William John Gordon was an Indigenous Australian politician.
12 Facts About Billy Gordon
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Billy Gordon was a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 2015 to 2017, representing the electorate of Cook.
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Billy Gordon was elected as a Labor candidate at the 2015 election before becoming an independent two months later.
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Billy Gordon was one of the first Indigenous Queensland state MPs in a generation.
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In 2015, Billy Gordon was sacked by the Labor Party following disclosures of a criminal record dating back to 1980.
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In 2015, tip offs to the media led to Billy Gordon publicly disclosing a criminal history dating back to the 1980s that he had not disclosed to his colleagues including driving offences, break and entering offences, breach of bail and probation, and an apprehended violence order taken out by his mother.
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In September 2015, Queensland Police dropped the domestic violence charges against Billy Gordon, citing insufficient evidence to prosecute.
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Billy Gordon was charged with drink driving and unlicensed driving on 1 June 2016 while pulled over at a random traffic stop on the Kennedy Highway at Kuranda, on the Atherton Tableland west of Cairns.
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Billy Gordon was taken to the Kuranda police station and allegedly returned a blood-alcohol content reading of 0.094.
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On 1 July 2016, Billy Gordon pleaded guilty to both charges in the Brisbane Magistrates Court.
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Billy Gordon was fined $750 and disqualified from driving for four months.
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Billy Gordon retired from politics at the 2017 election, having confirmed that he would not recontest his seat on 31 October 2017 following the calling of the election.