I was born in Gordonvale and grew up in Edmonton.
Edmonton was just a small country town. It was like so many other sugar towns up and down the Queensland coast. It’s main landmarks were the Hambledon Hotel and The Grafton Hotel. Most people worked for CSR at the Hambledon Sugar Mill, The Queerah Meatworks or maybe the Mulgrave Shire Council.
When I was about 12 years of age my family leased the service station on the main road. We had this business for around 4 years. Around this time my dad became interested in local politics. He became the councillor for the area. This was in the 1970s. This was a good time for Edmonton. The local pool and library were built.
When the Shire Chairman stood down my Dad took on this role. This is a similar role to Mayor. I reacted rebelliously to my Dad being the local mayor. As young person I started acting up and getting into a bit of trouble. This same rebellious nature developed in my political thought as well. In particular, I became outraged at injustice. I saw Aboriginal people living in poor conditions and observed other injustices and inequality. These informed my politics which moved to the left.
On 21 December 1991 I was 21 years of age I was out on a boat with Jenny, my fiancé, and her parents. It was a hot day and I decided to dive into the water. I hit my head on a sandbar and fractured my neck at the C5 vertebrae. This left me a paralysed from my chest down. I have 50% use of my arms. I can use my biceps, not my triceps. I have feeling on top of my shoulders. I am a C5 quadriplegic.
I spent months in hospital in Brisbane. I told my fiancé to go away but she wouldn’t. We got married in the hospital.
When I was discharged from hospital we moved back to Cairns. We built a house in Bentley Park. I started to think about what sort of work I could now do. Many jobs were not available due to my disability. I enrolled in BA in history and politics at James Cook University. I completed the degree with honours and then I completed a Law degree.
My first job was working as a Regional Disability Coordinator for James Cook University. This job was about talking to young people and breaking down the barriers for people with disabilities. It also involved taking young people with disabilities to the campus showing them the facilities, allow them to attend a lecture to show them university could be an option for them. It can provide them with opportunities for work. People with disabilities need all the advantages available to them.
After 7 years my employment contract came to an end. I stood for local government in 2008. I took my long service pay from James Cook University and stood for election for Division 3 of Cairns Regional Council. I was successful and remained a Councillor for 5 years. I then was successful in winning the seat of Cairns in State Parliament where I stayed for 1 term. During that term I found I couldn’t follow the party line. I felt I needed to vote to support the people I represented. This led to me leaving the Australian Labor Party and I wasn’t re elected at the end of 2017. Following this I had a couple of years unemployed and once again stood for Council in 2020, winning Division 2 of Cairns Regional Council.
One of the reasons I like the south side is the people. On the south side you get a lot more people who are keeping it real. There is no hidden agenda. I just feel at home here.