Roderick Alexander Mackenzie OAM (born 17 October 1933) is an Australian politician. He was a member of the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Victorian Legislative Assembly, Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House, Melbourne, Parliament ...

from 1979 to 1992, representing

Geelong Province Geelong Province was an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Council until 2006, located around Geelong. It was abolished from the 2006 state election in the wake of the Bracks Labor government's reform of the Legislative Council. The ar ...

for the Labor Party (1979–1987) and then as an independent (1987–1992). A minister in the

Cain Cain is a biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He was a farmer who gave an offering of his crops to God. How ...

government and

President of the Victorian Legislative Council The President of the Victorian Legislative Council, also known as the presiding officer of the council, is the presiding officer of the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house of the Parliament of Victoria and equivalent to the President of ...

from 1985 to 1988, he resigned from the Labor Party in December 1987 and unsuccessfully recontested his seat in 1992 as part of the Geelong Community Alliance, a team of local independent candidates.

Biography

Mackenzie 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 ...

, and was educated at Geelong South, Geelong West, Belmont and Forrest State Schools, Geelong High School, and the

Gordon Institute of Technology The Gordon Institute of TAFE is the Technical and Further Education institute predominantly servicing the wider Geelong area. The Gordon opened in 1887 and celebrated 130 years of providing education in 2017. The Gordon provides education ...

. He was variously a plumber, plumbing inspector for the Geelong Water and Sewerage Trust, an architectural plumbing designer, a technical officer for the Commonwealth Department of Science, and a plumbing consultant before entering politics. He was a member of Australian Antarctic expeditions in 1966, 1967, 1968, 1973 and 1974. He served as president of the Matthew Flinders Girls' High School Parents and Citizens and the Geelong Movement Against Uranium Mining, and was a youth club leader in the Geelong suburbs of Belmont and

Highton Highton is a residential suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. With views across Geelong, Corio Bay and the surrounding region, Highton is located along the banks of the Barwon River and across the rolling Barrabool Hills. The Barwon River ...

for 24 years. Mackenzie joined the Labor Party in 1971 over opposition to conscription for the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, was president of the Geelong branch from 1973 to 1974, and established a party regional office in Geelong. He contested the Geelong Province seat in the Legislative Council at the 1976 election, losing to Liberal

Glyn Jenkins Owen Glyndwr Jenkins (8 April 1927 – 21 August 2014) was an Australian politician. He was born in Mildura to soldier settler Frederick John Jenkins and Doris Lewis. He was educated at Red Cliffs and then at Condamine and Toowoomba in Quee ...

, but ran again successfully at the 1979 election. He served as party spokesperson on public works from 1979 to 1982 when Labor was in opposition, and served as Minister for Soldier Settlement (1982), Minister for

Forests A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological functio ...

and Minister For Lands (1982–1983), and Minister for Conservation,

and Lands (1983–1985) in the first term of the Cain government after their 1982 election victory. Mackenzie was then appointed

, serving from 1985 to 1988, and was the first Labor member ever to preside over the traditionally conservative chamber. In 1987, Mackenzie crossed the floor to vote with the conservative parties against Labor electoral reforms that he viewed as "blatantly political". The party moved to expel him for voting against the Labor caucus, and he resigned from the party in December, one day before the planned vote on his expulsion. He stepped down as President of the Legislative Council in 1988 when Labor refused to support him continuing in the role, and served out his term as an independent. Mackenzie sought to run for re-election at the 1992 state election under the banner of the Geelong Community Alliance, a group of independents he had founded and formally registered as a political party. The alliance, which included radio announcer Roger Kent and former Geelong trades hall secretary Malcolm Brough, received significant local media attention, but was unsuccessful, as Mackenzie was soundly defeated by Liberal candidate Bill Hartigan and only Kent in the Legislative Assembly seat of

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung language, Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in Victoria, Australia, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River (Victo ...

polled well enough for his preferences to affect the outcome. Mackenzie subsequently contested the 1996 local government elections for the Shire of Golden Plains, but was unsuccessful. A long-time campaigner for

voluntary euthanasia Voluntary euthanasia is the purposeful ending of another person's life at their request, in order to relieve them of suffering. Voluntary euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide (PAS) have been the focus of intense debate in the 21st century, ...

, he has served as patron of Dying With Dignity Victoria and has been a frequent spokesperson in favour of law reform in this area. He has also campaigned with former opponent and Liberal minister

around issues of water supply to the Geelong region. In retirement, Mackenzie has also been an occasional columnist for the ''

Geelong Advertiser The ''Geelong Advertiser'' is a daily newspaper circulating in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, the Bellarine Peninsula, and surrounding areas. First published on 21 November 1840, the ''Geelong Advertiser'' is the oldest newspaper title in Victo ...

''. He received the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...

in 1999 for his services to the Geelong community.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mackenzie, Roderick 1933 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Independent members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Ministers for forests (Victoria) Ministers for conservation (Victoria)