Rowan Holzberger

Rowan Aubrey Victor Holzberger (born 8 January 1973) is an Australian politician, and formerly a farmer and small business owner. He was elected to the Australian House of Representatives at the 2025 federal election for the Division of Forde.

Early life Holzberger was born on 8 January 1973 in Brisbane, Queensland. He moved to Broken Hill with his family at the age of 11. As a young man, Holzberger attended university in Adelaide, and served as a political staffer for Peter Duncan during the Keating government.

After Labor lost the 1996 federal election, Holzberger returned to Broken Hill where he worked as a fitter and machinist, then a farmer on a sheep and cattle station, and at one point owned a contract mustering business. He eventually moved back to Brisbane and then the Gold Coast where he ran another small business, before settling in Beenleigh, where he has lived with his family since 2006. Holzberger has reputedly known Prime Minister Anthony Albanese since the age of 14.

Political career

Before entering politics, Holzberger worked as an electorate officer for Senator Murray Watt and Queensland state MP Shannon Fentiman.

In the 2015 state election, he ran for the division of Southport, but lost to MP Rob Molhoek. Holzberger subsequently ran for the division of Bonney in the 2017 state election, losing to MP Sam O'Connor. He contested Forde at the 2022 federal election, losing to incumbent MP Bert van Manen by approximately 8,000 votes. In 2025, he contested Forde for a second time, winning 51.8% of the vote after preference distributions and securing a 6% swing to Labor.

Holzberger made his maiden speech to the federal parliament on 24 July 2025.

Electoral History

+ Queensland Legislative Assembly Election year Electorate Party Votes FP% +/- 2PP% +/- Result 2015 Southport Labor 10,153 35.09 6.66 46.76 11.48 2017 Bonney Labor 9,279 35.70 0.70 48.30 0.50

+ Australian House of Representatives Election year Electorate Party Votes FP% +/- 2PP% +/- Result 2022 Forde Labor 26,497 28.01 1.50 45.77 4.37 2025 Labor 26,821 34.24 6.23 51.77 6.00