About Peter

About Peter Main Image

Peter Russo is the Member for the State electorate of Toohey.

Peter was first elected as the Member for Sunnybank in January 2015.

In mid 2017, the state electoral boundaries were redrawn to accommodate Queensland’s growing and shifting population. This was done to ensure each electorate has roughly the same number of voters to uphold the principle of one vote, one value.  As a result of this redistribution the electorate of Sunnybank changed its name to Toohey.

Peter is currently the Chair of the Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee. He has previously served as the Acting Chair of the Parliamentary Crime and Corruption Committee and Chair of the Finance and Administration Committee.

Prior to being elected, Peter was the Principal of Russo Lawyers and is admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland and New South Wales, Western Australia and the High Court of Australia.  He holds a Master of Laws from the Queensland University of Technology. He has been admitted for over 30 years, with particular focus in the area of criminal law. He is a past member of the Queensland Law Society Criminal Law Committee.

He was named the Australian Newspaper’s Australian of the Year in 2007. He has been involved in many high profile cases, including representing Dr Mohamed Haneef in 2007 and 2008. 

Peter is not your typical politician. He has been a strong voice for some of the most vulnerable people in our community for decades, and he uses the same skills in his work representing the people in his electorate of Toohey. Peter has a solid reputation for having a strong commitment to the access of justice, and for social fairness.