Meet Ros

Before entering Parliament, Ms. Bates forged a career in health – as a nurse and hospital administrator. Ms Bates remains a Registered Nurse.

Ms. Bates has been awarded the Royal Australian College of Nursing’s Distinguished Services Award 2001, the Prime Minister’s Centenary of Federation Medal for Distinguished Services to the Australian Community in Health 2003, the Private Hospital’s Association of Queensland Individual Achiever’s Award 2001, and the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards Quality Award 2001. She is a former winner of the Queensland Telstra Businesswoman of the Year Award (AusIndustry) 2000.

As a successful businesswoman, Ms. Bates was instrumental in gaining funding allocated to the Federal Government’s Life Saving Drugs Program. Many families throughout Australia who suffer from rare and fatal genetic disorders have received treatment through this program, previously not available to them.

Growing up in the Victorian country town of Healesville allowed Ms. Bates to understand and appreciate the importance of close-knit communities. Her mother was a schoolteacher, and her father was a third-generation dairy farmer who instilled in their three girls (all of whom are nurses) the importance of honesty and integrity.

Ms. Bates is known throughout the Gold Coast as a grassroots campaigner and while the seat of Mudgeeraba has moved from a marginal Labor seat of 2.7% to a now safe LNP seat with a margin of 10.1%. Ms Bates has never lost sight of her constituents’ needs and continues to campaign strongly for the priorities of her residents.

She understands the priorities of her electorate:  making the community safer, providing easier access to health services, saving residents from paying for Labor’s failures, securing housing foundations for all, and working harder for Queenslanders. 

Parliamentary Service

Current:

• Shadow Minister for Medical Research: 16 Nov 2020
• Shadow Minister for Health and Ambulance Services: 15 Dec 2017
• Shadow Minister for Women: 15 Dec 2017

Past:

• Shadow Minister for Communities, Women and Youth, Child Safety and the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence and Shadow Minister for Disability Services and Seniors: 26 May 2016 - 14 Dec 2017
• Shadow Minister for Communities, Child Safety, Disabilities Services and the Prevention of Family and Domestic Violence: 10 May 2016 - 26 May 2016
• Deputy Opposition Whip: 22 Feb 2016 - 9 May 2016
• Member, Ethics Committee: 18 Feb 2016 - 10 May 2016
• Member, Health, Communities, Disability Services and Domestic Family Violence Prevention Committee: 18 Feb 2016 - 10 May 2016
• Member, Health and Ambulance Services Committee: 27 Mar 2015 - 18 Feb 2016
• Member, Health and Community Services Committee: 16 Apr 2013 - 6 Jan 2015
• Minister for Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts: 3 Apr 2012 - 15 Feb 2013
• Member, Finance and Administration Committee: 16 Jun 2011 - 19 Feb 2012
• Shadow Minister for Government Services, Building Industry, Information and Communication Technology: 11 Apr 2011 - 19 Feb 2012
• Member, Social Development Committee: 23 Apr 2009 - 16 Jun 2011