Christopher Dennis Rath is an Australian politician who currently serves as the Opposition Whip in the New South Wales Legislative Council. He was appointed to the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

on 24 March 2022 to fill the casual vacancy caused by the resignation of

Don Harwin Donald Thomas Harwin (born 5 July 1964) is an Australian politician. He was the New South Wales Special Minister of State and the Minister for the Public Service and Employee Relations, Aboriginal Affairs, and the Arts in the second Berejiklia ...

. He was successful in contesting a further eight-year term in the

2023 New South Wales state election The 2023 New South Wales state election was held on 25 March 2023 to elect the 58th Parliament of New South Wales, including all 93 seats in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly and 21 of the 42 seats in the New South ...

, then also being elected as the Opposition Whip in the Legislative Council on 21 April 2023. Rath is a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

. In 2024, Rath was appointed Shadow

Special Minister of State Special or specials may refer to: Policing * Specials, Ulster Special Constabulary, the Northern Ireland police force * Specials, Special Constable, an auxiliary, volunteer, or temporary; police worker or police officer * Special police forces ...

Mark Speakman Mark Raymond Speakman (born 6 November 1959) is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly since 2011 New South Wales state election, 2011, representing Electoral district of Cronulla, Cronulla ...

's Shadow Ministry. He is one of the two openly LGBTI Liberal Party members of the NSW Parliament, . In his role as a Member of the Legislative Council, he has advocated for

free market In economics, a free market is an economic market (economics), system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of ...

principles, liberal

industrial relations Industrial relations or employment relations is the multidisciplinary academic field that studies the employment relationship; that is, the complex interrelations between employers and employees, labor union, labor/trade unions, employer organ ...

reform and structural changes to taxation.

Background

Rath attended Edmund Rice College in Wollongong and graduated in 2007. He later attended the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

, graduating with a Bachelor of Economics and a Master of Management. Between 2015 and 2022, he was a Government Relations Manager for

Insurance Australia Group Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG) is a multinational insurance company. It is the largest general insurance company in Australia, and also the largest in New Zealand through its subsidiary IAG New Zealand. IAG had its origins in the Na ...

(IAG). Rath's political philosophy is known to be a blend of

classical liberalism Classical liberalism is a political tradition and a branch of liberalism that advocates free market and laissez-faire economics and civil liberties under the rule of law, with special emphasis on individual autonomy, limited governmen ...

and

conservatism Conservatism is a Philosophy of culture, cultural, Social philosophy, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, Convention (norm), customs, and Value (ethics and social science ...

, following in the tradition of

John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, politician and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of liberalism and social liberalism, he contributed widely to s ...

John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) – 28 October 1704 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.)) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thi ...

Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January ew Style, NS1729 – 9 July 1797) was an Anglo-Irish Politician, statesman, journalist, writer, literary critic, philosopher, and parliamentary orator who is regarded as the founder of the Social philosophy, soc ...

and

Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptised 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the field of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as the "father of economics"——— or ...

Political career

Rath joined the Young Liberals in 2006 in Wollongong. While attending the University of Sydney, he co-founded the University of Sydney Conservative Club. Since then, he served in a number of roles within the NSW Division of the

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia (LP) is the prominent centre-right political party in Australia. It is considered one of the two major parties in Australian politics, the other being the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The Liberal Party was fo ...

, including as a member of its state executive from 2015 to 2022 and as the Urban Vice-President from 2019 to 2022. Following his appointment to the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...

, Rath was tasked with holding the unions accountable for partisan political campaigning. He was instrumental in forcing the resignation o
Rail Tram and Bus Union (NSW Branch)
Secretary Alex Claassens from Labor's Administrative Committee after campaigning to demonstrate Claassens' conflict of interest between the two roles. He was also a member of th
Inquiry into Allegations of Impropriety Against Agents of the City of Canterbury Bankstown Council
which forced the withdrawal of Labor

City of Canterbury-Bankstown Canterbury-Bankstown Council, trading as the City of Canterbury Bankstown and stylised as CBCity, is a Local government areas of New South Wales, local government area in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Th ...

Mayor

Khal Asfour Khaldoun Asfour is an Australian politician and former Mayor of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, the largest local government area in New South Wales by population, and fourth most-populous local government in Australia. He previously served as ...

from his candidature for the Legislative Council in the upcoming election. Rath served in the 57th

Parliament of New South Wales The Parliament of New South Wales, formally the Legislature of New South Wales, (definition of "The Legislature") is the bicameral legislative body of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). It consists of the Monarch, the New South Wa ...

as the Chair of the Law and Justice Committee, also becoming the Temporary Chair of Committees.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rath, Chris Living people LGBTQ conservatism LGBTQ legislators in Australia Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales 21st-century Australian politicians Australian gay politicians 1989 births University of Sydney alumni