25 Facts About Mal Brough

Malcolm Thomas Brough is an Australian former politician.

Mal Brough represented the Liberal Party in the House of Representatives and held ministerial office in the Howard and Turnbull governments.

Mal Brough was first elected to parliament at the 1996 federal election, representing the Queensland seat of Longman.

Mal Brough was made a parliamentary secretary in 2000 and subsequently served as Minister for Employment Services and Minister for Revenue and Assistant Treasurer.

Mal Brough was promoted to cabinet in 2006 as Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, and subsequently oversaw the controversial Northern Territory Emergency Response.

Mal Brough lost his seat at the 2007 election, at which the government was defeated.

Mal Brough returned to federal parliament in 2013, standing in the seat of Fisher.

In September 2015 Brough was reappointed to the ministry by Malcolm Turnbull, who replaced Tony Abbott as Liberal leader and prime minister.

Mal Brough was born on 29 December 1961 in Brisbane, Queensland.

Mal Brough served in the Australian Army from 1979 to 1987 following this he worked in the private sector.

Mal Brough's brother Rob Brough is a Seven News presenter and former host of Family Feud.

Mal Brough was Minister for Families and Community Services and Indigenous Affairs from January 2006 to November 2007.

Mal Brough was one of a number of government MPs including Prime Minister John Howard who lost their seats at the 2007 election.

Mal Brough suffered a swing of 10.3 points in the two-party-preferred vote in his seat, to finish with a vote of 46.4 percent.

Mal Brough switched to the seat of Fisher and won it back from Liberal turned independent and the Speaker of the House of Representatives Peter Slipper at the 2013 federal election.

Mal Brough was elected as the President of the Queensland division of the Liberal Party in May 2008.

Mal Brough remained in that position after a vote in July 2008 to merge into the new Liberal National Party of Queensland.

Mal Brough opposed the merger as it had not received final ratification from the federal Liberal Party.

Mal Brough criticised the party leading up to the 2010 election on its absence of policies, but he did not rule out running for his resident seat of Fisher against Peter Slipper, a National party member who had joined the Liberals.

In 2006, Mal Brough was the Minister for Families and Community Services and Indigenous Affairs.

In mid-2012, following the defection of Peter Slipper from the Liberals to become an independent MP and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mal Brough announced that he was seeking LNP preselection for the seat of Fisher for the 2013 federal election.

Justice Steve Rares found that Mal Brough had acted with Ashby and another Slipper staffer, Karen Doane, in abusing the judicial process for the "purpose of causing significant public, reputational and political damage to Mr Slipper".

In March 2013, Mal Brough was the subject of controversy after posting a mock menu ahead of a Liberal Party fundraiser, which included an obscene characterisation of the body of then-Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

Gillard and former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd subsequently called for Mal Brough to be disendorsed; Opposition Leader Tony Abbott condemned the comments but stated that Mal Brough should not be disendorsed.

On 29 December 2015 Mal Brough stood down from the Turnbull Ministry and moved to the backbench pending the completion of an investigation by the Australian Federal Police over the alleged copying of the diary of former speaker Peter Slipper.