Richard Riordan (Australian politician)

Last updated

Catherine Riordan
​
(m. 1995)​
Richard Riordan
MP
Member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
for Polwarth
Incumbent
Assumed office
31 October 2015
Children4
Education Monash University
Website richardriordan.com.au

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 on 31 October 2015.

In 1989, he completed his Year 12 education in Calgary (Alberta, Canada) as a Rotary Exchange Student and, in 1990, completed his Victorian Certificate of Education at Trinity College Colac, where he was a prefect. He was admitted to Monash University to undertake a Bachelor of Business Management, where 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 Liberal Party pre-selection in the seat of Polwarth, being vacated by Ian Smith, but was defeated by Terry Mulder.[ citation needed ]

Riordan experienced another pre-selection defeat in 2010, but was successful in 2015, and won the by-election which followed the resignation of Mulder. Riordan was re-elected at the 2018 state election. Despite the Liberal Party experiencing a swing against it, Riordan slightly increased his primary vote, receiving in excess of 50% of the vote. After the election, he was appointed Assistant Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Regional Development and Deputy Chair of The Public Accounts and Estimates Committee. [2] [3] [4] [5]

An important concern for Riordan has been wire rope barriers on county roads, querying whether they do more harm than good. [6] He recently[ timeframe? ] came under fire for his comments after the death of a truck driver in accident on the Princes Highway [7] when he was accused of using a fatality for political gain. However, his views were supported by some road transport groups. [8]

Riordan 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 leadership of the party, [10] but withdrew a few day later and announced his support for Brad Battin as leader. [11]

References

  1. ↑ "Retail Focus: Largest Thrifty Announced | Hardware Journal". 21 January 2015.
  2. ↑ "Home | Richard Riordan MP | Polwarth".
  3. ↑ "Public Accounts and Estimates".
  4. ↑ "'Obvious Guy was unelectable': Liberal slams party's campaign". 29 November 2018.
  5. ↑ "Guess how many young women aspire to a career in politics". 29 November 2018.
  6. ↑ Howard, Jessica (13 July 2019). "Polwarth MP welcomes Auditor General Office review into wire rope barriers" . The Standard. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  7. ↑ "MPs raise barrier safety questions". Big Rigs. Archived from the original on 14 November 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2025.
  8. ↑ "Truck tragedy sparks ugly political debate" . Geelong Advertiser. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
  9. ↑ Crane, Courtney (2 November 2015). "Polwarth by-election keeps Liberals in the hot seat". Geelong Advertiser. Retrieved 5 November 2015.[ dead link ]
  10. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ "As counting continues in Victoria's state election, one race is separated by just five votes". ABC News. 30 November 2022.
Victorian Legislative Assembly
Preceded by Member for Polwarth
2015–present		Incumbent
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