Catherine Rebecca Cumming is a former Australian politician. She was a 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 ...

from November 2018 to November 2022, representing the

Western Metropolitan Region Western Metropolitan 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 ...

. She stood at the

2018 Victorian state election Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short ...

as a candidate for

Derryn Hinch's Justice Party Derryn Hinch's Justice Party, also known as the Justice Party, is a political party in Australia, registered for federal elections since 14 April 2016. The party is named after its founder, Derryn Hinch, an Australian media personality. The par ...

, but broke with the party just weeks after being elected, and was sworn in as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

. A frequent speaker at anti-COVID vaccine rallies, Cumming joined the Angry Victorians Party in 2022 but was unsuccessful in her re-election attempt, gaining just 0.57% of the vote. Before entering the Victorian Parliament, Cumming was a local councillor at the

City of Maribyrnong The City of Maribyrnong is a local government area within the metropolitan area of Melbourne, Australia. It comprises the inner western suburbs between 5 and 10 kilometres from Melbourne city centre. It was formed in 1994 from the merger of th ...

, including two terms as mayor. According to ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'', between November 2018 and November 2021, Cumming voted with the Andrews Government's position 38% of the time, one of the least of any Legislative Council crossbencher.

Career

In July 2019, it was reported that Cumming had hired her children, other relatives, and a friend to work as her electorate office staff. Despite doing this, she stated that the practice of hiring close associates as staff should be disallowed. In 2021, Cumming was a frequent attendee at Victorian anti-vaccination rallies. On 19 November 2022, Cumming declared at an anti-lockdown rally that she wished for

Premier of Victoria The premier of Victoria is the head of government in the Australian state of Victoria. The premier is appointed by the governor of Victoria, and is the leader of the political party able to secure a majority in the Victorian Legislative Assembly ...

Daniel Andrews Daniel Michael Andrews (born 6 July 1972) is an Australian politician serving as the 48th and current premier of Victoria since December 2014. He has been the leader of the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since December ...

to be turned into a "red mist". These comments were denounced by both Andrews and leader of the Victorian opposition

Matthew Guy Matthew Jason Guy (born 6 March 1974) is an Australian politician. He has been a Liberal Party of Australia Member of the Parliament of Victoria since 2006, representing Northern Metropolitan Region in the Legislative Council (2006–2014) an ...

, and led to the

Victoria Police Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''. , Victo ...

opening an investigation into Cumming for alleged promotion of violence. Ahead of the 2022 Victorian state election, Cumming set up the Independence Party. The party was not successful in getting registered, and in November she joined the Angry Victorians Party. Cumming failed to be re-elected, getting 0.57% of the vote in her region.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Derryn Hinch's Justice Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Independent members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Women members of the Victorian Legislative Council 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians {{Australia-Independent-politician-stub