- Victor Perton
Victor Perton (born
December 2 ,1958 ) is a formerAustralian parliamentarian. He was a member of theVictorian Legislative Assembly from1988 to November2006 , representing the electorate of Doncaster for theLiberal Party of Australia . He wasShadow Minister for Education, and one of the most visible members of the state opposition. He is now a [http://www.aregulatoryaffair.com regulatory affairs practitioner] andBarrister . He is a Director of the [http://www.tac.vic.gov.au Transport Accident Commission] , the [http://www.bensonsproperty.com.au/ Bensons Property Group] , [http://www.aregulatoryaffair.com/ A Regulatory Affair] and [http://austhink.com/ Austhink Consulting] . He is still active in human rights issues being the Co-Chair of the [http://www.democraticchina.net Forum for Chinese Democracy] and a member of the [http://www.swin.edu.au/business/philanthropy Steering Committee on Education and Training in Philanthropy at the Asia-Pacific Centre for Philanthropy and Social Investment] .Perton was raised in
Melbourne and is the son of refugees fromLatvia andLithuania , part of the large Baltic migration to Australia fromrefugee camps inwestern Europe after theSecond World War . Perton attended Catholic schools later studying studied economics and law atMonash University ,Melbourne University andPeking University .He joined the Liberal Party in
1976 and served on the State Executive as State President of the Young Liberal Movement and in various state and local constituency offices over the next decade. He graduated from university in1982 , and began practicing as asolicitor , as well as being a part-owner of a retail business. In1984 Perton was called to the Bar and became abarrister at theVictorian Bar . Perton subsequently gained admission to practice law in five states and in1987 , gained a Diploma of Chinese Law in1987 fromPeking University in thePeople's Republic of China .He remained active within the Liberal Party after graduating, serving on its state council and state policy assembly, and in
1988 , stood as the Liberal candidate in the safe Liberal seat of Doncaster. He was easily elected. In Opposition, he became well-known for his use ofFreedom of Information Legislation and Government Scrutiny. [http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind9901e&L=archives&P=6246] [http://www.privacy.vic.gov.au/dir100/priweb.nsf/download/94566760CB24871BCA256C530005A228/$FILE/Speech_Chadwick_1Sept02.pdf] He was a member of the Liberal Party Investigatory Committee on Casino Policy in 1990 and became a critic of the introduction of gaming machines and casinos into Victoria. He was a Member of the Coalition Tricontinental [http://www.mup.unimelb.edu.au/catalogue/0-522-84658-0.html] Taskforce and served asParliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Treasurer with special responsibility for manufacturing industry and economic development. [http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/re-member/bioregfull.cfm?mid=142]During the Kennett Government, Perton was active in [http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/lawreform/Regulatory_Efficiency/nw/chap1.html regulatory scrutiny] ,
regulatory reform [http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/lawreform/Regulatory_Efficiency/relr/title.html] , technology policy ande-democracy [http://www.peterjohnchen.com/e_democracy_in_victoria] [http://www.whatson.rmit.edu.au/more.asp?id=1384] . [http://www.fibreculture.org/conferences/conference2001/index.html]Perton was the first Australian Parliamentarian with a [http://www.vicnet.net.au/~victorp web-site] and later the first to use an electronic town hall. [http://www.anu.edu.au/mail-archives/link/link9909/0182.html]
Perton served as the first Chairman of the [http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/sarc/ Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee] . His wide interpretation of the "rights" to be protected was criticised by some within the government including Committee member and rising backbencher
Louise Asher who produced a dissenting report. Then Foreign Minister,Gareth Evans , appointed Perton as an Australian delegate to the [http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu5/wchr.htm Second UN Conference on Human Rights] .From 1996 he served as Chairman of the [http://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/lawreform/ Law Reform Committee] , the Multimedia Committee, the [http://web.mac.com/victorperton/iWeb/Privacy/DATA%20PROTECTION%20ADVISORY%20COUNCIL.html Data Protection Advisory Committee] and the Electronic Business Framework Group.
During the Kennett Government, there was media criticism that the Government was reversing some of the transparency provisions introduced over the previous decades including the Freedom of Information and the Audit Act. Within the Government, young MPs like
Steve Elder ,Robert Doyle and Perton were seen as "small-l liberal " voices against controversial changes to the Auditor General's Act and the Freedom of Information Act.In 1999, Perton became
Shadow Minister for Conservation and Environment and Shadow Minister for Multimedia (later retitiled 'Shadow Minister for Technology & Innovation." Perton performed well in these positions, and inAugust 2002 , whenRobert Doyle (Napthine's successor as leader) embarked on a major reshuffle in a last-ditch bid to boost the party's flagging fortunes before the state election due late that year, he was promoted to Shadow Attorney-General while also holding the positions of Shadow Minister for Consumer Affairs, Shadow Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Shadow Minister for Technology and Innovation.Doyle's attempt to prevent a landslide defeat failed, and the party suffered the worst loss in its history, with several Shadow Ministers losing their seats, and Perton coming very close to losing his own. In the aftermath of the defeat, Perton was promoted to Shadow Minister of Education. He regularly appeared in the media with vocal criticism of the government, and remained amongst the opposition's most high-profile members.
Within the spectrum of Liberal Party thought, Perton is regarded as a "
small-l liberal ","Liberals' Top Brass Brace For Party Purge", Ewin Hannan And Gabrielle Costa,The Age , 21 October 1999] "Libs to cross floor in (Religious Vilification) vote", Mathew Murphy,The Age , 4 May 2006] a position more common in the Victorian Liberal Party than the more aggressively right-wing New South Wales branch Fact|date=April 2007.In February 2006, Perton announced that he would not contest the next election and relinquished his shadow ministry [http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,18225992-1702,00.html] .
Mary Wooldridge was elected as the Liberal Member for Doncaster at the 2006 State Election.Perton has remained active in supporting democracy movements in Asia. [http://www.hku.hk/ccpl/events/otherevents/documents/Programme-PoliticalParties-13Dec06.pdf] He is Co-Chair of the [http://www.democraticchina.net/ Forum for a Democratic China] .
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