Roger Pescott (born 30 May 1946) is a former Australian diplomat and politician. He 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 ...

and graduated with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

from the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies an ...

in 1970. In 1971 he became a diplomat, with postings to

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

(1971–72), East Berlin (1975–76),

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

(1976–79) and

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

(1979–80). He was also a member of the Australian delegation to the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

in 1972 and a member of the 2nd NPT Review Conference in

Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...

in 1980. In 1981 he left the diplomatic service to become a managing director. 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 was elected to 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 presidin ...

in 1985 as the member for Bennettswood, transferring to

Mitcham Mitcham is an area within the London Borough of Merton in South London, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross. Originally a village in the county of Surrey, today it is mainly a residential suburb, and includes Mitcham Common. It h ...

in 1992. Immediately after his election he was appointed Secretary to the Shadow Cabinet, and he quickly rose to the front bench as Shadow Minister for Consumer Affairs and Tourism. In 1989 he moved to Transport and also became Deputy Leader of the Opposition, but in 1990 he lost those roles and was Shadow Minister for Manufacturing Industry and Commerce. Following the 1992 state election, which was won by the Coalition, Pescott became Minister for Industry Services, serving until 1996. Pescott resigned his seat in 1997, ‘in protest at the undermining, as Pescott saw it, of the power of the Auditor General and a belief the AG would no longer be able to fulfil an independent watchdog role.’. Pescott’s final speech in parliament featured a blistering attack on Premier, Jeff Kennett who he accused of not listening to advice and not fostering debate within the party room. The seat of

was lost by the

and won by

Tony Robinson Sir Anthony Robinson (born 15 August 1946) is an English actor, author, broadcaster, comedian, presenter, and political activist. He played Baldrick in the BBC television series ''Blackadder'' and has presented several historical documentarie ...

for the Labor Party. Pescott's resignation from Parliament is widely referenced as the beginning of the end of the Kennett Government. In 1998 Pescott became chairman of Environinvest Ltd. Pescott was declared bankrupt in September 2010 after Enviroinvest Ltd. went into liquidation. At the time of his bankruptcy, Pescott owed ‘millions of dollars… to secured financiers’. https://amp.smh.com.au/business/roger-pescotts-tools-of-trade-20110206-1aii5.html

References

1946 births Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Victoria Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Australian diplomats Politicians from Melbourne {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub