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Richard Riordan | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for Polwarth | |
| Assumed office 31 October 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Terry Mulder |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Richard Vincent Riordan 11 April 1972 Colac, Victoria |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Liberal Party |
| Spouse |
Catherine Riordan (m. 1995) |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | Monash University |
| Website | richardriordan |
Richard Vincent Riordan (born 11 April 1972) is an Australian politician and businessman. He was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly as a Liberal Party member for Polwarth, at a by-election held October 31st, 2015.
In 1989 he completed his Year 12 education in Calgary (Alberta, Canada) as a Rotary Exchange Student, and completed his Victorian Certificate of Education at Trinity College Colac in 1990. Riordan was a prefect and was admitted to Monash University to undertake a Bachelor of Business Management - during this time he was active in university politics as well as the Young Liberal Movement.[citation needed]
After completing his studies in 1994, he was appointed managing director of his family's hardware business.[1] In 1999, Riordan was nominated for pre-selection in the seat of Polwarth, vacated by Ian Smith. Terry Mulder subsequently won pre-selection for Polwarth in 1999.[citation needed]
Riordan experienced defeat in pre-selection again in 2010 before being successful in 2015, and was subsequently re-elected at the 2018 state election. Despite the Liberal Party experiencing a swing against it, Riordan increased his primary vote - receiving in excess of 50% of the vote. Riordan was appointed Assistant Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Regional Development and Deputy Chair of The Public Accounts and Estimates Committee.[2][3][4][5]
Marquee issues for Riordan include wire rope barriers on county roads, and their effectiveness as a notable and important life-saving measure.[6] He recently[timeframe?] came under fire for his comments after the death of a truck driver in Clifton Springs[7] where he was accused of using a fatality for political gain. His views were however supported by some road transport groups.[8]
He was managing director of his family company, which had varied retail interests. He is active in the local community, having served as director of the board of Colac Area Health.[9] After the Liberal Party loss during the 2022 Victorian state election, Riordan announced his candidacy for the 2022 Liberal Party of Australia (Victorian Division) leadership election.[10] A few days later he would withdraw and announce his support for Brad Battin for the leadership election.[11]
- ^ "Retail Focus: Largest Thrifty Announced | Hardware Journal". 21 January 2015.
- ^ "Home | Richard Riordan MP | Polwarth".
- ^ "Public Accounts and Estimates".
- ^ "'Obvious Guy was unelectable': Liberal slams party's campaign". 29 November 2018.
- ^ "Guess how many young women aspire to a career in politics". 29 November 2018.
- ^ Howard, Jessica (13 July 2019). "MP hopes audit will provide clarity about true cost of wire rope barriers". The Standard. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
- ^ "MPs raise barrier safety questions". Big Rigs. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
- ^ "Truck tragedy sparks ugly political debate". www.geelongadvertiser.com.au. Retrieved 17 November 2019.(subscription required)
- ^ Crane, Courtney (2 November 2015). "Polwarth by-election keeps Liberals in the hot seat". Geelong Advertiser. Retrieved 5 November 2015.[dead link]
- ^ Staszewska, Ewa (28 November 2022). "Ryan Smith, John Pesutto and Richard Riordan lead race for Liberal leadership following Victorian election loss". Sky News Australia. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
- ^ "As counting continues in Victoria's state election, one race is separated by just five votes". ABC News. 30 November 2022.