Peter Ryan (politician)

Peter Julian Ryan (born 30 October 1950) is an Australian politician and leader of the National Party in Victoria. He has represented the electoral district of Gippsland South since 1992, and has been the Deputy Premier of Victoria, Minister for Police as well as the Minister for Rural and Regional Development since 2 December 2010.

Early years

Ryan was born in Bendigo and educated in Shepparton where he graduated from high school in 1968. He went on to study law, graduating from his articled clerk's course in 1974 at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. He was admitted as a barrister and solicitor to the Supreme Court of Victoria in 1974.^[1]

Ryan began working as a lawyer for the Gippsland firm Warren Graham and Murphy in Sale in 1974. He became a partner in 1976 and managing partner in 1989 until leaving the firm in 1991 to pursue a career in politics.

Entry to politics

Ryan entered the Victorian Legislative Assembly as the member for Gippsland South in 1992. At this election, the Kirner Government was defeated by the Liberal-National Coalition in a landslide win. This led to problems for the National Party, because the Liberal Party had won a majority in its own right in both the Assembly and Council. Jeff Kennett honoured his pre-election arrangements with the Nationals, but by not holding the balance of power the Nationals were very much the junior member of the Coalition. Ryan was not given a portfolio for the seven year duration of the Kennett Government, although he was a member of several committees.

Leadership ascension

Rural discontent led to a shock defeat for the Kennett Government in 1999, with large swings in rural and regional Victoria to the ALP delivering a minority Labor Government with support from three independents. Kennett left the parliament shortly after the election, and National Party leader Pat McNamara resigned as leader in December 1999. Ryan was elected as leader unopposed. One of his first acts as leader was to terminate the coalition arrangement and sit on the benches as a separate party.^[2]

Opposition years

The Nationals remained in opposition from 1999 to 2010. In mid-2000, McNamara left the parliament and his hitherto safe seat of Benalla was also lost to the ALP. At the 2002 election, the Nationals received only 4.3% of the primary vote and were reduced to just seven seats in the Assembly and four seats in the Council; the combined total of eleven was the minimum required to maintain Third Party status.^[3] However, they did manage to win back Benalla despite the ALP landslide.

However, the Nationals were steadily re-defining themselves as a party distinct from the Liberals, including a re-branding as the "Vicnats". Ryan led several attacks against the Liberal Party, particularly their no-tolls policy on the Melbourne Eastlink freeway^[4] and on former leader Robert Doyle's remarks that the Liberals were twenty seats from government, a statement that assumed that the Nationals would support a Liberal government.^[5]

Relations soured further at the beginning of 2006 when Senator Julian McGauran defected from the Nationals to the Liberals, who were in a coalition government at federal level.^[6] Federal party leader Mark Vaile accused McGauran of betrayal, while Ryan stated that "People treat deserters exactly in the way that this fellow will be treated and reviled for the rest of his days. And justifiably so."^[7]

In 2003 the party was re-branded as The Nationals in line with the federal party, although the official name remains the National Party of Australia.^[8]

2006 election

Many commentators had stated that The Nationals were facing electoral oblivion at the 2006 election, especially when rumours emerged of a possible preference deal between the Liberals and the ALP which would favour the Liberals against the Nationals, and the ALP against the Greens.^[9] Changes to the Upper House were also likely to slash the Nationals from four members to just one. Ten days prior to the election, Ryan gave what one commentator described the "speech of the campaign thus far" when he lambasted the major parties for their perceived actions.

"Welcome", he said, "to Survivor Spring Street", an exercise in reality politics in which "associations that in some instances have been developed for years, amount to an absolute hill of beans", one in which the support offered through long-standing political partnership "is thrown back in your face".^[10]

The Nationals went on to increase their primary vote to 5.17%, winning two seats in the Assembly which were offset by two losses in the Council.^[11] One notable victory was in Mildura, where Peter Crisp defeated the incumbent Russell Savage (one of the three independents who had removed the Nationals from power in 1999), an event which Ryan described as "an impossible dream".^[12]

Premier Steve Bracks resigned unexpectedly in July 2007. In contrast with the leader of the Opposition, Ted Baillieu, Ryan commended Bracks on his parliamentary career and thanked him for his professionalism.^[13] This action is in step with what one commentator describes as "an unprecedented warm relationship with the state Labor Government", which includes reciprocating support for committee chairs.^[14]

Coalition

In February 2008 Ryan announced at a joint news conference with Liberal Party leader Ted Baillieu that the Victorian Nationals and Liberals would join in a new Coalition agreement.^[15] As part of the arrangement, both parties agreed to hold joint party meetings, develop joint policies, allocate five shadow cabinet positions to the Nationals, abolish three-cornered contests (unless otherwise agreed) and run joint legislative council tickets in the non-metropolitan Regions.^[16] Ryan became the Shadow Minister for Regional and Rural Development and the Shadow Minister for Manufacturing, Exports and Trade.^[17] Following the horrendous summer bushfires of 2009, Ryan was appointed Shadow Minister for Bushfire Response by the Coalition.^[18]

Deputy Premier of Victoria

The 2010 election saw the defeat of the John Brumby Labor government and the election of Ted Baillieu as Premier and Peter Ryan, as customary in a coalition agreement, his deputy and hence, Deputy Premier of Victoria. The Nationals at the 2010 election under Ryan's leadership won the seat of Gippsland East from an Independent, boosting the Nationals Legislative Assembly representation from 9 to 10. Ryan is also the Minister for Police as well as Minister for Rural and Regional Development in the coalition government.

Personal life

Ryan is married to Trish and has three children: Sarah, James and Julian.

External links

• Official website
• The Nationals — Victoria

References