Vaughan Johnson

Vaughan Johnson is your Member for Gregory.

Vaughan was elected to State Parliament in December 1989 as the Member for Gregory. 

He has lived in the Electorate of Gregory all of his life. Vaughan was raised in Quilpie and still retains strong ties of family and friendship in the district.  He comes from a family background in grazing, livestock and general transport, and is a well known horseman with considerable experience in the saddle, from mustering to endurance riding to Pony Club instructor.

Vaughan has had a long association with politics, being the founding member of the National Party Branch in his home district of Quilpie in 1972. Vaughan was a Councillor on the Quilpie Shire Council, a Member and Deputy Chairman of the Quilpie Hospital Board, and a Charter Member of the Quilpie Lions Club.

He has lived and worked with indigenous people in the rural communities of the south-west and border areas of Queensland for most of his life and has a strong empathy with them. At the last election, Gregory's boundaries were redistributed to include the indigenous community of Woorabinda in Gregory's south-east and Vaughan has enjoyed visiting the town.

Vaughan is a great supporter of Rugby League and a passionate bulldogs supporter.  He holds Life Membership of the Quilpie Rugby League and the Western Rugby League.

The Gregory electorate is physically one of Queensland's biggest and most sparsely settled. In fact, Gregory is one of a handful of electorates allowed to be under the population quota by Queensland electoral laws. This has presented Vaughan with special challenges.

Upon his election as the Member for Gregory, Vaughan moved to Longreach to be in the physical centre of the electorate. Because of the population issue, Vaughan has faced new electoral boundaries at virtually every election.  In 1992, Emerald, which is over four hours drive to the east of Longreach, became part of the electorate.

With the help of local party supporters, Vaughan personally financed a second electorate office in Emerald so that his constituents would have better representation and easier access to him. Then, in 1996, the new Coalition Government recognised the need and approved an official, second electorate office for the five large rural electorates.

Even with two electorate offices, the vast size of Gregory means Vaughan covers over 100,000 kilometres by road and air every year attending to constituency matters.

The shortest conversation with Vaughan will show his sincere and abiding affection for the people of the west and his deep knowledge of the issues affecting them. His passion and commitment to the electorate are legend and during his time as member he has seen his part of the world transformed by the mining boom in the east and by advancements in communications and transport in the west.

Vaughan's Parliamentary career has included the position of Minister for Transport and Main Roads for the two and a half years of the Coalition Government from 1996 to 1998. As Minister he oversaw record expenditure on road works in rural and regional Queensland.

He has also been Shadow Minister for the portfolios of Transport, Main Roads, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Police and Corrective Services. This has given him in-depth knowledge across a wide range of government responsibilities. He has a deep interest in health services, education and roads as these continue to dictate so many aspects of life in Gregory. He is currently Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Western Queensland.

Vaughan has a well-earned reputation for being a humble and hardworking representative for the people of the Gregory electorate,  meeting with them and representing their rights and needs on a personal basis, as well as fighting the public fight for the infrastructure and services that his constituents need for quality of life.

Electorate Contacts