Jackie Trad

Jacklyn Anne Trad (born 25 April 1972) is an Australian former politician.

The family returned to Lebanon in 1979 to live in Beirut for one year where she attended the International College.

Back in Australia, she attended Lourdes Hill College in Brisbane and her parents became local small business owners, operating a fruit shop in Woolloongabba.

She began an arts degree at Griffith University and completed a Master of Public Policy at the University of Sydney.

She grew up in South Brisbane and currently lives in the suburb of West End with her husband and two children.

Trad identifies as Catholic and with her Maronite Church heritage.

Trad was elected to the legislature at the South Brisbane by-election held on 28 April 2012.

The by-election was held after the resignation of the previous Labor Party incumbent and former Premier Anna Bligh.

Trad has also held several positions within the structure of the Australian Labor Party (ALP).

She was formerly the Queensland ALP Assistant State Secretary, President of the Kurilpa Branch, a delegate to the ALP National and State Conferences, member of the National Executive Committee and also the Secretary of Labor Women's Organisation Queensland.

She is the current leader of Queensland Labor's Left Faction.

Trad is on the record as being a supporter of same-sex marriage.

She is also a supporter of adoption by same-sex partners.

On 29 April 2012, Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk appointed Trad as Shadow Minister for Transport and Main Roads, Environment and Heritage Protection, Small Business, Consumer Affairs and the Arts.

Trad was appointed as a member of the Parliamentary Ethics Committee and Parliamentary Crime and Misconduct Committee respectively, and served from May 2012 to January 2015.

On 11 September 2012, Leader of the House Ray Stevens referred to Trad as "Jihad Jackie" during parliamentary debate.

Believing the term to be referring to her Lebanese heritage, Ms Trad objected and requested that the remark be withdrawn.

Immediately following this interaction, Premier Campbell Newman said that Jackie Trad was "precious" and needed to "harden up."

Trad commented outside parliament that "It is outrageous to think that the Queensland Parliament should be condoning these sorts of racist barbs when they are unacceptable in the community."

Her comments were echoed by Ethnic Communities Council executive manager Ian Muil when he said Mr Stevens' comment would upset people, especially in the Muslim community, describing it as "dog-whistle type stuff."

The changes in legislation under the Newman Government in 2013 had allowed increased rates of tree-clearing in Queensland.

The Statewide Landcover and Tree Study (SLATS) report showed 296,324 hectares was cleared in 2013–14, a threefold increase on 2009–10 and the highest level since 2006.

The 2014–15 Report found that a further 207,000 hectares was cleared.

Trad called the proposed legislation "nation-leading" and one of the Palaszczuk Government's key commitments for protecting the Great Barrier Reef.

Despite widespread public campaigning by conservation groups, the bill failed to pass the Legislative Assembly with a vote of 42 in favour and 44 against.

It was the first time the Palaszczuk Government had failed to get one of its own bills through parliament.

She was Deputy Premier of Queensland from 2015 to 2020, Treasurer of Queensland from 2017 to 2020 and represented the Electoral district of South Brisbane for the Labor Party from April 2012 to October 2020.

Trad also served as Queensland's Minister for Transport, Minister for Trade, Minister for Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning, and Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships in the Palaszczuk Government.

Trad is the second daughter of Lebanese immigrants; Lebanese Arabic was her first language.

Following the Queensland state election on 31 January 2015, Tim Mulherin stood down as deputy leader, and Trad was named his successor.

She thus became Deputy Premier of Queensland in the Palaszczuk Ministry on 14 February 2015.

In addition to being sworn in as the Deputy Premier, Trad became the Minister for Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning, Minister for Transport and Minister for Trade.

Following changes to the Palaszczuk Ministry in December 2015, which included expanding its size from 14 to 17, the transport portfolio was transferred to new minister Stirling Hinchliffe.

On 17 March 2016, Trad introduced the Vegetation Management (Reinstatement) Amendment Bill into parliament, the Palaszczuk Government's bill intended to reverse the previous government's repeal of the Wild Rivers Legislation, enacted in 2005 in an attempt to preserve native vegetation.

Ms Trad announced in October 2016 that Labor would re-introduce the legislation if it won the next election.

On 10 May 2016, Independent former-Labor MP Rob Pyne introduced two pieces of legislation to the Legislative Assembly aimed at decriminalising abortion in Queensland.

Trad became the first government MP to support the bill and described herself as “unashamedly pro-choice”.

Following Mr Hinchliffe's resignation as Minister for Transport in February 2017, Trad regained the portfolio and held it until the Second Palaszczuk Ministry was sworn in on 12 December 2017.

Following their victory at the 2017 Election, Labor re-introduced the bill as the Vegetation Management and Other

Legislation Amendment Bill 2018 and it passed on 9 May 2018.