Robert Joseph Quinn (born 9 September 1947 in Murwillumbah, NSW) is an Australian Liberal Party politician in the Queensland parliament. He was leader of the Queensland Liberal Party from 2001 until being ousted on 7 August 2006 by Bruce Flegg.
Quinn was a schoolteacher before entering politics.
Political career
He was elected to Parliament in 1989 after winning the seat of South Coast. The booming population of the Gold Coast saw Quinn's electorate undergo several redistributions and name changes. He was the member for Merrimac from 1992 to 2001
In November 2005, Independent Gympie MP Elisa Roberts accused Quinn of attempting to bribe her. Roberts alleged Quinn offered her $60,000 to join the Liberal Party before the next state election, due in February 2007. Three separate investigations conducted by the Queensland Electoral Commission, the Crime and Misconduct Commission and the Queensland Police all found insufficient evidence to prove the bribery allegations, thus clearing Quinn of any wrongdoing.
On 7 August 2006, Quinn was ousted by a vote in the Liberal Party party room, culminating with the unanimous election of Bruce Flegg as his replacement. On 11 August 2006 he announced that he would not contest the next state election.
Quinn was also an unsuccessful candidate in 2007 for the Senate vacancy caused by the resignation of former deputy state leader and Quinn's former state parliamentary colleague Santo Santoro.
Quinn is a member of the Local Government Reform Commission.
See also
- Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly, 2004-2006; 2001-2004; 1998-2001; 1995-1998; 1992-1995; 1989-1992