[1] In his memoirs he recalled a tumultuous childhood including "two parental separations, frequent changes of school, and an abduction (by his mother, accompanied by her lover) to Melbourne".

He moved to Brisbane after his father was transferred for work reasons,[2] where he attended St Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace.

[3] Boswell left school at the age of 14 and began working as an office boy at an insurance firm.

[4] He first came into contact with Queensland premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen in his role as a manufacturers' agent, lobbying against the deregulation of weekend trading hours.

[1] Prior to the 1984 election, Boswell controversially announced that he would deny supply to the Hawke government if it were re-elected, leading to a public rebuke from National Party leader Ian Sinclair.

He returned to the shadow cabinet in 1993 under John Hewson, holding the portfolios of Northern Australia and external territories.

[1] Boswell was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Transport and Regional Services in July 1999 but left the position in October 2003.

[1] Boswell's bid for re-election at the 2001 election was framed as a head-to-head contest between him and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson for Queensland's sixth Senate seat.

[12] In his valedictory speech to the Senate in 2014, he stated that he "risked everything to stand up against her aggressive, narrow view of Australia [...] defeating Pauline Hanson and One Nation in 2001 has been my greatest political achievement".