Andy Meddick (born 5 April 1964) is an Australian ex-politician. He was

Animal Justice Party Animal Justice Party (AJP) is a political party in Australia founded in 2009. The party was registered by the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) on 3 May 2011. The party is also registered in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, ...

member of the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council (VLC) is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Co ...

since 2018 until 2022, representing

Western Victoria Region Western Victoria Region is one of the eight electoral regions of Victoria, Australia, which elects five members to the Victorian Legislative Council (also referred to as the upper house) by proportional representation. The region was created in ...

, and is the first politician elected in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

on an animal protection platform.

Career

Meddick previously worked in construction and was motivated to start his political career when he heard the screams of animals while he worked next to a Laverton pig slaughterhouse in 2013. Meddick began handing out

how-to-vote card How-to-vote cards (HTV) are small leaflets that are handed out by party supporters during elections in Australia. Voting in the Australian lower house uses a preferential voting system. Voters must rank every candidate on the ballot in order for ...

s for the Animal Justice Party before the 2013 federal election and formed the regional group of the AJP. He contested the federal seat of Corangamite in 2016.

Political views

Meddick has been a strong critic of duck hunting in

.Victoria's duck hunt season reduced: Weekly Times Now article
/ref> He stated in his maiden speech in 2019 that he wants to work with farmers: "to help them adapt to the changes that our climate emergency will force us all to make".Animal Justice MP Andy Meddick wants to 'work with farmers': Weekly Times Now article
/ref> He also supported other members of the Victorian parliament crossbench in calling for a trial for pill testing.Crossbench to use numbers to pressure Victorian Government to introduce pill testing: ABC article
/ref> Meddick has opposed the culling of kangaroos, instead demanding in parliament that pest populations be 'relocated.' According to ''The Age'', between November 2018 and November 2021, Meddick voted with the Andrews Government's position 83.2% of the time, the most of any Legislative Council crossbencher.

Personal life

Meddick is the father of two

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through tr ...

children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meddick, Andy 1964 births Living people 21st-century Australian politicians Animal Justice Party politicians Members of the Victorian Legislative Council People from Gosford