Michael Paul Crutchfield (born 12 December 1961) is an Australian politician. He was formerly the member for

South Barwon South Barwon is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Victoria. Located in a mixed urban and rural area south of the Barwon River, it covers an area of 621 km², including the Geelong suburbs of ...

in the

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

Early life

Crutchfield was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, but attended high school in the coastal city of

Warrnambool Warrnambool ( Maar: ''Peetoop'' or ''Wheringkernitch'' or ''Warrnambool'') is a city on the south-western coast of Victoria, Australia. At the 2021 census, Warrnambool had a population of 35,743. Situated on the Princes Highway, Warrnambool (Al ...

. He studied to become a teacher at the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

before returning to

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 ...

and taking up a position as a teacher at Chanel College in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

. Two years later, however, he left the position and took on a position as a career firefighter with the

Country Fire Authority The Country Fire Authority (CFA) is a volunteer fire service responsible for fire suppression, rescues, and response to other accidents and hazards across most of the state Victoria, Australia. CFA comprises over 1,200 brigades organised in 21 ...

Political career

Crutchfield ran for and was elected to the council of the

City of Greater Geelong The City of Greater Geelong is a local government area in the Barwon South West region of Victoria, Australia, located in the western part of the state. It covers an area of and, had a population of 271,057 as of the 2021 Australian census. ...

in 1995. He was a popular and high-profile councillor, and subsequently served as the city's mayor from 2000 to 2001. Crutchfield remained on the council after losing the mayoralty, and contested Labor Party preselection for the state seat of South Barwon, which was considered a safe seat for the conservative

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 had never been won by Labor before in its history. Aided considerably by a statewide landslide victory for Labor, Crutchfield defeated long-serving incumbent

Alister Paterson Alister Irvine Paterson (born 14 March 1959) is a former Australian politician. He was the Liberal member for South Barwon in the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1992 to 2002. Paterson was born in Melbourne to John Austin Paterson and Marjo ...

in the 2002 state election, and took up his seat in parliament. He was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Water and the Environment in 2007. Crutchfield lost his seat in the 2010 state election.

Personal life

He is an avid

Geelong Cats The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed the Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club based in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition, and are the 2022 ...

supporter and a former coach and captain of the South Barwon Football Club. He is married.

References

External links

Michael Crutchfield
Parliamentary handbook information

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crutchfield, Michael 1961 births Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Living people Mayors of Geelong Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly South Barwon Football Club players 21st-century Australian politicians