Retiree to rookie MP: advocateâs stunning rise at 69
Former builder Russell Field is set for a second apprenticeship as the most unlikely rookie MP after a meteoric rise as a crime-victim advocate.
At 69, former builder Russell Field is about to start his second apprenticeship.
But instead of a trade, the grandad will be âhead down and bum upâ as Queenslandâs most unlikely rookie MP.
Field said his previous job was being a retiree.
âAnd I was pretty good at that,â he laughed.
Then life took a turn.
On Australia Day 2021, his son Matthew and daughter-in-law Kate Leadbetter â pregnant with unborn child Miles â died when they were struck by a stolen car driven by a juvenile.
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âNone of us ever met Miles but he lives in my heart,â an emotional Field told Queensland parliament.
The tragedy inspired him to become a crime victim advocate.
He found his community was just as passionate when he campaigned for the Brisbane bayside seat of Capalaba.
âAt one house, a lady came running down the hallway when she saw me⌠and gave me a hug,â Field said.
âShe was in tears. The memory of our familyâs tragedy never left her.
âThis happened two more times⌠funny enough I knew I had this effect on women 50 years ago but it just goes to show I havenât lost it.â
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He went on to claim Capalaba in the state election in October, becoming one of 24 new MPs.
He overcame yet more heartache on the way, losing his eldest son Andrew to brain cancer in June.
Suddenly the âtypical Aussie grandadâ wasnât retired anymore.
âIâm the most unlikely member of parliament to ever sit in this chamber,â the Liberal National Party MP said in his maiden speech late on Tuesday.
âIâm 69 years of age. Until recently I owned just one suit which I dusted off for weddings and that shrunk every time before every event.
âIf you approached me on my 65th birthday and offered me the choice of a Powerball ticket or the odds of becoming a member of parliament, I would have picked the Powerball ticket because there was more chance of that happening.â
Field backed the LNP governmentâs âadult crime, adult timeâ campaign, with tough youth justice laws set to be passed in parliament.
Debate over the controversial bill is expected to continue through to Thursday.
Dedicating his maiden speech to crime victims, Field said his job would be to leave a legacy for his late sons, daughter-in-law and âtreasuredâ grandson Miles.
âFifty years ago, I did a four-year apprenticeship,â he said.
âThis is my second apprenticeship. I want the premier to know Iâm going to work hard, put my head down and bum up and master this trade as well.
âI stand with victims. I believe in justice⌠because lawlessness can never, ever be accepted as a norm.â
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