Peter Batchelor
Encyclopedia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n politician before retiring at the Victorian State Election on 27 November 2010
Victorian state election, 2010
The 2010 Victorian state election was held on 27 November. The incumbent centre-left Australian Labor Party government, led by John Brumby, was defeated by the centre-right Liberal/National Coalition opposition, led by Ted Baillieu....
. He was an Australian Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly
Victorian Legislative Assembly
The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of Victoria in Australia. Together with the Victorian Legislative Council, the upper house, it sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Melbourne.-History:...
since 1990, representing the electorate of Thomastown
Electoral district of Thomastown
The Electoral district of Thomastown is an electorate of the Victorian Legislative Assembly. It is currently based around the suburbs of Fawkner and Reservoir and has been in existence since 1985.The seat is extremely safe for the Australian Labor Party...
. He served most recently as Minister for Energy and Resources and Minister for Community Development. He was Minister for Transport from 1999 to 2006.
Prior to entering politics he was the state secretary of the Australian Labor Party from 1983 to 1990. Before that he worked for a time at the Furnishing Trades Union.
While state secretary of the Labor Party, Batchelor was involved in a scandal surrounding the 1985 Nunawading by-election. He was accused of distributing misleading how-to-vote cards which claimed to be a vote for "nuclear disarmament", leading voters to conclude they were voting for the Nuclear Disarmament Party
Nuclear Disarmament Party
The Nuclear Disarmament Party was a political party in Australia. The party was formed in 1984 and enjoyed considerable initial success.-Foundation, the 1984 election, and the split:...
. http://tex.parliament.vic.gov.au/bin/texhtmlt?form=VicHansard.dumpall&db=hansard91&dodraft=0&speech=26197&activity=NULL&title=NUNAWADING+PROVINCE+BY-ELECTION&date1=14&date2=May&date3=1996&query=true%0a%09and+%28+data+contains+'Nunawading'%0a%09and+data+contains+'by-election'+%29%0a Unilateral nuclear disarmament was a popular cause within the Left during the 1980s. Police investigated the matter and Batchelor was not charged with any criminal offence.
The biggest project undertaken in transport while Batchelor was minister was the $750 million Regional Fast Rail project
Regional Fast Rail project
The Regional Fast Rail project was a rail transport project of the State Government of Victoria, Australia undertaken between 2000 and 2006 aimed at improving the passenger services on the Victorian regional railway network , specifically to reduce travel times, enhance service frequency and...
. In 2000 the State Government approved funding to upgrade rail lines to provide fast rail passenger services between Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
and Ballarat
Ballarat, Victoria
Ballarat is a city in the state of Victoria, Australia, approximately west-north-west of the state capital Melbourne situated on the lower plains of the Great Dividing Range and the Yarrowee River catchment. It is the largest inland centre and third most populous city in the state and the fifth...
, Bendigo
Bendigo, Victoria
Bendigo is a major regional city in the state of Victoria, Australia, located very close to the geographical centre of the state and approximately north west of the state capital Melbourne. It is the second largest inland city and fourth most populous city in the state. The estimated urban...
, Geelong
Geelong, Victoria
Geelong is a port city located on Corio Bay and the Barwon River, in the state of Victoria, Australia, south-west of the state capital; Melbourne. It is the second most populated city in Victoria and the fifth most populated non-capital city in Australia...
and Traralgon
Traralgon, Victoria
Traralgon is a regional city located in the Latrobe Valley in the Gippsland region of Victoria, Australia. Traralgon is a city within the City of Latrobe....
. The Victorian Auditor General noted that in spite of money spent, the "average journey time savings for all passengers using these services are likely to be more modest than implied by the government’s target journey times".
On 7 October 2010, Batchelor announced that he would not re-contest his seat at the 2010 state election
Victorian state election, 2010
The 2010 Victorian state election was held on 27 November. The incumbent centre-left Australian Labor Party government, led by John Brumby, was defeated by the centre-right Liberal/National Coalition opposition, led by Ted Baillieu....
and he retired at that election.