 Elected at the 2010 election, Finnigan briefly served in the Rann Government cabinet from February until April in 2011, when Labor suspended him from the party, sitting thereafter as an independent backbencher until his 2015 parliamentary resignation.He was a Police Minister (acting) at the time of his arrest.Labor suspended Finnigan from the party pending the verdict of a criminal trial after he was charged with child pornography offences in 2011, totalling 30 various charges over time.