Chris Rath | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Opposition Whip in the New South Wales Legislative Council | |
| Assumed office 21 April 2023 | |
| Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council | |
| Assumed office 24 March 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Don Harwin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 1989 (age 36)[1] Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia |
| Political party | Liberal Party of Australia |
| Spouse |
Patrick Wynne (m. 2025) |
| Alma mater | University of Sydney |
Christopher Dennis Rath is an Australian politician who currently serves as the Opposition Whip in the New South Wales Legislative Council.
He was appointed to the Legislative Council on 24 March 2022 to fill the casual vacancy caused by the resignation of Don Harwin.[2] He was successful in contesting a further eight-year term in the 2023 New South Wales state election, then also being elected as the Opposition Whip in the Legislative Council on 21 April 2023.[3] Rath is a member of the Liberal Party.[4] In 2024, Rath was appointed Shadow Special Minister of State in Mark Speakman's Shadow Ministry.[5]
He is one of the two openly LGBTI Liberal Party members of the NSW Parliament, as of 2023[update].[6] In his role as a Member of the Legislative Council, he has advocated for free market principles, liberal industrial relations reform and structural changes to taxation.[7][better source needed]
Background
[edit]Rath attended Edmund Rice College in Wollongong and graduated in 2007. He later attended the University of Sydney, graduating with a Bachelor of Economics and a Master of Management. Between 2015 and 2022, he was a Government Relations Manager for Insurance Australia Group (IAG).[2]
Rath's political philosophy is known to be a blend of classical liberalism and conservatism, following in the tradition of John Stuart Mill, John Locke, Edmund Burke and Adam Smith.[6]
Political career
[edit]Rath joined the Young Liberals in 2006 in Wollongong.[6] While attending the University of Sydney, he co-founded the University of Sydney Conservative Club.[8] Since then, he served in a number of roles within the NSW Division of the Liberal Party of Australia, including as a member of its state executive from 2015 to 2022 and as the Urban Vice-President from 2019 to 2022.[2]
Following his appointment to the New South Wales Legislative Council, Rath was tasked with holding the unions accountable for partisan political campaigning.[9] He was instrumental in forcing the resignation of Rail Tram and Bus Union (RTBU) (NSW Branch) Secretary Alex Claassens from Labor's Administrative Committee after campaigning to demonstrate Claassens' conflict of interest between the two roles.[10]
He was also a member of the Inquiry into Allegations of Impropriety Against Agents of the City of Canterbury Bankstown Council, which forced the withdrawal of Labor City of Canterbury-Bankstown Mayor Khal Asfour from his candidature for the Legislative Council in the 2023 state election.[11]
During the 57th parliament, Rath served as the Chair of the Law and Justice Committee, also becoming the Temporary Chair of Committees.[2]
Personal life
[edit]Rath married Patrick Wynne in July 2025. Wynne is a former staffer to NSW Liberal leader Mark Speakman and currently works at TransGrid.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ Hutchinson, Samantha and Brook, Stephen (23 March 2022). "Seeing red over Labor's Mean Girls and Charlie's Angels". The Sydney Morning Herald. Breakneck Speed. Archived from the original on 19 August 2025.
- ^ a b c d "The Hon. (Chris) Christopher RATH, BEc, MMgt MLC". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
- ^ Hutchinson, Samantha (21 April 2023). "Mark Speakman elected leader of the NSW Liberals, promising renewal". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on 19 August 2025. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
- ^ Green, Antony. "Legislative Council Results - NSW Election 2023". abc.net.au. Archived from the original on 19 March 2025. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
- ^ Rath, Chris [@ChrisRathMLC] (28 July 2024). "I'm deeply honoured to be joining Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Special Minister of State. Thank you @MarkSpeakman for this role, in addition to my existing responsibilities as Whip. I'm looking forward to taking the fight to Labor and the union bosses that fund them #NSWPol" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 19 August 2025. Retrieved 16 February 2025 – via Twitter.
- ^ a b c Rath, Chris (10 May 2022). "Inaugural Speeches". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). Parliament of New South Wales: Legislative Council. Archived from the original on 19 August 2025. Retrieved 19 August 2025.
- ^ "Mr Rath's speeches in Hansard". www.parliament.nsw.gov.au. hansard & House Papers. Archived from the original on 24 April 2025. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
- ^ "About Us". USYD Conservative Club. Archived from the original on 15 April 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
- ^ O'Doherty, James. "War of attrition: rolling strikes a deadly political weapon against the government". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 19 August 2025. Retrieved 16 February 2025.
- ^ O'Doherty, James. "RTBU boss Alex Claassens steps back as Chris Minns rallies 800 Labor faithful". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 16 October 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2025.
- ^ Hildebrandt, Carla; Gock, Kamin; Cockburn, Paige (20 January 2023). "NSW Labor candidate Khal Asfour steps down claiming 'vicious smear campaign' against him". ABC News. Archived from the original on 16 December 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
- ^ Napier-Raman, Kishor and Brook, Stephen (10 July 2025). "Former Greens leader Adam Bandt's new gig revealed". The Sydney Morning Herald. Blue wedding. Archived from the original on 9 July 2025. Retrieved 19 August 2025.