Paul Neville (politician)

Paul Christopher Neville (20 March 1940 – 1 January 2019) was an Australian politician who was a National Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1993 to August 2013, representing the Division of Hinkler, Queensland.[1] After the Queensland chapters of the Nationals and Liberals merged in 2008 as the Liberal National Party of Queensland, Neville continued to sit with the Nationals in Parliament.

Paul Neville OAM
Member of the Australian Parliament for Hinkler
In office 13 March 1993 – 5 August 2013
Preceded by	Brian Courtice
Succeeded by	Keith Pitt
Personal details
Born	(1940-03-20)20 March 1940 Warwick, Queensland
Died	1 January 2019(2019-01-01) (aged 78) Bundaberg, Queensland
Nationality	Australian
Political party	National (federal) Liberal National (state, 2010-2019)
Spouse(s)	Margaret Neville
Occupation	Theatre supervisor

Biography

Neville was born in Warwick, Queensland, and was a theatre supervisor, Queensland State Secretary, Arts Council of Australia and manager of the Bundaberg District Tourism and Development Board before entering politics. He was National Party Whip from 1998 until his retirement in 2013. Credit for preserving the Parliament House centenary flag has been given to Neville who on 18 September 2001 during the Centenary of Federation requested of the Speaker that "before it [the flag] becomes too faded or too tattered, [it] be taken down and perhaps offered to a museum or an art gallery as the seminal flag that flew over this building 100 years from the time the first flag was flown?"[2]

It has subsequently been paraded at schools to mark Australian National Flag Day on a tour of the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales and Queensland.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]

Neville, a long-time resident of Limpus Crescent, Kalkie died at the Bundaberg Base Hospital, aged 78[10] in the early hours of 1 January 2019 after suffering health problems for some time. He and his wife Margaret were the parents of five children.[11]

It was announced on Australia Day 2019 Neville had been awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in recognition of his dedication to the Bundaberg community. It is unclear who nominated Neville for the prestigious award, however to meet prerequisites it is indicated that he must have been nominated prior to his death on 1 January 2019.[12]

References

1. "The Nationals – Mr Paul Neville MP". National Party of Australia. Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 2 April 2009.
2. Commonwealth, Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, 18 September 2001, 30853 (Paul Neville)
3. Ian Warden, 'How cricketing animals were kept off Australia's national flag', The Canberra Times (Canberra), 4 September 2002, p. 7
4. 'Students celebrate as the Australian flag turns 103', The Reporter (Acacia Ridge), 8 September 2004, p. 3
5. Annelie Hailes, 'Huge flag for a big country', Courier Mail, 4 September 2009, p. 33
6. 'Special day flagged by Central students', The Queensland Times, 2 September 2010, p. 6
7. Sarah Harvey, 'Now that’s a flag! Students salute big flag', The Queensland Times, p. 4 September 2012, p. 1
8. Chris Owen, ‘Ensign flags a very special Aussie day’, The Queensland Times, 3 September 2013, p. 2
9. Iconic flag to tour Warwick, Warwick Daily News, p. 3
10. Reid, Emma (1 January 2019) Tributes flow for former MP Paul Neville, NewsMail; retrieved 1 January 2019.
11. "Paul Christopher NEVILLE". Newsmail. 3 January 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
12. Benson-Rogan, Toni (26 January 2019). "Neville's Special Honour". News Mail.

Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Brian Courtice	Member for Hinkler 1993–2013	Succeeded by Keith Pitt