Jim Madden

James Edward Madden (born 12 April 1958) is an Australian politician. He was the Labor member for Ipswich West in the Queensland Legislative Assembly from 2015 to 2024.

Early life and education Madden was born and raised in Ipswich. He is a fifth generation Ipswich West resident since his family came to Australia from Ireland in 1863. He later studied law at QUT.

Career Before the 2015 election, Madden was a lawyer and councillor for Somerset Regional Council from 2012 to 2015.

Queensland state election results Jim Madden was the Labor candidate for Ipswich West in the 2015 Queensland state election. He ran against sitting Liberal National member Sean Choat. Madden won the district with 57.72 percent of the two-party-preferred vote and a positive swing of 14.87 percent.

Madden was re-elected after the 2017 Queensland state election with 58.7 percent of the two-candidate-preferred vote.

At the 2020 Queensland state election, Madden was re-elected with 50.1 percent of the first preference vote and 64.3 percent of the two-candidate-preferred vote.

Member for Ipswich West In October 2015, Liberal National member Ian Rickuss called some Labor MPs, including Madden, "drag queens". Madden responded that Rickuss was "out of touch" and that "jokes made at the expense of the LGBTI community are unacceptable now." Ethics committee members were prohibited from revealing information about their deliberations. He thought his comments to a Queensland Times journalist were "innocuous" but admitted he "should not have spoken to him at all."

In March 2017, Madden supported the Criminal Law Amendment Bill which removed "unwanted sexual advancements" as a partial defence for defendants accused of murder. He described the previous law as a "gay panic defence" which was "archaic". Madden supported an amendment lowering the gestation limit from 22 to 16 weeks.

On 18 April 2023, he announced his intention to retire from politics at the 2024 election. He resigned early on 27 January 2024 to stand for election to the Ipswich City Council.

Personal life Madden is a practicing Catholic.