John Ruddick

For the Peruvian-British film actor, see John Ruddock.

The Honourable
John Ruddick
MLC
Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council
Incumbent
Assumed office
20 April 2023
Personal details
Born
John Raymond Nettleton Ruddick
Political partyLibertarian (since 2021)[1]
Other political
affiliations		Liberal (1994–2015)[2][1]
SpouseKelly Ruddick
Children
  • Mortgage broker
  • Politician

John Raymond Nettleton Ruddick is an Australian politician. He has been a Libertarian member of the New South Wales Legislative Council since 20 April 2023, and is the first member of the party to be elected to the NSW Parliament. Before entering Parliament, Ruddick was a member of the Liberal Party.[1]

Career

Liberal Party

Ruddick was a member of the Liberal Party for over twenty-five years. He worked as a member of staff to former Federal Member for Parramatta, Ross Cameron and served as a member of the NSW Liberal Party state executive.

In 2011, Ruddick first contested the presidency of the NSW Liberal Party on a platform of democratisation. He unsuccessfully contested the presidency again the following year, increasing his vote to 40%.[3]

In 2013, he appeared on 7.30, calling for further restrictions on lobbyists holding positions in the Liberal Party. For this, he faced suspension from the party for between two and five years. He was subsequently suspended for the full five years.[4]

In 2017, while a member of the Liberal Party, Ruddick threatened to join the Cory Bernardi-led Australian Conservatives if the 'Warringah Motion' for plebiscites to determine preselections was not carried.[5]

In 2020, Ruddick started JR Mortgages, a mortgage broker house in Sydney.[6] He is listed as the company's director.[7]

Libertarian

Ruddick left the Liberal Party to join the Liberal Democrats (renamed in 2024 to the Libertarian Party) in 2021, following public dissatisfaction with the Liberals' response to COVID-19, lockdowns and what he alleged to be a lack of democratisation in the party. He initially announced he would contest the electorate of Warringah at the 2022 federal election,[8] but instead unsuccessfully contested the Senate.[9]

Ruddick was the lead candidate on the LDP's Legislative Council ticket at the 2023 New South Wales state election.[10] In late 2022, the Liberal Democrats NSW state executive voted to disendorse Ruddick as its lead MLC candidate for the NSW state election following allegations of bullying and harassment of campaign staff, allegations which Ruddick denied. After a petition calling for a special general meeting over the matter was signed by over 25% of the party's 320 members, Ruddick was re-endorsed.[11]

The party received 3.53% of the primary vote in the upper house ballot, a swing of +1.3%, a quota of 0.7755.[10] As the lead candidate, Ruddick was declared elected on 20 April 2023.[12] He is the first member of the party to be elected to the NSW Parliament.[13] His term will expire on 7 March 2031.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c John Ruddick (28 June 2023). "Inaugural Speeches" (PDF). Legislative Council Hansard - 28 June 2023 - Proof. New South Wales Parliament: Legislative Council. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 September 2024.
  2. ^ Henderson, Anna (21 September 2015). "Former Liberal Party presidency candidate John Ruddick resigns after calling for leadership vote overhaul". ABC News. Archived from the original on 19 September 2024.
  3. ^ Chan, Gabrielle (4 October 2013). "Liberal party member threatened with suspension for NSW reform crusade". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 19 September 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  4. ^ Peacock, Matt (3 October 2013). "Liberal Party member threatened with suspension after reform push". ABC News. Archived from the original on 19 September 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  5. ^ Chan, Gabrielle (21 July 2017). "Former NSW Liberal member threatens to 'tear party apart' if Warringah motion fails". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 19 September 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  6. ^ "Current details for ABN 17 147 863 312". abr.business.gov.au. 1 November 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  7. ^ "About". JR Mortgages. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  8. ^ Davies, Anne. "Rightwing Australian politicians use Covid lockdowns to promote challenge to Liberal party". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 September 2024.
  9. ^ "Senate candidates". Australian Electoral Commission. RUDDICK, John. Archived from the original on 19 September 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
  10. ^ a b Green, Antony. "Legislative Council Results – NSW Election 2023". ABC News. Eleected and Re-elected Members. Archived from the original on 19 September 2024. Liberal Democrats - John Ruddick (Elected 19) at Count 287
  11. ^ Maddison, Max (3 January 2023). "NSW Liberal Democrats at impasse as feud deepens". The Australian. Archived from the original on 2 January 2023.
  12. ^ a b "The Hon. John RUDDICK, MLC". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 23 April 2023.
  13. ^ "NSW upper house: Jeremy Buckingham back, Latham to return, Nile gone and LDP wins its first NSW seat". 6 News Australia. 19 April 2023. Archived from the original on 19 September 2024.