Peter Laurence Crisp (born 22 May 1954) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

politician. He was a member of 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 ...

from 2006 to 2018, representing

Mildura Mildura is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 in 2021. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point and Merbein are included, the area had ...

. He was formerly a

Wentworth Shire Wentworth Shire is a local government area in the far south-west Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. This Shire is located adjacent to the Murray and Darling Rivers. The Shire's major roads are the Sturt and the Silver City Highwa ...

Councillor.

Early life

Crisp holds an engineering degree from

Ballarat University The University of Ballarat, Australia was a dual-sector university with multiple campuses in Victoria, Australia, including its main Ballarat campus, Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide that were authorized by the university to provide diploma, unde ...

and was a horticulturist and milk distributor before entering politics. He also served as the Chairman of the

Sunraysia Sunraysia is an illdefined district, sometimes incorrectly referred to as an economic region, located in northwestern Victoria and southwestern New South Wales in Australia. The region is renowned for its sunshine, intensive horticulture inclu ...

Citrus Growers, and was on the board of the Australian Citrus Growers.

Political career

Crisp came to prominence as the chairman of the Save the Food Bowl Alliance, a community group opposed to the Bracks government's plans to build a toxic waste dump at Nowingi, in north-west Victoria. He resigned his position as chairman after winning National Party pre-selection for the local seat of

, contesting the seat against the Independent

Russell Savage Russell Irwin Savage (born 27 January 1948) is an Australian politician, who was the independent member for the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of Mildura from 1996 until 2006. Prior to entering politics, he was a long-serving police offic ...

. Savage had held Mildura since 1996, and had polled more than 50% of the primary vote in the 2002 election. Crisp was able to outpoll Savage 40% to 33% on primary vote and won the seat on preferences, a 25-point swing against the incumbent. In January 2007 the Labor government abandoned plans to build the Nowingi waste dump after an Environmental Effects Statement recommended against the proposal, as well as acknowledging overwhelming community opposition. Crisp was the Nationals spokesperson for Public Transport and Major Projects from 2006 until February 2008 when the Nationals and Liberals entered into coalition.

Personal life

Crisp is married with three children.

Controversy

In early 2014, Crisp was charged with several firearms offences—including possession of a prohibited firearm and the possession of guns without a licence—after reporting the theft of three guns from his farm in New South Wales. He attended a court hearing in June 2014, and was found not guilty of three charges, with another three charges dismissed. He pleaded guilty to failing to prevent the loss or theft of a firearm, and was placed on a good behaviour bond.

References

External links

Parliamentary voting record of Peter Crisp at Victorian Parliament Tracker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crisp, Peter 1954 births Living people National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Federation University Australia alumni People from Mildura 21st-century Australian politicians