Phillip Thompson

Phillip Thompson OAM is an Australian politician and a member of the Liberal Party, representing the Queensland Division of Herbert since 2019.

In June 2022, following the Liberal Party's defeat at the federal election, Mr Thompson became the Assistant Shadow Minister for Defence in the Dutton shadow ministry.

In 2006, at age seventeen, Mr Thompson enlisted in the Australian Army. He was first deployed to East Timor in 2007 and then to Afghanistan in 2009. Six months into the second deployment, while conducting a dismounted patrol, an IED exploded a metre in front of him. Mr Thompson spent several years recovering from physical and mental injuries caused by the incident. In 2014, he represented Australia at the inaugural Invictus Games held in London - a sporting competition for wounded, injured, or ill participants in the armed forces. In 2016, he coached the Powerlifting and wheelchair rugby teams at the event held in Orlando, Florida.

Mr Thompson was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2018 for services to the welfare of veterans. He was also named Queensland Young Australian of the Year.