Rex Patrick

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Senator
Rex Patrick
Rex Patrick 2021.png
Patrick addressing a protest over the Witness K trial in Canberra in June 2021
Senator for South Australia
Assumed office
14 November 2017
Preceded byNick Xenophon
Personal details
Born (1967-05-08) 8 May 1967 (age 54)
Whakatane, New Zealand
Political partyRex Patrick Team (since 2021)
Other political
affiliations
Occupation
  • Businessman
  • Politician
Websiterexpatrick.com.au
Military service
AllegianceAustralia
Branch/serviceRoyal Australian Navy
Years of service1983–1994

Rex Lyall Patrick (born 8 May 1967) is an Australian politician who has been a Senator for South Australia since November 2017. He was appointed to the Senate to fill a casual vacancy caused by the resignation of Nick Xenophon. He joined the Senate as member of the Centre Alliance party, though in August 2020 he left the party and became an independent.[1] He created the Rex Patrick Team party in January 2021 and sits in parliament as its only member. Before entering politics, Patrick was a businessman and senior business executive officer, as well as a submariner in the Royal Australian Navy.[2][3]

Early life[]

Patrick was born in New Zealand and moved to South Australia as a child. He attended school in Whyalla then joined the Royal Australian Navy.[4][5]

Early career[]

Patrick served in the Royal Australian Navy from 1983 to 1994.[6][7] He trained as an electronic technician and volunteered for submarine service.[8] He served on several Oberon-class submarines before being selected and posted as a member of the trials crew of the first Collins-class submarine at Osborne in Adelaide.[9]

From 1995 to 2008, Patrick worked for Sonartech Atlas as a project manager.[6] The company was focused on the design and development of sonar systems.[8]

In 2008, Patrick started a company called Acoustic Force,[10] which provided training in sonar and acoustics to domestic and international customers.[7]

In 2009, Patrick began writing articles calling for Australia to buy cheap, off-the-shelf submarines to replace the Collins-class submarine fleet. He believes that attempts were made by naval personnel to muzzle his criticisms of the Collins-class vessels. He said of the Navy's attitude towards freedom of speech and policy debate: "I presume that, from (the navy’s) perspective, the public is better served if debates about defence are devoid of any contributions from people who know about the subject.”[10] In 2012, he noted that American nuclear-powered submarines would be more cost effective for Australia to purchase and maintain and would offer strategic advantages.[11]

In 2013, Patrick took over a training contract with Quantum Ark Technologies, a company that trained members of the Royal Malaysian Navy.

In 2015, Patrick wrote several articles for the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) which were published in The Strategist.[12]

Political career[]

Staffer[]

Before joining the Xenophon team, Patrick had been a staffer for Liberal Senator David Johnston.[13] Patrick assisted Johnston when he was the Shadow Defence Minister to expose the very high annual cost of Collins sustainment v the very low availability rates (well over $500 million per annum and at one stage, unable to put a single submarine to sea) and due to the pressure they were able to put on Defence, the Coles review was commissioned in 2012 and the problems associated with the Collins-class submarine were then rectified.[14]

Xenophon refers to Patrick by the nickname "Inspector Rex" owing to his investigative skills and use of Freedom of Information laws to obtain information in the public interest.[8]

On inheriting the Quantum Ark Technologies' files in 2013, Patrick discovered a mass data breach of classified documents from the French manufacturer DCNS related to the new Indian Navy's Scorpène submarines. Patrick took the data on a disc to a senior Defence official who declined to take it and so Patrick retained the disc, even though he knew of the leak during the competition to select the international partner for the Future Submarine Project, and didn't act on it until after the contract was awarded so as not to affect France's chances in the contract.[15] In 2016, after the contract was awarded, and the security breach became directly relevant to Australia from a national security perspective, Patrick, then an adviser to then Senator Nick Xenophon, provided some of the documents, carefully redacted, to The Australian newspaper after which Xenophon handed the disc to Defence Minister Marise Payne.[16]

Patrick was not investigated for[17] his handling of the sensitive material, and retained his security clearance as a Naval contractor.[13]

Australian Senate (2017–present)[]

On 30 October 2017 Xenophon announced Patrick as his replacement. The nomination was lodged to the South Australian Parliament on 1 November. Premier Jay Weatherill revealed that an NXT Senate candidate from the 2016 election, Tim Storer, had "assert[ed] rights" to the vacancy.[18] Patrick was confirmed as the replacement senator on 14 November by a joint sitting of the SA Parliament.[19][20] He became a senator on 15 November when he was sworn in by the Senate.[21]

Within three days of coming to office Senator Patrick defended the appointment of Xenophon as an advisor on a part-time contract.[20] Xenophon subsequently announced that he would leave the role "within weeks".[22]

Patrick used his first speech to call for more parliamentary oversight of the Australian Intelligence Community.[23]

In December 2017, Patrick informed the Turnbull Government that NXT would suspend negotiations on welfare reform because a minister had failed to answer "reasonable questions". Patrick said this was part of "a broader problem with regard to the government’s preparedness to be appropriately open and accountable".[24]

Patrick has been critical of the Future Submarine programme, suggesting that the Rear Admiral overseeing the project, , has no professional experience in project management.[25] The project was revealed by Xenophon to have a requirement that 50% of the submarine's manufacture be Australian, down from the publicity stated figure of 60%. Patrick called this "treachery" by the Turnbull Government.[26][failed verification]

Patrick used Parliamentary Privilege to call ExxonMobil Australia's boss Richard James Owen a "shameless corporate tax dodger. He should be called out for what he is. Behind a veneer of professional respectability, he's a hypocrite and a corporate scumbag" over little payment of tax in Australia.[27]

Patrick pulled a stunt in the federal Senate Chamber to push his view that submarine jobs will be lost to Western Australia. This brought the wrath of the Senate President, Scott Ryan who yelled at Senator Patrick "Remove yourself from the chamber. You're embarrassing yourself."[28]

In August 2020 Patrick split from his party Centre Alliance, arguing it would improve his chances for re-election by standing as an independent at the next federal election.[29] His Centre Alliance Senate colleague Stirling Griff regarded the move as akin to removing "a powerful voting bloc that has achieved a remarkable amount for South Australia."[30] During the Parliamentary year, Patrick was noted for criticising the Murray-Darling Basin Authority for its delays in appointing an Indigenous representative and for putting a sunset clause on the cashless debit card in Indigenous communities.[31][32] Following a tweet about alleged Australian war crimes in Afghanistan made by Zhao Lijian that was deemed offensive by some Australian politicians, Patrick called on the Commonwealth Government to expel two-thirds of China's 143 diplomats and consular staff.[17]

In January 2021 the Australian Electoral Commission approved Patrick's application to form a political party called the Rex Patrick Team (REX).[33]

Notes[]

  1. ^ At the time Patrick joined the party its name was Nick Xenophon Team, the name of the founder, former Senator from South Australia, Nick Xenophon.

References[]

  1. ^ "Crossbench SA senator Rex Patrick quits Centre Alliance party to sit as an independent". ABC News. 10 August 2020.
  2. ^ Doran, Matthew (31 October 2017). "Nick Xenophon readies NXT for his Canberra departure, announcing Senate replacement and new name". ABC News. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  3. ^ @AuSenate. "The South Australian Parliament has chosen Rex Patrick to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of former Senator Xenophon". Twitter. Retrieved 14 November 2017.
  4. ^ Shepherd, Tory (30 October 2017). "Senator Nick Xenophon to be replaced by longtime adviser Rex Patrick in Senate". The Advertiser. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  5. ^ "Nick's replacement says 'it's time'". 13 November 2017.
  6. ^ a b "Rex Patrick". LinkedIn. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  7. ^ a b "SA's latest Senator Rex Patrick". News. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  8. ^ a b c "New SA Senator for Nick Xenophon Team outlines history, priorities". ABC News. 14 November 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  9. ^ http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query%3DId%3A%22chamber%2Fhansards%2Fedae7f53-a8b7-4b18-ad81-3c62f6968091%2F0159%22
  10. ^ a b Stewart, Cameron (5 July 2014). "Collins-class submarine critic calls in AFP over navy 'plot'". The Australian. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  11. ^ Ellery, David (10 December 2012). "Keeping Collins afloat ludicrous: expert". Canberra Times. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  12. ^ "Rex Patrick Archive | The Strategist". www.aspistrategist.org.au. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  13. ^ a b Wroe, David (9 December 2016). "Revealed: Senator Nick Xenophon, the staffer and the national security leak". The Maitland Mercury. Fairfax Regional Media. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
  14. ^ https://rex.nxtmps.org.au/speeches/a-better-approach-to-defence-procurement/
  15. ^ "PODCAST: From the scullery to the Senate, Rex Patrick, senator for South Australia". 17 January 2018.
  16. ^ "Navigating sub leaks scandal". 11 December 2016.
  17. ^ a b "Australian MPs unite to condemn 'grossly insulting' Chinese government tweet". the Guardian. 30 November 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  18. ^ https://hansardpublic.parliament.sa.gov.au/Pages/HansardResult.aspx#/docid/HANSARD-11-28080
  19. ^ "Senator Rex Patrick". Senators and Members of the Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
  20. ^ a b "Taxpayer's tab for Xenophon job". 16 November 2017.
  21. ^ "New X-team senator backs citizenship referendum". 14 November 2017.
  22. ^ "Xenophon to leave controversial post". 17 November 2017.
  23. ^ "Spies need scrutiny, new NXT senator warns". 4 December 2017.
  24. ^ "NXT suspends negotiations with Coalition on Senate legislation". 21 December 2017.
  25. ^ Greene, Andrew (17 January 2018). "Future Submarine program facing multi-billion-dollar blowout, Senator Rex Patrick says". ABC News. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  26. ^ Shepherd, Tory (29 January 2018). "Secret documents show minimum 50 per cent Australian build on Future Frigates defence project". The Advertiser. Retrieved 10 June 2019.
  27. ^ Duke, Angus Livingston, Jennifer (12 February 2020). "'Corporate scumbag': Senator slams ExxonMobil for not paying tax". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 29 February 2020.
  28. ^ "Senator's weird sub stunt". PerthNow. 17 June 2020. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  29. ^ "Adelaidenow.com.au | Rex Patrick becomes an independent". www.adelaidenow.com.au. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  30. ^ "Crossbench SA senator Rex Patrick quits Centre Alliance party to sit as an independent". www.abc.net.au. 9 August 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  31. ^ Foley, Mike (22 November 2020). "'Disgrace': Calls for Indigenous voice in water management". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  32. ^ Curtis, Katina (9 December 2020). "Welfare recipients to spend another two years on cashless debit cards". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 December 2020.
  33. ^ "Registration of a political party Rex Patrick Team" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. 7 January 2021.
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