Mark Aldridge is an Australian political activist, car yard operator and animal welfare advocate. He has run in multiple federal, state and local government elections and is the son of Gillian Aldrige OAM, the Mayor of the City of Salisbury. [1]
Mark Aldridge was raised in the northern suburbs where he has been a lifelong resident of Parafield Gardens. [2]
In 2010 Aldrige ran as an independent for the Upper House in the South Australian state election, during which time he was arrested. [3] He subsequently ran a campaign to have the election result overturned and a new election held. [4]
Aldridge ran as an independent in the 2012 Ramsay by-election following the resignation of incumbent and former premier Mike Rann [5] He received 16.1% of the first preference vote, coming second to Zoe Bettison who received 54.6% of the primary vote. [5] He ran again for the Seat of Ramsay in 2018 and received 6.9% of first preference votes. [6] Nick Xenophon's SA Best Party lodged a complaint to the Electoral Commissioner of South Australia for Aldridge's use of the slogan "SA's Best Candidate", accusing him of misleading voters. [7]
Aldrige ran as an independent for the lower house seat of Wakefield in the 2013 Federal Election, and was arrested again during the campaign. Aldridge claimed he did not know why he was arrested. [3] He received 4.1% of the first preference vote. [8]
in the 2016 Australian Federal Election, Aldridge ran as an independent in the South Australian seat of Makin. He suggested that SA Best Candidate may not be a real candidate because he was not present on the campaign trail, before it was revealed that the candidate had been diagnosed with bowel cancer and was forced to have a major operation, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. [9]
In the 2019 Australian Federal Election, Mark Aldridge ran as the top South Australian senate candidate for The Great Australian Party, newly established by former One Nations Senator Rod Culleton, [10] receiving 1.16% of the primary vote. [11]
Aldridge ran for Mayor in the City of Playford, neighbouring the City of Salisbury where his mother, Gillian Aldridge has been the Mayor since 2008. He received 12.3% of the first preference vote. [12]
Aldridge was singled out by online verification service RMIT CrossCheck for spreading misinformation about the 2023 Voice Referendum when he stated that the voice could be expanded to have veto powers as a "black parliament". [13]
Aldridge ran as a Trumpet of Patriots candidate in the South Australian seat of Makin, but resigned from the party several days before the election due to disagreements with party strategies, such as mass SMS marketing. [14] [15]
Aldridge is the leader of the United Voice Australia Party, established in 2025. [16]
In the landmark defamation case Johnston v Aldridge, the District Court of South Australia ordered Aldrige to pay $100,000 in damages, including aggravated damages, after finding him liable for defamatory comments posted on his Facebook page. [17] [18] [19] [10]
In 2013, South Australian Police searched Aldridges property to check if his firearms were stored correctly, and removed five firearms including a rifle and a pistol. He was later arrested and charged under Section 21 of the Firearms Act, with the charges later dropped. [20]
The Registrar of Firearms cancelled Aldridge's firearms licence in 2020, claiming he was "not a fit and proper" person to hold one, after he made repeated indirect threats to use his firearms to harm others. He applied to SA Civil and Administrative Tribunal to have his firearms license reinstated, but after a two day hearing the tribunal denied his application, stating "there is a risk that the applicant may cause harm to another by the threatened use of a firearm." [1]
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