Tim Mulherin

Timothy Sean Mulherin (24 August 1957 – 7 September 2020) was an Australian politician and member of the Australian Labor Party, who was the MP for Mackay in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland from 1995 to 2015, serving as Deputy Leader of the Opposition from 2012 to 2015.

Early life and career Born in Mackay, he was a clerk on the Mackay Electricity Board before becoming involved in politics.

Political career From 1994 to 1995 he was a state organiser of the Labor Party. In 1995, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Queensland as the Labor member for Mackay, replacing Ed Casey, a former ALP leader. He served as a backbencher until he was named to the Beattie Ministry to replace the disgraced Gordon Nuttall as Minister for Primary Industries and Fisheries in December 2005. He was given additional responsibility for Regional Development in 2009, and his title was recast as Minister for Primary Industries, Fisheries and Rural and Regional Queensland. In February 2011, his title was again changed, this time to Minister for Agriculture, Food and Regional Economies

Mulherin was one of just seven successful Labor candidates at the landslide 2012 Queensland state election. Following the election, he was elected unopposed as deputy leader of the Shadow Ministry of Annastacia Palaszczuk and hence Deputy Opposition Leader.

During the 2015 election campaign, Mulherin announced his retirement citing family and health reasons but remained as Deputy Opposition Leader until polling day. At the time of his retirement, he was the longest-serving Labor member of the Legislative Assembly, and the only one to have previously served in Opposition prior to 2012, having been in Parliament during the 1996–98 Coalition ministry of Rob Borbidge.

Personal life Tim Mulherin was married to Erin and had three children, Declan, Liam and Rory. He died of cancer on 7 September 2020 at the age of 63.

After his death, in June 2022 Mulherin was posthumously appointed Member of the Order of Australia in the 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours for "significant service to the people and Parliament of Queensland".