Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced Mark Denham, 58, will join her team to contest Noosa for Labor in the election to be held later this year.
Mr Denham has served Noosa as a paramedic for more than 30 years, and lobbied for the delivery of the Tewantin Ambulance Station for his community.
He is an active supporter of the Sunshine Coast Autism Support Group, “A Little Sparkles”, and also supports Variety Australia.
Having raised four children in the area, and with eight grandchildren, Mr Denham understands the pressures of raising a family in regional Queensland.
The Premier said Mark Denham had the experience and energy to be a strong voice for his local community.
“We need local champions like Mark so we can keep delivering more jobs, more industries, better frontline services, and the infrastructure Queensland needs for the future,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
Mr Denham said he was proud to be part of a team which is on the side of all Queenslanders – a team that’s backing Queensland jobs and focussed on frontline services.
“Because of the Palaszczuk Government’s investment in local frontline health services, our area has been well prepared to deal with the COVID-19 health emergency,” Mr Denham said.
“Locally in our region, there has been an extra 1,170 nurses and midwives, 360 extra doctors and 909 extra teachers deployed on the frontline since 2015.
“Queensland can’t afford to go back to the bad old days when Deb Frecklington was Campbell Newman’s apprentice, and the LNP cut funding, sacked workers and tried to sell assets.
Mr Denham remembers all too well the impact to the community under an LNP administration.
“When the LNP was last in Government it sacked 44 nurses from the Sunshine Coast health services and our community still remembers when the LNP closed the Tewantin TAFE Campus,” Mr Denham said.
“Noosa deserve a fighter for this community, and I’m ready to go.”
