Matthew Donald Andrew Bach (born 31 March 1983) is an Australian teacher, historian, and former politician. He served as a Liberal Member of the

Victorian Parliament The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria that follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the King, represented by the governor of Victoria, the Legislative Assembly ...

from 2020 to 2023, representing the

North-Eastern Metropolitan Region North-Eastern Metropolitan Region, previously Eastern Metropolitan Region between 2006 and 2022, is one of the eight electoral regions of Victoria, Australia, which elects five members to the Victorian Legislative Council (also referred to as t ...

in 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 ...

. Bach also served as Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, and as a frontbencher in the Shadow Cabinets of Michael O'Brien,

Matthew Guy Matthew Jason Guy (born 6 March 1974) is an Australian politician. He has been a Liberal Party member of the Parliament of Victoria since 2006, representing the Northern Metropolitan Region in the Legislative Council (2006–2014) and Bullee ...

, and

John Pesutto John Pesutto (; born 5 September 1970) is an Australian politician and lawyer who has served as the member for Electoral district of Hawthorn, Hawthorn in the Victorian Legislative Assembly since 2022 Victorian state election, 2022, having prev ...

. In 2023, Bach retired from politics to resume his teaching career in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, where he will be teaching at

Brighton College Brighton College is a fee-charging, co-educational, boarding and day public school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Brighton and Hove, England. The school has three sites: Brighton College (the senior school, ages 11 to 18), Brighton Co ...

Personal life

Bach was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

in 1983 and spent the beginning of his life in the foster care system before his adoption. He attended

Melbourne Grammar School Melbourne Grammar School is an Australian private school, private Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Day school, day and boarding school. It comprises a co-educational preparatory school from Prep to Year 6 and a middle school and senior s ...

, graduating in 2001. Bach attended the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

and graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

. He also holds a Graduate Diploma of Teaching and Learning from

Charles Darwin University Charles Darwin University (CDU) is an Australian public university with two campuses in Darwin and six satellite campuses in metropolitan and regional areas of the Northern Territory. It was established in 2003 after the merger of Northern Ter ...

. In 2018, he was awarded a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in History from the University of Melbourne. Bach's research explored the existence of a criminal class in

Victorian London During the 19th century, London grew enormously to become a global city of immense importance. It was the List of largest cities throughout history, largest city in the world from about 1825, the world's largest port, and the heart of Financial ...

and the effectiveness of measures to counter it. In 2020, Bach published a book based on his doctoral thesis. After graduating, Bach worked as a schoolteacher in the

and as a Ministerial Advisor to Mary Wooldridge when she was the Minister for Community Services, Mental Health, and Women's Affairs in the Baillieu Government. Bach then worked as a senior leader, staff board representative and teacher of History and Politics at

Carey Baptist Grammar School Carey Baptist Grammar School, commonly known as Carey, is an private school, independent, co-educational, Baptists, Baptist day school in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The school has five campuses: Kew, Victoria, Kew (ELC to Year ...

. He was later the Deputy Principal and Head of the Senior School at

Ivanhoe Girls' Grammar School Ivanhoe Girls' Grammar School, is a private, Anglican, day school for girls, located in Ivanhoe, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1903, the school has a non-selective enrolment policy and currently caters for ...

, where he taught English and History. Bach campaigned for the Conservative Party in the

2010 United Kingdom general election The 2010 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 6 May 2010, to elect 650 Members of Parliament (or MPs) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons. The first to be held after the minimum age for candidates was ...

; in his candidacy for the Eastern Metropolitan Region, he cited his experience campaigning in the United Kingdom and his success in winning back seats from opposition while successfully campaigning in marginal seats as a strength in support of his candidacy.

Political career

Bach won the Liberal Party's nomination to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Mary Wooldridge, and was sworn in as Member for Eastern Metropolitan Region in March 2020. He served in the Shadow Cabinet under Liberal leaders Michael O'Brien and

across the Child Protection, Youth Justice, Youth Affairs, Higher Education, Early Childhood, and Attorney-General's portfolios. In the lead up to the 2022 election, Bach also served as the Shadow Minister for Transport Infrastructure and was a vocal opponent of the Andrews Government's

Suburban Rail Loop The Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) is a rapid transit system currently under construction in Melbourne, the capital of Victoria (Australia), Victoria and second largest city of Australia. The system is divided into four distinct sections. The two ma ...

, citing inadequate planning and significant cost overruns. Following a redistribution at the 2022 election, Bach was re-elected to Parliament as Member for North-Eastern Metropolitan Region. In December 2022, following the election of

to the leadership of the Liberal Party, Bach was elected Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party in the Legislative Council and was appointed as the Shadow Minister for Education and Shadow Minister for Child Protection. In August 2023, Bach resigned from his leadership positions and announced his intention to retire from politics and resume his career as a teacher in the United Kingdom. Bach resigned from his seat in Parliament in December 2023, and was succeeded by

Richard Welch Richard Skeffington Welch (December 14, 1929 – December 23, 1975) was a career Central Intelligence Agency officer. He was the Chief of Station (COS) in Athens, Greece, when he was assassinated by the Revolutionary Organization 17 November (17N ...

. During his time in parliament, Bach was considered to be an ally of

, as well as holding moderate political positions in relation to his Liberal colleagues.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bach, Matthew Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Council 21st-century Australian politicians 1983 births Australian schoolteachers University of Melbourne alumni Charles Darwin University alumni