Bridget Kathleen Archer (born 18 May 1975) is an Australian politician who has been a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

since the 2019 federal election. She is a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

and represents the

Division of Bass The Division of Bass is an Australian electoral division in Tasmania. Geography Since 1984, federal electoral division boundaries in Australia have been determined at redistributions by a redistribution committee appointed by the Australian ...

in Tasmania.

Early life

Archer was born in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. Her father died when she was eight years old, after which her family moved to Ravenswood, a suburb of Launceston. Archer attended Ravenswood Primary School and

Launceston Church Grammar School (Unless the Lord is with us, our labour is in vain) , established = , type = Independent, co-educational, day & boarding , denomination = Anglican , slogan = Nurture, Challenge, I ...

before moving back to Hobart to attend the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...

, although she soon dropped out. She worked at the

Tasmanian Herbarium The Tasmanian Herbarium is a herbarium in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Its Index Herbariorum code is HO. It is a part of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. The earliest plant samples in the herbarium's collection date from early European explo ...

from 1995 to 1999, as a botanical curator. She later worked in "a variety of mostly casual administrative and hospitality jobs", including at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 (Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from 1 ...

, before returning to university. She completed a Bachelor of Arts in English and political science, followed by a graduate certificate in international politics.

Local government

Archer was elected to the George Town Council in 2009. She served as deputy mayor from 2011 to 2014 and then as mayor until resigning in 2019 to enter federal politics.

State and federal politics

Archer served as secretary and treasurer of the Liberal Party's George Town branch from 2012 to 2013. She stood unsuccessfully in Bass at the 2018 state election, as one of five candidates on the party's ticket. In November 2018, Archer announced that she would run for Liberal

preselection Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presele ...

in Bass. She was elected to parliament at the 2019 federal election, defeating the incumbent

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

(ALP) candidate

Ross Hart Ross or ROSS may refer to: People * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan * Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland Places * RoSS, the Republic of Sout ...

. Archer is a member of the

moderate Moderate is an ideological category which designates a rejection of radical or extreme views, especially in regard to politics and religion. A moderate is considered someone occupying any mainstream position avoiding extreme views. In American ...

faction of the Liberal Party. In December 2020, Archer publicly criticised the

Morrison Government The Morrison government was the federal executive government of Australia, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison of the Liberal Party of Australia, between 2018 and 2022. The Morrison government commenced on 24 August 2018, when it was sworn ...

's trial of a cashless debit card to deliver welfare payments, stating that she would oppose its use within her own electorate and describing it as a "punitive measure enacted on the presumption that all welfare recipients within the trial areas are incapable of managing their finances and require the government's assistance". The House of Representatives passed legislation to make the card permanent by one vote, with Archer abstaining from voting despite her earlier criticism. Archer has crossed the floor several times: * 25 November 2021, to support a motion by

Helen Haines Helen Mary Haines (born 21 September 1961) is an Australian politician who has served as the independent MP for the Victorian seat of Indi since the 2019 federal election. Early life and education Haines grew up on a dairy farm in Colac in ...

that called for a debate on a national anti-corruption commission. *10 February 2022, with four other Liberal MPs, to include protection for transgender students in the government's modifications to the Sex Discrimination Act. *4 August 2022, the sole member of the Liberal/National coalition to cross the floor to vote in favour of the government's 43% carbon emissions reduction target legislation. *30 November 2022, the sole member of the Liberal/National coalition to cross the floor to vote in favour of the government's motion to censure former prime minister

Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (; born 13 May 1968) is an Australian politician. He served as the 30th prime minister of Australia and as Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2018 to 2022, and is currently the member of parliament (MP) for t ...

over his secret appointment to several other ministries; she said that she was registering support, as a Liberal, for the rule of law.

Personal life

Archer has five children with her husband Winston. After marrying they moved to his family property outside George Town, where they farm sheep and beef cattle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Archer, Bridget 1975 births Living people Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Bass Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Women members of the Australian House of Representatives Mayors of places in Tasmania University of Tasmania alumni 21st-century Australian politicians Women mayors of places in Tasmania Politicians from Hobart Tasmanian local councillors 21st-century Australian women politicians