Richard Vincent Riordan (born 11 April 1972) is an Australian politician and businessman. He was elected to the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the states and territories of Australia, state lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the state upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament H ...

as a

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 ...

member for Polwarth, at a by-election held October 31, 2015. In 1989 he completed his Year 12 education in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

(Alberta, Canada) as a Rotary Exchange Student, and completed his

Victorian Certificate of Education The Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) is the credential available to secondary school students who successfully complete year 10, 11 and 12 in the Australian state of Victoria (state), Victoria as well as in some international schools i ...

at Trinity College Colac in 1990. Riordan was a prefect and was admitted to

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

to undertake a Bachelor of Business Management - during this time he was active in university politics as well as the Young Liberal Movement. After completing his studies in 1994, he was appointed managing director of his family's hardware business. In 1999, Riordan was nominated for pre-selection in the seat of Polwarth, vacated by Ian Smith.

Terry Mulder Terence Wynn Mulder (born 16 August 1952) is a former Australian politician. He was a Liberal member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2015, representing the Colac-based electorate of Polwarth. He served as Minister for Pub ...

subsequently won pre-selection for Polwarth in 1999. 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. Marquee issues for Riordan include wire rope barriers on county roads, and their effectiveness as a notable and important life-saving measure. He recently came under fire for his comments after the death of a truck driver in Clifton Springs where he was accused of using a fatality for political gain. His views were however supported by some road transport groups. 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. After the Liberal Party loss during the

2022 Victorian state election The 2022 Victorian state election was held on Saturday, 26 November 2022 to elect the 60th Parliament of Victoria. All 88 seats in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly (lower house) and all 40 seats in the Victorian Legislat ...

, Riordan announced his candidacy for the

2022 Liberal Party of Australia (Victorian Division) leadership election The 2022 Victorian Liberal Party leadership election was held on 8 December 2022 to elect the leader of the Victorian Liberal Party and, ex officio, Leader of the Opposition, following the party's loss at the 2022 Victorian state election. Matth ...

. A few days later he would withdraw and announce his support for

Brad Battin Bradley William Battin (born 12 December 1975) is an Australian politician who has served as the leader of the Victorian Liberal Party since 27 December 2024, and as member for Berwick in the Victorian Legislative Assembly since 2022. He was ...

for the leadership election.

References

External links

*
Parliamentary biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Riordan, Richard 1972 births Living people Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Australian businesspeople Monash University alumni People from Colac, Victoria 21st-century Australian politicians