13 Facts About Stuart Copeland

Stuart William Copeland was born on 19 January 1968 and is an Australian politician.

Stuart Copeland was elected at the February 2001 State election after a three cornered contest with the Liberal Party.

Stuart Copeland was one of only 11 National Party MPs to form the official Opposition following Premier Peter Beattie's landslide win gaining 66 seats in the 89 seat Assembly.

Stuart Copeland was appointed Shadow Minister for Families, Disabilities, Youth and The Arts, and went on to hold the portfolios of Education, Training, Multicultural Policy, Health, Open Government, Justice and Attorney General.

Stuart Copeland served on the Criminal Justice Committee, the Crime and Misconduct Committee, The Public Works Committee, the Broadcast of Parliament Select Committee, and various Parliamentary Estimates Committees.

The majority of the new Condamine's voters came from Darling Downs, held by fellow LNP member Ray Hopper, who like Stuart Copeland was from the National side of the merger.

Under LNP rules, Hopper was automatically preselected for Condamine, and Stuart Copeland was effectively barred from standing for the LNP in any seat containing part of the now-abolished Cunningham.

However, this did not eventuate and Stuart Copeland was left without a seat.

At the beginning of the election campaign, Stuart Copeland resigned from the LNP and announced his intention to stand as an independent in Condamine.

Stuart Copeland pushed Labor into third place on the primary vote, but was soundly defeated by Hopper when all preferences were distributed.

In September 2009, the Bligh Government appointed Stuart Copeland to serve as a Director on the Board of Powerlink, a Government Owned Corporation.

In 2011, Stuart Copeland was appointed as State Director of The Nationals in Victoria.

Stuart Copeland is married to Rae McCaull, a former State Secretary of The Nationals in Queensland, and they have two children.