Phillip Thompson


Phillip Bruce Thompson is an Australian politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives since the 2019 Australian federal election, representing the Division of Herbert. He is a member of the Liberal National Party of Queensland and sits with the Liberal Party in federal parliament. Prior to politics, he was awarded the 2018 Queensland Young Australian of the Year.

Before politics

Thompson was born in Australia. Thompson is married to Jenna, his mother is Carolyn and he has two siblings, Stephanie and Timothy. He grew up on the Sunshine Coast. Thompson at the age of 17 joined the Royal Australian Regiment as an infantry soldier.
He joined the army in 2006 as an infantry soldier with the 1st Battalion Royal Australian Regiment.
He was deployed to East Timor in 2007 for six months. In 2009, Thompson was badly injured by an improvised explosive device during operations in Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan. The explosion resulted in Thompson losing hearing in his right ear and being diagnosed with Posttraumatic stress disorder and Traumatic brain injury.
Thompson represented Australia at the inaugural Invictus Games in London, United Kingdom 2014. The Invictus Games is a paralympic styled event for wounded, injured and ill who are still serving or formerly serving defence force members from around the globe. In 2016, Thompson coached the Australian Invictus Games team in Orlando, Florida, USA. He coached powerlifting and wheelchair rugby. He was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in the 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours for service to the welfare of veterans.

Political career

Thompson was elected at the 2019 Australian federal election for the seat of Herbert. Thompson is the youngest House of Representatives MP of the 46th Parliament, also known as the Baby of the House.
During his campaign, he apologised to the Muslim community for negative comments about Muslims made on Facebook in 2012.
Indigenous Australians and the Australian defence community are prominent in Thompson's family story and in the region he represents. The wellbeing of both featured as priorities when he gave his first speech.
With regards to Aboriginal people he acknowledged: "...my mother-in-law, Florence Burns. Flo; my wife, Jenna; and my beautiful daughter, Astin, are all Aboriginal women who are here in the gallery today. As I stand and look at these three remarkable humans, I have no doubt that, as three generations of Aboriginal women, their rights have improved dramatically over the decades. But we must not forget there is still a lot of work to be done in recognising and valuing our First Nations people and their culture."
Speaking to veterans and current serving personnel Thompson alluded to the spectre of both battlefield losses and suicide as he described, "the ultimate sacrifice on operations in service to this nation and our many veterans who have succumbed to their war within back here on home soil."
Thompson sits on the following :