{"id":197789,"date":"2017-12-12T15:12:29","date_gmt":"2017-12-12T05:12:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=197789"},"modified":"2020-08-09T15:34:39","modified_gmt":"2020-08-09T05:34:39","slug":"lnp-elects-deb-to-top-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2017\/12\/12\/lnp-elects-deb-to-top-role\/","title":{"rendered":"LNP Elects Deb To Top Role"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Deb and Jason Frecklington with daughters Elke and Lucy playing touch footy in Kingaroy last year<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

December 12, 2017<\/strong><\/p>\n

She’s done it! Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington was elected Opposition Leader at an LNP Party Room meeting on Tuesday afternoon.<\/p>\n

Bookmakers had Mrs Frecklington slotted in as favourite but she had to ward off challenges from Member for Surfers Paradise and former Opposition Leader John-Paul Langbroek – who held the post from 2009-2011 – and outsider, Member for Oodgeroo (formerly Cleveland) Dr Mark Robinson.<\/p>\n

She is the first woman to head the LNP.<\/p>\n

Member for Everton Tim Mander was elected Deputy Opposition Leader.<\/p>\n

Mrs Frecklington, a former Kingaroy solicitor, was elected to the seat of Nanango at the 2012 Queensland poll.<\/p>\n

She increased her margin at both the 2015 and the 2017 State elections.<\/p>\n

In the Newman Government, Mrs Frecklington served as Assistant Minister for Finance, Administration and Regulatory Reform.<\/p>\n

In Opposition, she has filled the roles of Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; and Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, State Development,Trade and Investment.<\/p>\n

On May 6 last year she was appointed Deputy Opposition Leader under LNP leader Tim Nicholls.<\/p>\n

In 2011 – before she entered Parliament – Mrs Frecklington told South Burnett Online she saw a career in politics as being a natural progression of her role as an advocate for the people.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“I have always been interested in politics, coming from a conservative background,” she said.<\/p>\n

Mrs Frecklington, 46, was raised on a cattle property at Guluguba, near Wandoan, and attended Ipswich Girls Grammar school. Her father, grazier Don Stiller, was mayor of Taroom Shire from 1997 until council amalgamations occurred in 2008.<\/p>\n

Deborah and her husband Jason managed cropping properties at Meandarra while she studied law.<\/p>\n

She said her family had made a commitment to the South Burnett region when they moved here in 2007. Her sister Jackie Allery is principal at Raine & Horne, Kingaroy<\/p>\n

Mrs Frecklington was a partner with Andrew Kelly in Kingaroy law firm Kelly & Frecklington Pty Ltd and until recently her husband owned the Gloria Jeans Coffees franchise in Kingaroy Shoppingworld.<\/p>\n

He is now working on an agricultural project with Cherbourg Council.<\/p>\n

The couple has three children – Isabella, Lucy and Elke – who all attended local schools.<\/p>\n

Mrs Frecklington served terms as secretary of the Kingaroy Chamber of Commerce and Industry, president of the South Burnett Law Association, and was an active member of the South Burnett Suicide Prevention Group.<\/p>\n

She has been a member of the LNP since June 2010.<\/p>\n