Terence Michael "Terry" Mackenroth (born 16 July 1949) is a former Queensland Australian Labor Party politician, serving almost 28 years with a notable parliamentary service history and a number of ministerial roles including Treasurer and Deputy Premier.
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Mackenroth was first elected on 12 November 1977 in the southern Brisbane seat of Chatsworth.
Mackenroth was Minister for Police and Emergency Services and Leader of the House from 7 December 1989 to 10 December 1991, then Minister for Housing and Local Government until the Goss government lost power on 19 February 1996.
Whilst in opposition, Mackenroth was Shadow Minister for Housing, Local Government and Planning, Communication and Information from 17 December 1996 to 26 June 1998.
After the ALP returned to power under Peter Beattie in 1998, Mackenroth returned to Ministerial rank, picking-up portfolios of Regional and Rural Communities (until 16 December 1999), Local Government and Planning (until 30 November 2000) and Communication and Information (until 22 February 2001).
Described favourably by Beattie as a "tough son-of-a-bitch",[1] Mackenroth was made Deputy Premier on 30 November 2000 after the former deputy premier, Jim Elder, resigned from the party before he admitted to electoral fraud at a Criminal Justice Commission inquiry into electoral rorting. With the developing scandal, Beattie trusted Mackenroth to help him save the government. He was known as "The Fox" within government for his political intelligence and strategies.
On 22 February 2001, Mackenroth took on the position of Treasurer. He remained as Treasurer and Deputy Premier for over four years until his resignation from parliament on 25 July 2005.
In April 2007 Mackenroth was appointed a panelist on the Local Government Reform Commission.[2]
In August 2009 Mackenroth gained media attention for his business activities and the Premier Anna Bligh referred his name for investigation to the Crime and Misconduct Commission. (The Courier Mail 30 July and 4 August). In his ministerial role Mackenroth was responsible for overseeing the creation of the SEQ Regional Plan. 25 days after the plan was locked in he resigned from Parliament and less than 2 months later he became a Director of Devine Ltd, a residential property development company. Devine used legal loopholes in the SEQ Plan to gain approval to build 527 homes on the Currumbin Hideaway site that was outside the urban zoning of the plan. This site was sold 6 months after approval for $48 million more than the purchase price. Mackenroth was also a consultant on a similar project in Caboolture which attracted media interest (Courier Mail 4 Aug) and in August 2009, because of these and other reports, the Qld Premier announced a Green Paper on Integrity and Accountability in Qld.
He is married with two daughters and is a qualified welder. Prior to his entry into politics, Mackenroth was principal in a steel fabrication and building company.
Mackenroth was appointed a director of the Queensland-based property development company Devine Limited on 29 September 2005.
After north Queensland was ravaged by Cyclone Larry on 20 March 2006, Mackenroth was appointed to help in the recovery of the region.
| Preceded by David Hamill |
Treasurer of Queensland 2001–2005 |
Succeeded by Peter Beattie |