Scott Buchholz | |
|---|---|
 Buchholz in 2020 | |
| Assistant Minister for Road Safety and Freight Transport | |
| In office 28 August 2018 – 23 May 2022 | |
| Prime Minister | Scott Morrison |
| Chief Government Whip in the House of Representatives | |
| In office 13 February 2015 – 23 September 2015 | |
| Prime Minister | Tony Abbott Malcolm Turnbull |
| Preceded by | Philip Ruddock |
| Succeeded by | Nola Marino |
| Member of theAustralian Parliament forWright | |
| Assumed office 21 August 2010 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1968-03-27)27 March 1968 (age 57) Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia |
| Party | National (to 2008) LNP (from 2008) |
| Other political affiliations | Liberal (parliamentary, since 2010) |
| Education | St. Brendan's College, Yeppoon |
| Alma mater | University of Southern Queensland (MBA) |
| Profession | Businessman |
| Website | www |
Scott Andrew Buchholz (/ˈbʊkɒlts/BUUK-olts;[1] born 27 March 1968) is an Australian politician. He is a member of theLiberal National Party of Queensland (LNP) and served as anassistant minister in theMorrison government from 2018 until May 2022, following the appointment of theAlbanese ministry. He has represented the seat ofWright since the2010 federal election, sitting with the parliamentaryLiberal Party, and previously served aschief government whip in the House of Representatives in theAbbott government in 2015. He was a businessman in the transport industry before entering politics.
Buchholz was born on 27 March 1968 inRockhampton, Queensland.[2] His father died when he was eight years old, after which he and his three siblings were raised by their mother on a widow's pension.[3] He attendedSt. Brendan's College, Yeppoon.[4]
From 1985 to 1987 Buchholz worked as aringer on a station inKilcummin.[2][3] He subsequently moved toEmerald and worked in the agri-finance industry.[3] Buchholz eventually established his own freight and courier business, starting with a contract for newspaper delivery between Emerald and Rockhampton. This was expanded, partially through mergers and acquisitions, to "14 depots across the state, employing 105 permanent staff and subcontractors".[3] As of 2018 Buchholz was a director and shareholder of Central Queensland Express Holdings and Toowoomba Express Couriers.[5] He was also a director of Lifeline Community Care.[6]
Buchholz was originally a member of theQueensland Nationals, serving as a delegate to state conference from 2007 and as chief of staff to the party's Senate leaderBarnaby Joyce.[2] He stood as aSenate candidate for the party at the2007 federal election, placed sixth and last on the jointCoalition ticket.[7] He was later appointed chairman of the transition action committee that conducteddue diligence on the creation of theLiberal National Party of Queensland (LNP) in 2008 as a merger of the Nationals andLiberals.[3]
In June 2010, Buchholz won LNPpreselection for the newly createdDivision of Wright, defeating seven other candidates including television presenterBob La Castra and former MPCameron Thompson. It was the second preselection vote held for Wright, following the disendorsement of the original candidateHajnal Ban.[8] Buchholz won the seat for the LNP at the2010 federal election. Despite his prior affiliation with the Nationals, he joined the parliamentary Liberal Party as the LNP had allocated his seat to the Liberals.[9]
After the2013 election, Buchholz was appointed as agovernment whip.[2] He was appointed theChief Government Whip in the House of Representatives on 13 February 2015, replacingPhilip Ruddock.[10] He was removed from the position on 20 September 2015, shortly afterMalcolm Turnbull replacedTony Abbott as prime minister.[11] Buchholz subsequently served terms as chair of the joint standing committee on electoral matters (2016) and the joint statutory committee on public works (2018). He was appointed to thespeaker's panel in September 2016.[2]
During the2018 Liberal leadership spills, Buchholz reportedly voted forPeter Dutton againstMalcolm Turnbull in the first vote.[12] In the second vote days later, which sawScott Morrison narrowly defeat Dutton,The Sydney Morning Herald listed him as one of two MPs whose votes were unknown.[13] Following the spills, Buchholz was appointed Assistant Minister for Roads and Transport in theMorrison government. His title was changed to Assistant Minister for Road Safety and Freight Transport in May 2019, following the2019 federal election[2] and he held this position until May 2022, following the appointment of theAlbanese ministry.
Buchholz is a member of theNational Right faction of the Liberal Party,[14] after previously being aligned with theCentre-Right faction during theMorrison government years.[15]
In 2010, Buchholz stated his support for aLiberal–National party merger at federal level modelled on the Queensland LNP.[16] In 2017 he opposed calls for the Queensland LNP to de-merger following a series of electoral losses, stating "if you've lost your last 10 games of football and you've lost them because during the week the players are eatingKFC and the coach is rolling up to the game pissed [...] changing the colour of your jersey is not going to make a skerrick of difference".[17]
Buchholz has stated his opposition tosame-sex marriage. After voting against aprivate member's bill on the subject in 2012, he stated "marriage is not an automatic action just because I or someone else had fallen in love. If that was the case, I am sure that the majority of society would be married several times over to many people, and think what would happen to those people who love their pets".[18] In 2017, Buchholz's electorate voted in favour of same-sex marriage in theAustralian Marriage Law Postal Survey. He subsequently voted in favour of theMarriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017 which legalised same-sex marriage in Australia, stating "my first responsibility is to represent the people of Wright and to take their views to the House of Representatives".[19]
Buchholz has one daughter with his former wife.[3] According toThe New Daily, as of 2019 he owned a family home inBoonah as well as investment properties inBlackwater andDugandan.[20]
In February 2019, Buchholz publicly apologised for inappropriate behaviour towards a femaleRoyal Australian Air Force officer while on a parliamentary exchange inDarwin in 2018.[21] TheDepartment of Defence did not release the details of the formal complaint made by the officer, but it was reported that Buchholz gave her an unwanted hug.[22]
I come up through the National Party ranks here in Queensland. But the seat of Wright was a designated Liberal Party seat so I proudly sit in the Liberal Party room in Canberra.
| Parliament of Australia | ||
|---|---|---|
| New division | Member forWright 2010–present | Incumbent |
Prime Minister:Scott Morrison | ||
| Cabinet |
|  |
| Outer Ministry | ||
| Assistant Ministers | ||
| Resigned | ||
Prime Minister:Scott Morrison | ||
| Cabinet |  | |
| Outer Ministry | ||
| Assistant Ministers | ||
| Dismissed/resigned | ||
