Russell Irwin Savage (born 27 January 1948) is an Australian politician, who was the

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

member for the

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

Legislative Assembly seat of

Mildura Mildura ( ) is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 at the 2021 census. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point, Merbein and Red ...

from 1996 until 2006. Prior to entering politics, he was a long-serving police officer in Victoria and England.

Early life and police career

Savage was born in 1948 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 educated at the Red Hill Consolidated School on the

Mornington Peninsula The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located in the south of Greater Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to ...

. From 1967 to 1969, he was a police officer with the Metropolitan Police in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He returned to Australia and joined

Victoria Police Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victor ...

in 1970, attaining the rank of senior sergeant and acting as station commander at Mildura police station.re-member: Savage, Russell Irwin

Parliament of Victoria (Australia) The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria (state), Victoria that follows a Westminster System, Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the Monarchy in Australia, King, represent ...

. In 1989 he received the National Medal for twenty years of service in the Victorian police force.

Political career

After leaving the police force in 1990, Savage entered local politics as a councillor for the

Shire of Mildura The Shire of Mildura was a local government area located at the northwestern corner of Victoria, Australia, on the Murray River and the South Australian border. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1890 until 1995. From 1920 onwards, ...

council, until 1995 when the Shire was merged with the

City of Mildura The City of Mildura was a Local government in Australia, local government area on the Murray River, in northwestern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The city covered an area of , and existed from 1920 until 1995. History Mildura was ...

and

Shire of Walpeup The Shire of Walpeup was a local government area in northwestern Victoria, Australia, along the South Australian border. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1911 until 1995. History Walpeup was incorporated as a shire on 1 November ...

into the

Rural City of Mildura The Rural City of Mildura is a Local government areas of Victoria, local government area in Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, located in the north-western part of the state. It covers an area of being the largest LGA in the state. In ...

. Savage ran as an

candidate for the seat of

in the

1996 Victorian state election The 1996 Victorian state election, held on Saturday, 30 March 1996, was for the 53rd Parliament of Victoria. It was held in the Australian state of Victoria to elect all 88 members of the state's Legislative Assembly and 22 members of the 44-m ...

. Savage based his campaign on the neglect of rural Victoria by incumbent

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Jeff Kennett Jeffrey Gibb Kennett (born 2 March 1948) is an Australian former politician who served as the 43rd Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999, Leader of the Victorian Liberal Party from 1982 to 1989 and from 1991 to 1999, and the Member for ...

's government, in particular its closure of ''

The Vinelander ''The Vinelander'' was an Australian passenger train operated by the Victorian Railways and, later, V/Line between Melbourne and Mildura from August 1972 until September 1993. Operating overnight along the Mildura line, it included motorail a ...

'' rail service between Melbourne and Mildura. Savage was elected after picking up a large swing from the incumbent

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

member

Craig Bildstien Craig Stephen Bildstien (born 20 November 1957) in an Australian journalist and former politician, who was a Liberal Party member for the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Mildura from 1988 to 1996. Born in Mildura, he attended Merbein Hig ...

, even as the Liberal state government was easily reelected. It was only the third time since the seat's creation in 1927 that it had been out of the hands of a conservative party. At the next Victorian election in 1999, Savage retained his seat, and along with two other independents (

Craig Ingram Craig Ingram (born 25 March 1965) is a former Australian politician, and was the Independent Member of Parliament for Gippsland East in the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2010. In 2012 he was appointed as executive officer for the ...

and

Susan Davies Susan Margaret Davies (born 1954) is an Australian former politician. She was born in Mirboo North, Victoria, to parents Richard Llewellyn (dec) and Jean Margaret Davies (dec). She attended Leongatha High School (1966–70) and Watsonia ...

), held the balance of power in the Victorian parliament (pending the results of a supplementary election in Frankston East following the death of sitting MP

Peter McLellan Frederick Peter McLellan (20 October 1942 – 18 September 1999) was an Australian politician. Early life McLellan was born in Melbourne in 1942, attending Holy Name Primary School in East Preston. Career and death From 1956, he wor ...

on election day). At 11am on 18 October, Savage, Ingram and Davies held simultaneous press conferences, announcing their support for the Labor Party led by

Steve Bracks Stephen Phillip Bracks (born 15 October 1954) is a former Australian politician and was the 44th Premier of Victoria. He first won the electoral district of Williamstown in 1994 for the Labor Party and was party leader and premier from 1999 t ...

. Savage lost his seat to the National Party's

Peter Crisp Peter Laurence Crisp (born 22 May 1954) is an Australian politician. He was a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 2006 to 2018, representing Mildura. He was formerly a Wentworth Shire Councillor. Early life Crisp holds an enginee ...

in the

2006 Victorian State election The 2006 Victorian state election, held on Saturday, 25 November 2006, was for the 56th Parliament of Victoria. Just over 3 million Victoria (state), Victorians registered to vote elected 88 members to the Legislative Assembly of Victoria, Legi ...

, a loss he attributed to the Nationals' high-budget campaign, Labor's failure to reopen the Mildura rail link, and a proposal to build a toxic waste dump in his electorate.Green, Jonathan
It's an awful job — I'm glad I don't have to do it
''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'', 27 November 2006. After leaving his seat, Savage kept a low profile, saying "There's nothing more dull than ex-members of parliament. Once you're out, you're out."Fyfe, Melissa; John Mangan
Where are they now?
''

'', 13 September 2009. He and his wife Gaie now live at their property in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Noosa The Shire of Noosa () is a local government area about north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast district of South East Queensland, Australia. The shire covers an area of . It existed as a local government entity from 1910 until 2008, when it w ...

hinterland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Savage, Russell 1948 births Living people Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Independent members of the Parliament of Victoria Australian police officers Metropolitan Police officers People from Mildura 21st-century Australian politicians