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 Donald Thomas Harwin (born 5 July 1964) is an Australian politician. He was the New South Wales Special Minister of State and the Minister for the Public Service and Employee Relations, Aboriginal Affairs, and the Arts in the second Berejiklian ...

. He was successful in contesting a further eight-year term in the

2023 New South Wales state election The 2023 New South Wales state election will be held on 25 March 2023 to elect the 58th Parliament of New South Wales, including all 93 seats in the Legislative Assembly and 21 of the 42 seats in the Legislative Council. The election will be ...

, then also being elected as the Opposition Whip in the Legislative Council on 21 April 2023. Rath 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 ...

. He is one of the two openly LGBTI Liberal Party members of the NSW Parliament, . In his role as a Member of the Legislative Council, he has advocated for

free market In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any o ...

principles, liberal

industrial relations Industrial relations or employment relations is the multidisciplinary academic field that studies the employment relationship; that is, the complex interrelations between employers and employees, labor/trade unions, employer organizations, ...

reform and structural changes to taxation.

Background

Rath attended Edmund Rice College in Wollongong and graduated in 2007. He later attended the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, 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 Insurance Australia Group Limited (IAG) is a multinational insurance company. It is the largest general insurance company in Australia, and also the largest in New Zealand through its subsidiary IAG New Zealand. IAG had its origins in the Nati ...

(IAG). Rath's political philosophy is known to be a blend of

classical liberalism Classical liberalism is a political tradition Political culture describes how culture impacts politics. Every political system is embedded in a particular political culture. Definition Gabriel Almond defines it as "the particular patt ...

and

conservatism Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

, following in the tradition of

John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament (MP) and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to ...

John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...

Edmund Burke Edmund Burke (; 12 January NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS">New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS/nowiki>_1729_–_9_July_1797)_was_an_ NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style"> ...

and

Adam Smith Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...

Political career

Rath joined the Young Liberals in 2006 in Wollongong. While attending the University of Sydney, he co-founded the University of Sydney Conservative Club. Since then, he served in a number of roles within the NSW Division of the

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party. It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Au ...

, including as a member of its state executive from 2015 to 2022 and as the Urban Vice-President from 2019 to 2022. Following his appointment to the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

, Rath was tasked with holding the unions accountable for partisan political campaigning. He was instrumental in forcing the resignation o
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. He was also a member of th
Inquiry into Allegations of Impropriety Against Agents of the City of Canterbury Bankstown Council
which forced the withdrawal of Labor

City of Canterbury-Bankstown The City of Canterbury Bankstown (also known as Canterbury-Bankstown Council) is a local government, local government area located in the South Western Sydney, South Western region of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The council was formed on ...

Mayor

Khal Asfour Khaldoun Asfour is an Australian politician currently serving as the Mayor of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, the largest local government area in New South Wales by population, and fourth most-populous local government in Australia. He previou ...

from his candidature for the Legislative Council in the upcoming election. Rath served in the 57th

Parliament of New South Wales The Parliament of New South Wales is a bicameral legislature in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), consisting of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the New South Wales Legislative Council (upper house). Eac ...

as the Chair of the Law and Justice Committee, also becoming the Temporary Chair of Committees.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rath, Chris Living people LGBT conservatism Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales 21st-century Australian politicians 1989 births