Stirling Hinchliffe

Stirling James Hinchliffe (born 23 November 1970) is an Australian diplomat and former politician.

Early life Born in Dalby, Queensland, he was educated at Craigslea State School and Craigslea State High School and received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland. Hinchliffe served as a cabinet minister in the Bligh ministry.

Hinchliffe returned to parliament in 2015 as the member for Sandgate. He was sworn in as Assistant Minister of State Assisting the Premier in the Palaszczuk ministry on 16 February 2015. He was also nominated as Leader of the House, an appointment confirmed when the Legislative Assembly of Queensland met for the first time following the election.

In December 2015, he was elevated to Minister for Transport and the Commonwealth Games.

Following the 2017 state election, Hinchliffe re-entered Cabinet as the Minister for Local Government, Minister for Racing and Minister for Multicultural Affairs. He was charged with responding to a number of integrity issues with the local government sector in Queensland, culminating in him dismissing the entire Ipswich and Logan City Councils. He also oversaw the return of racing to the Eagle Farm Racecourse after extensive track remediation, and has increased funding to multicultural community groups across Queensland.

Following the re-election of the Palaszczuk government in 2020, Hinchliffe was appointed as the Minister for Tourism Industry Development, Innovation and Minister for Sport. On 7 October, following Brisbane's successful bid for the 2032 Olympic Games, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk made a minor reshuffle to her Cabinet. This resulted in Stirling's portfolio being tweaked to become the Minister for Tourism, Innovation and Sport and Minister Assisting the Premier on Olympics and Paralympics Sport and Engagement.

In October 2023, Hinchliffe confirmed he would not be contesting the 2024 Queensland state election, opting to retire to spend more time with his family. After this election, he was succeeded by Bisma Asif.

Post-parliamentary career

In May 2025, Hinchliffe took on the role of Director of Strategy Development at Northern Australia Accommodation Solutions. He currently serves as a volunteer member of the Basketball Queensland Board of Directors. In February 2026, Hinchliffe was appointed as Australia's Consul General in Auckland, New Zealand.