Chris Rath

The Honourable Chris Rath MLC
Opposition Whip in the New South Wales Legislative Council
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 April 2023
Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 March 2022
Preceded by	Don Harwin
Personal details
Born	April 1989 (age 35)[1] Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
Political party	Liberal Party of Australia
Alma mater	University of Sydney

Christopher Dennis Rath is an Australian politician who currently serves as the Opposition Whip in the New South Wales Legislative Council.

He was appointed to the Legislative Council on 24 March 2022 to fill the casual vacancy caused by the resignation of Don Harwin.^[2] He was successful in contesting a further eight-year term in the 2023 New South Wales state election, then also being elected as the Opposition Whip in the Legislative Council on 21 April 2023.^[3] Rath is a member of the Liberal Party.^[4] In 2024, Rath was appointed Shadow Special Minister of State in Mark Speakman's Shadow Ministry^[5]

He is one of the two openly LGBTI Liberal Party members of the NSW Parliament, as of 2023^[update].^[6] In his role as a Member of the Legislative Council, he has advocated for free market principles, liberal industrial relations reform and structural changes to taxation.^[7]

Background

Rath attended Edmund Rice College in Wollongong and graduated in 2007. He later attended the University of Sydney, graduating with a Bachelor of Economics and a Master of Management. Between 2015 and 2022, he was a Government Relations Manager for Insurance Australia Group (IAG).^[2]

Rath's political philosophy is known to be a blend of classical liberalism and conservatism, following in the tradition of John Stuart Mill, John Locke, Edmund Burke and Adam Smith.^[8]

Political career

Rath joined the Young Liberals in 2006 in Wollongong.^[6] While attending the University of Sydney, he co-founded the University of Sydney Conservative Club.^[9] Since then, he served in a number of roles within the NSW Division of the Liberal Party of Australia, including as a member of its state executive from 2015 to 2022 and as the Urban Vice-President from 2019 to 2022.^[2]

Following his appointment to the New South Wales Legislative Council, Rath was tasked with holding the unions accountable for partisan political campaigning.^[10] He was instrumental in forcing the resignation of Rail Tram and Bus Union (NSW Branch) Secretary Alex Claassens from Labor's Administrative Committee after campaigning to demonstrate Claassens' conflict of interest between the two roles.^[11]

He was also a member of the Inquiry into Allegations of Impropriety Against Agents of the City of Canterbury Bankstown Council, which forced the withdrawal of Labor City of Canterbury-Bankstown Mayor Khal Asfour from his candidature for the Legislative Council in the upcoming election.^[12]

Rath served in the 57th Parliament of New South Wales as the Chair of the Law and Justice Committee, also becoming the Temporary Chair of Committees.^[13]

References

1. Hutchinson, Samantha; Brook, Stephen (23 March 2022). "Seeing red over Labor's Mean Girls and Charlie's Angels". The Sydney Morning Herald.
2. "The Hon. (Chris) Christopher RATH, BEc, MMgt MLC". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
3. "Mark Speakman elected leader of the NSW Liberals, promising renewal". Australian Financial Review. 21 April 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
4. "Legislative Council Results - NSW Election 2023". abc.net.au. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
5. https://x.com/ChrisRathMLC/status/1817339622323879938
6. "Legislative Council Hansard – 10 May 2022 – Proof - Inaugural Speeches". 10 May 2022.
7. "Mr Rath's speeches in Hansard". www.parliament.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
8. https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Hansard/Pages/HansardResult.aspx#/docid/HANSARD-1820781676-88865/HANSARD-1820781676-89081 ^{[bare URL]}
9. "About Us". USYD CONSERVATIVE CLUB. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
10. https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/war-of-attrition-rolling-strikes-a-deadly-political-weapon-against-the-government/news-story/d34b1dc7251c06ac4a148e187a4dc923 ^{[bare URL]}
11. https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/rtbu-boss-alex-claassens-steps-back-as-chris-minns-rallies-800-labor-faithful/news-story/79fced3cbdb5919b842908fa854c23d7 ^{[bare URL]}
12. "Receipts show mayor charged taxpayers for Tokyo massage, alcohol and luxury clothes". ABC News. 19 January 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
13. "The Hon. (Chris) Christopher RATH, BEc, MMgt MLC". www.parliament.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 9 October 2023.