and we have to continue the fight".[5]
| Date of election | Constituency | Party | Result | Primary % | 2PP % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Tablelands | ONP | Elected | 47[6] | |
| 2004 | Tablelands | ONP | Elected | 46.96[7] | 65[8] |
| 2006 | Tablelands | ONP | Elected | 50.06[9] | 69.5[10] |
| 2009 | Dalrymple | ONP | Defeated | 32[11] |
| Parliament of Queensland | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Shaun Nelson |
Member for Tablelands 2001-2009 |
Succeeded by Seat abolished |