Siblings Jeff Knuth | Name Shane Knuth | |
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Political party Australian (2011-present)Previous affiliations;National (before 1997; 1999–2008)Liberal National (2008–2011)Pauline Hanson's One Nation (1997-1999) Role Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Previous office Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly (2004–2009) Office Member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly since 2009 Similar People Bob Katter, Jeff Knuth, Earle Page | ||
Dalrymple mp shane knuth questions jeff seeney over alpha rail corridore consultation with residents
Shane Andrew Knuth (born 7 September 1966) is an Australian politician. He represented the seat of Charters Towers from 2004–2009, until it was renamed Dalrymple in 2009, in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland, for the National Party (2004–08), the Liberal National Party (2008–11) and the Australian Party (2011–present).
Knuth was born in the Queensland town of Tully. His brother Jeff Knuth is a former One Nation parliamentarian.
Shane Knuth entered the state's parliament as the member for Charters Towers at the 2004 state election by defeating incumbent MP Christine Scott of the Labor Party on One Nation preferences. At the 2006 state election, Knuth was re-elected with a large swing.
Charters Towers was abolished in a redistribution ahead of the 2009 state election, and Knuth opted to contest the new seat of Dalrymple. The new seat merged most of his former territory with part of the former seat of Tablelands, represented by One Nation MP Rosa Lee Long. The new seat was created with a LNP majority of 57 percent, and Knuth won with only a small swing against him.
On 30 October 2011, Knuth resigned from the Liberal National Party to join Katter's Australian Party. Though most LNP MPs at the time were former Nationals, Knuth contended the merger had been a Liberal takeover that had been "disastrous" for regional representation and left rural MPs shut out of decision-making. Knuth also cited reports that the LNP's organisational wing grilled candidates and paid a former Labor official for compromising information on Labor MPs, including sexual behaviour, as having influenced his decision.
At the 2012 state election, despite a massive swing to the LNP statewide, Knuth easily retained his seat, defeating his replacement as LNP candidate by a nearly 2-to-1 two-party margin; he actually won enough primary votes to retain the seat outright. He was reelected almost as easily in 2015.