Wyatt Roy
Encyclopedia
Wyatt Beau Roy is an Australian politician. He has been a Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP) member of the Australian House of Representatives
since August 2010, representing the electorate of Longman
. At 20 years of age, he was the youngest person ever to be elected to an Australian parliament. The federal record was previously held by Edwin Corboy
, who was 22 when elected in 1918.
Prior to the election, there was speculation that the Liberal National Party did not want Roy endorsed as the candidate for Longman, because of his youth. However, both Liberal
leader Tony Abbott
and Nationals
leader Warren Truss
publicly endorsed Roy.
Roy's campaign was not without incident. His electoral success may have been helped by a gaffe made by his Labor
opponent and incumbent member, Jon Sullivan
. In the closing week of the 2010 federal election campaign, Sullivan gained national media attention due to a blunder where he criticised the father of a seven-year-old child with a disability for waiting two years on a Queensland Health waiting list, responding to a question at a candidates' forum with a counter-question. Sullivan apologised to the father at the first available opportunity and dismissed the significance of the gaffe, in the days following his defeat. A week earlier, one of Roy's campaign volunteers was involved in an incident, captured on video. The footage allegedly shows a member of Roy's campaign team hitting a Labor supporter in the face while campaigning. The LNP claimed the attack was provoked and brought about by the Labor campaign worker holding a giant L-plate
sign next to a poster of Roy.
Australian House of Representatives
The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....
since August 2010, representing the electorate of Longman
Division of Longman
The Division of Longman is an Australian Electoral Division in Queensland. The division was first proclaimed in 1994. The division is named after Irene Longman, the first female Member of the Queensland State Parliament and the third woman elected to a parliament in Australia.-Boundaries:Longman...
. At 20 years of age, he was the youngest person ever to be elected to an Australian parliament. The federal record was previously held by Edwin Corboy
Edwin Corboy
Edwin Wilkie "Ted" Corboy was an Australian politician. From 1918 until 2010 Corboy held the record as the youngest ever Australian Member of Parliament.-Early life:...
, who was 22 when elected in 1918.
Prior to the election, there was speculation that the Liberal National Party did not want Roy endorsed as the candidate for Longman, because of his youth. However, both Liberal
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
leader Tony Abbott
Tony Abbott
Anthony John "Tony" Abbott is the Leader of the Opposition in the Australian House of Representatives and federal leader of the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott has represented the seat of Warringah since the 1994 by-election...
and Nationals
National Party of Australia
The National Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Traditionally representing graziers, farmers and rural voters generally, it began as the The Country Party, but adopted the name The National Country Party in 1975, changed to The National Party of Australia in 1982. The party is...
leader Warren Truss
Warren Truss
Warren Errol Truss , Australian politician, is the current leader of the National Party of Australia in the Parliament of Australia. He has held the House of Representatives seat of Wide Bay since the 1990 election...
publicly endorsed Roy.
Roy's campaign was not without incident. His electoral success may have been helped by a gaffe made by his Labor
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
opponent and incumbent member, Jon Sullivan
Jon Sullivan
Jonathan Harold "Jon" Sullivan , an Australian politician, was a member of the Australian House of Representatives from 2007 to 2010, representing the seat of Longman for the Australian Labor Party and previously, a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 1989 to 1998, representing the...
. In the closing week of the 2010 federal election campaign, Sullivan gained national media attention due to a blunder where he criticised the father of a seven-year-old child with a disability for waiting two years on a Queensland Health waiting list, responding to a question at a candidates' forum with a counter-question. Sullivan apologised to the father at the first available opportunity and dismissed the significance of the gaffe, in the days following his defeat. A week earlier, one of Roy's campaign volunteers was involved in an incident, captured on video. The footage allegedly shows a member of Roy's campaign team hitting a Labor supporter in the face while campaigning. The LNP claimed the attack was provoked and brought about by the Labor campaign worker holding a giant L-plate
L-plate
An L-plate is a square plate bearing a sans-serif letter L, for learner, which must be affixed to the front and back of a vehicle in many countries if its driver is a learner under instruction, or a motorcycle rider with provisional entitlement to ride restricted motorcycles.- Australia :In...
sign next to a poster of Roy.