Article by Brooke Jacobson. Published in the Sandgate Guide.

Stirling Hinchliffe wants everyone to know he’s not tired and he’s definitely not retiring.

But after 18 years in State Parliament, the Member for Sandgate is hanging up his political hat.

Mr Hinchliffe said the time was right.

“I love what I do, I love what I do in this community, and I’m not ‘over it’ at all,” he said.

“But under the Labor Party rules, it’s time to start the pre-selection process for the next election, so I had to make the announcement that I would not be standing again.

“And the main reason I’m not running again is my wife, Megan.

“I was first elected 18 years ago – but really it was 25 years ago that we had this discussion – and Megan agreed to let me pursue this craziness.

“She has been a solid home base for me and for our children, and now it’s time for her. I could not have done this job as effectively, or as happily, without her, I just could not.”

Mr Hinchliffe was first elected in 2006 as the State MP for Stafford, but a career in politics was not always on the cards.

“I actually started a teaching degree,” he said.

“I met a lot of people at teachers’ college that were part of the Labor crowd, and to be honest I didn’t realise you could just turn up and join the Labor Party, I thought you had to be invited!”

Mr Hinchliffe worked in a Federal MP’s office, before working for the Speaker of the Queensland Parliament, and spending some time as a property industry analyst.

“Then I met Wayne Swan at a function – before he was the Federal Member for Lilley – and he pulled me aside and said, ‘I think you’ve got the chops for this’,” he said.

He added his family had never been “particularly political” but there was an awareness of keeping up with the news as he grew up.

“My grandmother, Alice Reddy, had nine children, one of whom had a disability and she always said to me that working people need Labor governments,” Mr Hinchliffe said.

“My parents were always involved in the community in some way, whether it was the football club, or the cricket club, and we always talked about what was on the news.

“And in high school I started to see that you could be involved in the community and make change.”

It was in high school that Mr Hinchliffe met his future wife, although he says they weren’t high school sweethearts.

“Megan and I had known each other a long time and she is passionate about Labor politics – she was a policy advisor in the Goss government, she was an advisor to Peter Beattie when he was in opposition,” he said.

“Early on, we knew this (politics) was where things were going for us – and you know, it could have been her. But we decided we needed one person to be the front person, and someone else needed to be at home.”

A short time into his first stint as a state politician, Mr Hinchliffe found himself in a role beyond being a backbencher.

“I thought I would just settle in, and we would get the feel for how all of this worked, as a family,” he said.

“Then 56 days in, there was some events and I ended up being a parliamentary secretary – so this whole time, I have been in executive government, as well as being an MP and that adds to the intensity, it adds to the time you’re away from home.”

He said his defeat in Stafford in 2012 was a “challenging period”.

“I knew the community had shifted against the government of the day and for Stafford, that issue was the health payroll,” he said.

“In the lead up to that election, I had a lot of people say to me ‘thank you for you service’, which means ‘thanks for coming, time to go’.”

The Hinchliffe family – which by now included their three children, Jack, Tom, and May – moved to Sandgate just prior to the 2015 election.

“Our boys were playing basketball with the Northside Wizards, I was on the board, and we were driving from West Chermside to Boondall eight times a week or more,” he said.

“We as a family had always come to Sandgate on Christmas Eve to have a picnic on the foreshore and we had a lovely group of friends here, including the person from teacher’s college that I had signed up for the Labor Party with – Victoria Newton.

“I thought she was going to run for the State seat, and I said, ‘what can I do to help you’, and she said, ‘actually, we think you’d be great’.

“That was a contested pre-selection, and I was grateful to have the support from the branch.”

Mr Hinchliffe said he had several highlights from his time in politics.

“I’m very proud of the amazing facilities and upgrades at our local public schools, particularly the new arts facility at Sandgate High and the K Block at Bracken Ridge High,” he said.

“Saving and reimaging the Brighton Health Campus was a real highlight – there is still some work to do there, so I guess that’s a bit of unfinished business.

“And on the broader issues, being involved in the 2032 Olympics bid was super exciting.”

Mr Hinchliffe said he wanted to see a young woman succeed him as the Labor candidate for Sandgate.

“The demographic of this electorate has changed dramatically, and I think we need someone younger in tune with those issues, and more culturally diverse,” he said.

“And the Queensland parliament needs more women.”

He added he was excited about his remaining 12 months in office and was “honoured” Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk had asked him to stay on in his ministerial portfolios until then.

And what’s next for the long-serving MP? Quite simply, a break.

“Megan and I plan on taking a holiday and doing some travel – we got married quite young and had a young family, so we didn’t travel in our 20s,” he said.

“But I am not retiring, I still have time to have another career and find another way to contribute. I’ll always want to contribute to the community, just in something that is not as intense as this job.”

The next Queensland state election will be held on October 24, 2024.

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