Russell Irwin Savage (born 27 January 1948) is an Australian politician, who was the

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 ...

member for the Victorian Legislative Assembly seat of

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 ...

from 1996 until 2006. Prior to entering politics, he was a long-serving police officer in Victoria and England.

Early life and police career

Savage was born in 1948 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 educated at the Red Hill Consolidated School on the

Mornington Peninsula The Mornington Peninsula is a peninsula located south of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is surrounded by Port Phillip to the west, Western Port to the east and Bass Strait to the south, and is connected to the mainland in the north. Geogra ...

. From 1967 to 1969, he was a police officer with the

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He returned to Australia and joined

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 ...

in 1970, attaining the rank of senior sergeant and acting as station commander at Mildura police station.re-member: Savage, Russell Irwin
Parliament of Victoria (Australia). In 1989 he received the National Medal for twenty years of service in the Victorian police force.

Political career

After leaving the police force in 1990, Savage entered local politics as a councillor for the

Shire of Mildura The Shire of Mildura was a local government area located at the northwestern corner of Victoria, Australia, on the Murray River and the South Australian border. The shire covered an area of , and existed from 1890 until 1995. From 1920 onwards ...

council, until 1995 when the Shire was merged with the City of Mildura and Shire of Walpeup into the

Rural City of Mildura The Rural City of Mildura is a local government area in Victoria, Australia, located in the north-western part of the state. It covers an area of being the largest LGA in the state. In June 2016 the area had a population of 53,878. It includes ...

. Savage ran as an

candidate for the seat of

in the 1996 Victorian state election. Savage based his campaign on the neglect of rural Victoria by incumbent

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Jeff Kennett Jeffrey Gibb Kennett (born 2 March 1948) is a former Australian politician who was the 43rd Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999, and currently a media commentator. He was previously the president of the Hawthorn Football Club, serving ...

's government, in particular its closure of ''

The Vinelander ''The Vinelander'' was an Australian passenger train operated by the Victorian Railways and later V/Line between Southern Cross railway station, Melbourne and Mildura railway station, Mildura from August 1972 until September 1993. Operating over ...

'' rail service between Melbourne and Mildura. Savage was elected after picking up a large swing from the incumbent

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member Craig Bildstien, even as the Liberal state government was easily reelected. It was only the third time since the seat's creation in 1927 that it had been out of the hands of a conservative party. At the next Victorian election in 1999, Savage retained his seat, and along with two other independents (

Craig Ingram Craig Ingram (born 25 March 1965) is a former Australian politician, and was the Independent Member of Parliament for Gippsland East in the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2010. In 2012 he was appointed as executive officer for the ...

and Susan Davies), held the balance of power in the Victorian parliament (pending the results of a supplementary election in

Frankston East Frankston can refer to: *Frankston, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia **Frankston City, a local government area in the same city **Electoral district of Frankston, an electoral district in Victoria, Australia *Frankston, Texas, a small town ...

following the death of sitting MP

Peter McLellan Frederick Peter McLellan (20 October 1942 – 18 September 1999) was an Australian politician. Early life McLellan was born in Melbourne in 1942, attending Holy Name Primary School in East Preston. Career and death From 1956, he worked ...

on election day). At 11am on 18 October, Savage, Ingram and Davies held simultaneous press conferences, announcing their support for the Labor Party led by Steve Bracks. Savage lost his seat to the National Party's Peter Crisp in the

2006 Victorian State election The 2006 Victorian state election, held on Saturday, 25 November 2006, was for the 56th Parliament of Victoria. Just over 3 million Victorians registered to vote elected 88 members to the Legislative Assembly and, for the first time, 40 member ...

, a loss he attributed to the Nationals' high-budget campaign, Labor's failure to reopen the Mildura rail link, and a proposal to build a toxic waste dump in his electorate.Green, Jonathan
It's an awful job — I'm glad I don't have to do it
''

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 ...

'', 27 November 2006. After leaving his seat, Savage kept a low profile, saying "There's nothing more dull than ex-members of parliament. Once you're out, you're out."Fyfe, Melissa; John Mangan
Where are they now?
''

'', 13 September 2009. He and his wife Gaie now live at their property in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Noosa The Shire of Noosa is a local government area about north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast district of South East Queensland, Australia. The shire covers an area of . It existed as a local government entity from 1910 until 2008, when it was ...

hinterland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Savage, Russell 1948 births Living people Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Independent members of the Parliament of Victoria Australian police officers Metropolitan Police officers People from Mildura 21st-century Australian politicians