{{Short description|Australian politician (1956–2025)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2025}} {{Use Australian English|date=August 2025}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Mark McArdle | honorific_suffix = | image = QuoCKa reading program launches on the Sunshine Coast (1) (cropped).jpg | office = Minister for Energy and Water Supply of Queensland | term_start = 3 April 2012 | term_end = 14 February 2015 | premier = Campbell Newman | predecessor = Stephen Robertson (Energy and Water Utilities) | successor = Mark Bailey | office1 = Shadow Minister for Health of Queensland | leader1 = Lawrence Springborg | term_start1 = 20 February 2015 | term_end1 = 10 May 2016 | predecessor1 = Jo-Ann Miller | successor1 = John-Paul Langbroek | leader2 = Lawrence Springborg<br/>John-Paul Langbroek<br/>Campbell Newman | term_start2 = 12 August 2008 | term_end2 = 19 February 2012 | predecessor2 = John-Paul Langbroek | successor2 = Jo-Ann Miller | office3 = Deputy Leader of the Liberal National Party | leader3 = Lawrence Springborg | term_start3 = 26 July 2008 | term_end3 = 2 April 2009 | predecessor3 = ''Position established'' | successor3 = Lawrence Springborg | office4 = Deputy Leader of the Opposition of Queensland | leader4 = Lawrence Springborg | term_start4 = 7 December 2007 | term_end4 = 2 April 2009 | predecessor4 = Bruce Flegg | successor4 = Lawrence Springborg | office5 = Leader of the Queensland Liberal Party | deputy5 = Tim Nicholls | term_start5 = 4 December 2007 | term_end5 = 26 July 2008 | predecessor5 = Bruce Flegg | successor5 = ''Position abolished'' | office6 = Deputy Leader of the<br/>Queensland Liberal Party | term_start6 = 7 August 2006 | term_end6 = 4 December 2007 | leader6 = Bruce Flegg | predecessor6 = Bruce Flegg | successor6 = Tim Nicholls | office7 = Shadow Attorney-General of Queensland<br/>Shadow Minister for Justice of Queensland | term_start7 = 28 September 2005 | term_end7 = 12 August 2008 | leader7 = Lawrence Springborg<br/>Jeff Seeney | predecessor7 = Lawrence Springborg | successor7 = Stuart Copeland | constituency_MP9 = Caloundra | parliament9 = Queensland | term_start9 = 7 February 2004 | term_end9 = 6 October 2020 | predecessor9 = Joan Sheldon | successor9 = Jason Hunt | party = Liberal National Party | other_party = Liberal (2004–2008) | spouse = Judy McArdle | birth_date = {{birth date|1956|12|21|df=y}} | birth_place = Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | death_date = {{death date and age|2025|8|14|1956|12|21|df=y}} | death_place = Pelican Waters, Queensland, Australia<ref>{{cite web |title=Funeral notice for McArdle, Mark Francis |url=https://www.mytributes.com.au/notice/funeral-notices/mcardle-mark-francis/6318864/ |website=The Courier-Mail |access-date=23 September 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250917082741/https://www.mytributes.com.au/notice/funeral-notices/mcardle-mark-francis/6318864/ |archive-date=17 September 2025}}</ref> | profession = Solicitor | caption = McArdle in 2017 | image_size = 210px }}
'''Mark Francis McArdle''' (21 December 1956 – 14 August 2025) was an Australian politician who was Deputy Leader of the Opposition in Queensland. He was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland between 2004 and 2020, representing the electorate of Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast. Initially a Liberal Party member, in 2007 he became the party leader and the following year oversaw a merger with the National Party that produced the Liberal National Party.
McArdle held many parliamentary party positions, including stints as a Shadow Minister for Justice, State Development & Innovation; Emergency Services; Seniors; and Local Government. He also served as the Shadow Attorney General and the Parliamentary Liberal Party Whip.
==Political career== ===Member of Parliament=== thumbnail|Official portrait as Member of Parliament McArdle was first elected to Parliament at the 2004 Queensland state election, succeeding former Deputy Premier Joan Sheldon.<ref name=":0">[http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/view/legislativeAssembly/documents/memberBio/McArdleMark.htm Mark McArdle Biography | Queensland Parliament] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090212211556/http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/view/legislativeAssembly/documents/memberBio/McArdleMark.htm|date=12 February 2009}}</ref> In the 2006 Queensland election, McArdle was returned as the Member for Caloundra, taking a 2.6-point swing in his favour, and increasing his margin to 3.9%.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=http://abc.net.au/elections/qld/2006/results/calo.htm|title=ABC 2006 Queensland Election Results|website=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |accessdate=13 September 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604011954/http://www.abc.net.au/elections/qld/2006/results/calo.htm|archive-date=4 June 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> Following electoral redistributions in 2008 prior to the 2009 state election, McArdle's margin was reduced to 1.9%.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/elections/qld/2009/guide/calo.htm|title=ABC 2009 Queensland Election|website=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |accessdate=16 March 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090330154356/http://www.abc.net.au/elections/qld/2009/guide/calo.htm|archive-date=30 March 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>
He was returned to Parliament again in the 2012 state election. At the 2015 state election, Mark McArdle successfully defeated Labor candidate Jason Hunt to retain his state seat, despite a swing of over 20% against him.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/qld-election-2015/guide/calo/ |title=Caloundra - Queensland Election 2015 - QLD Election 2015 (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) |website=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=31 January 2015 |access-date=10 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310042554/http://www.abc.net.au/news/qld-election-2015/guide/calo/ |archive-date=10 March 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> He was returned to his seat again, in the 2017 Queensland state election.{{citation needed|date=August 2025}}
[[File:QuoCKa reading program launches on the Sunshine Coast (2) (cropped).jpg|thumbnail|Andrew Wallace (right) and McArdle (left) in 2017]]
In June 2019, McArdle announced that he would retire at the 2020 Queensland state election in October.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lynch|first=Lydia|date=2019-06-27|title=Sunshine Coast MP to stand down at next election for 'younger blood'|url=https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/sunshine-coast-mp-to-stand-down-at-next-election-for-younger-blood-20190628-p5223a.html|access-date=2020-10-20|website=Brisbane Times|language=en}}</ref>
===Ministerial portfolios and parliamentary positions=== McArdle served as the State Leader of the Parliamentary Liberal Party and the Deputy Opposition Leader, between 2007 and 2009. He was installed as a compromise candidate in the leadership contest of December 2007, after a deadlock between supporters of former leader Bruce Flegg and challenger Tim Nicholls. He was made Deputy Leader of the Liberal National Party after the Queensland Liberal Party merged with the Queensland National Party. After the 2009 Queensland election, Mark McArdle vacated his position as Deputy Leader, as did Leader Lawrence Springborg. Days later, John-Paul Langbroek was elected Leader with Lawrence Springborg as Deputy Leader.{{citation needed|date=August 2025}}
Additional to his parliamentary party responsibilities, McArdle assumed the role of Shadow Minister for Health in August 2008, until the LNP's emphatic victory in 2012. Following the party leadership change, McArdle remained in his position as Shadow Minister for Health. After the Liberal National Party's landslide win in the 2012 Queensland state election, McArdle was appointed Minister for Energy and Water Supply<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/premier-campbell-newman-announces-queensland-governments-new-ministry/story-fnbt5t29-1226314516484 |title=Premier Campbell Newman announces Queensland Government's new ministry | Latest Queensland state election 2012 coverage from the Courier-Mail | the Courier-Mail |access-date=10 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120409024817/http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/premier-campbell-newman-announces-queensland-governments-new-ministry/story-fnbt5t29-1226314516484 |archive-date=9 April 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> by Premier Campbell Newman, overseeing long-awaited and modernising reforms in energy and water security, after a series of natural disasters and an historical drought.{{citation needed|date=August 2025}}
In 2013, he revealed that he had prostate cancer, and took time off from his portfolio to battle the disease.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-27/qld-minister-mark-mcardle-reveals-he-has-cancer/4785948 |title=Queensland Minister Mark McArdle reveals he has prostate cancer - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) |website=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |date=27 June 2013 |access-date=10 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150325163251/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-27/qld-minister-mark-mcardle-reveals-he-has-cancer/4785948 |archive-date=25 March 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>
===Party involvement=== McArdle held many party positions as well, including as Chair of the Fisher Federal Divisional Council; Chair of the Fisher Business Branch; and as a Member of the State Executive of the then Liberal Party.<ref name=":0" /><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130419102415/http://lnp.org.au/lnp-team/mark-mcardle/ LNP Queensland State MP Bio]. LNP Queensland. Archived from [http://lnp.org.au/lnp-team/mark-mcardle/ the original] on 19 April 2013.</ref>
==2006 election controversy== Prior to the 2006 election, McArdle, by then an emerging force within the Parliament, came under sustained criticism from the Labor Party and local media for his role in the collapse of mortgage schemes run by Boyce Garrick Lawyers. Premier Peter Beattie claimed that his role in the collapse made him unfit for such a leadership position. McArdle responded by pointing out that he was cleared of any fault in the collapse by the Queensland Law Society in its investigation in 2001.<ref>{{cite web|title=Former firm's failed schemes haunt McArdle |url=http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/localnews/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3695736&thesection=localnews&thesubsection=&thesecondsubsection= |accessdate=15 August 2006 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20060820210504/http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/localnews/storydisplay.cfm?storyid=3695736 |archivedate=20 August 2006 }}</ref> He ultimately retained his seat.<ref name=":1" />
==Activities== McArdle took an active role in the administration of his portfolio. He regularly attended relevant conferences and met key industry executives.<ref>[http://www.cabinet.qld.gov.au/ministers/diaries/assets/november-2013/mcardle-diary-november-2013.pdf Ministerial Diary for November 2013]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109034755/http://www.cabinet.qld.gov.au/ministers/diaries/assets/november-2013/mcardle-diary-november-2013.pdf|date=9 January 2014}}. Meeting with Pacific Aluminium to discuss Boyne Smelters.</ref><ref>[http://questevents.com.au/content/qe0011-speakers Australian Domestic Gas Outlook 2014]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109034842/http://questevents.com.au/content/qe0011-speakers|date=9 January 2014}}. List of confirmed speakers.</ref>
==Death== McArdle died on 14 August 2025, at the age of 68, after a long battle with prostate cancer.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nealon |first=Kelly |date=14 August 2025 |title=Queensland mourns passing of popular former Minister |url=https://www.insidestategovernment.com.au/queensland-mourns-passing-of-popular-former-minister/ |access-date=14 August 2025 |website=Inside State Government}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Steele |date=15 August 2025 |title=Tributes flow for respected former Caloundra MP |url=https://www.sunshinecoastnews.com.au/2025/08/15/tributes-flow-for-respected-former-caloundra-mp/ |access-date=15 August 2025 |website=Sunshine Coast News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Burns |first=Chris |date=14 August 2025 |title=Former Queensland LNP MP loses long battle with cancer |url=https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/qld-politics/former-queensland-lnp-mp-loses-long-battle-with-cancer/news-story/f609bf61f92054d78d6e67a5b4953dc2 |url-access=subscription |access-date=14 August 2025 |website=The Courier-Mail}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20140109040203/http://www.cabinet.qld.gov.au/ministers/diaries/mark-mcardle.aspx Ministerial Diary for Mark McArdle] * [http://lnp.org.au/ Liberal National Party of Queensland]
{{Authority control}}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|au-qld}} {{s-bef|before=Joan Sheldon}} {{s-ttl|title=Member for Caloundra|years=2004–2020}} {{s-aft|after=Jason Hunt}} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McArdle, Mark}} Category:1956 births Category:2025 deaths Category:Deaths from prostate cancer in Australia Category:Deaths from cancer in Queensland Category:Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Category:Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Queensland Category:Liberal National Party of Queensland politicians Category:Australian solicitors Category:21st-century Australian politicians Category:Deputy opposition leaders