View source for Rick Colless

{{short description|Australian politician|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Use Australian English|date=January 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2014}}
{{Infobox Politician
| image =
| caption       =
| honorific-prefix = 
| honorific-suffix = 
| office        = Member of [[Legislative Council of New South Wales]]
| term_start    = 30 August 2000
| term_end      = 23 March 2019
| predecessor   =
| successor     =
| constituency  =
| majority      =
| office2       = Deputy Opposition Whip in the Legislative Council
| term_start2   = 27 August 2002
| term_end2     =
| predecessor2  = [[Richard Bull (Australian politician)|Richard Bull]]
| successor2    =
| constituency2 =
| majority2     =
| office3       =
| term_start3   =
| term_end3     =
| predecessor3  =
| successor3    =
| constituency3 =
| majority3     =
| birth_date    = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1952|11|12}}
| birth_place   = [[Tamworth, New South Wales]]
| death_date    =
| death_place   =
| party         = [[National Party of Australia – NSW|The Nationals]]
| relations     =
| spouse        = Geraldine Faith Barton (nee Porter)
| children      = 3
| residence     =
| occupation    =
| religion      =
| signature     =
| website       = 
| footnotes     =
}}

'''Richard Hargrave Colless''' (born 12 November 1952) is an Australian politician. Colless was a member of the [[New South Wales Legislative Council]] from 2000 to 2019, representing the [[National Party of Australia - NSW|National Party]].<ref>{{cite NSW Parliament |id=14 |name=The Hon. Richard Hargrave Colless, HD App Sci(Agric) (1952 - ) |accessdate=2 April 2019}}</ref>

==Early years and background==
Colless was born in [[Tamworth, New South Wales|Tamworth]] to Kenneth Hargrave Colless and Yvonne Tipling and was raised on a rural property at [[Bundarra, New South Wales|Bundarra]], near [[Inverell, New South Wales|Inverell]].  He undertook primary school by correspondence from the Blackfriars Correspondence School in Sydney; and secondary education at Tamworth and [[Singleton, New South Wales|Singleton]] High Schools.  Colless won a cadetship with the Soil Conservation Service of the New South Wales, that led to studies at [[Hawkesbury Agricultural College]].  Working for the Soil Conservation Service for the next 26 years, he worked in various country towns including [[Henty, New South Wales|Henty]], [[Cowra, New South Wales|Cowra]], [[Goulburn, New South Wales|Goulburn]], [[Gunnedah, New South Wales|Gunnedah]] and Inverell where he settled in 1987.<ref name="Speech">{{cite Hansard |title=Legislative Council Rural Assistance Amendment Bill Hansard (Extract) |speaker=Richard Colless |url=https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/member/files/14/First%20Speech.Colless.pdf |format=pdf |accessdate=19 April 2019 |jurisdiction=New South Wales |house=Legislative Council |date=11 October 2000}}</ref>

In 1991, he was elected to [[Inverell Shire|Inverell Shire Council]] and served three terms as a councillor and became its mayor in 1999.

He became the Chairman of the Inverell Branch of the National Party of Australia in 1996 and served in that role until 1999.  He became Chairman of the New England Electorate Council in 1999 and served a term during 2000 on the Central Executive of the National Party.

==Parliamentary career==
He was appointed to the Legislative Council on 30 August 2000 following the resignation of the National Party MLC [[Richard Bull (Australian politician)|Richard Bull]]. He was reelected in the 2007 and 2011 NSW elections.

Colless served as Chief Whip for [[National Party of Australia – NSW|The Nationals]] in the Upper House from 2002 until 2015, chaired the Standing Committee on State Development from 2011 to 2015 and was appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary for Natural Resources and Regional Planning from March 2015. He has also served on a number of other committees during his parliamentary term.

==Personal information==
Colless's great great grandfather [[Richard Hargrave]],<ref name="Richard Hargrave NSW Parl">{{cite NSW Parliament |id=452 |name=Mr Richard Hargrave (1817-1905) |accessdate=19 April 2019}}</ref> and his great, great uncle [[John Hargrave (judge)|John Fletcher Hargrave]],<ref name="John Hargreave">{{cite NSW Parliament |id=434 |name=Mr John Fletcher Hargrave, QC (1815-1885) |accessdate=11 March 2019}}<br>{{AuDB |last=Bennett |first=J M |year=1972 |id2=hargrave-john-fletcher-3718 |title=Hargrave, John Fletcher (1815-1885) |accessdate=19 April 2019}}</ref> both served in the New South Wales Parliament.  Richard Hargrave came to New South Wales in 1838 aboard the sailing ship Argyle. Hargrave was elected as the first member for [[Electoral district of New England and Macleay|New England and Macleay]] in the first [[Legislative Assembly of New South Wales]].<ref name="Speech"/> Hargrave's older brother, John Fletcher Hargrave QC, arrived in New South Wales in 1856 and served in the Legislative Council from 1859 until 1861.<ref name="Speech"/> John Hargrave was also appointed as a Representative of Government in the Legislative Council and served as Solicitor-General and Attorney-General until 1865.

In 1976, Colless married Toni Christine Brown, and together they have three children.  They divorced in 2010 and in 2012 Colless married Geraldine Barton (née Porter).

==References==

{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colless, Richard}}
[[Category:Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council]]
[[Category:National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1952 births]]
[[Category:21st-century Australian politicians]]
[[Category:People from Tamworth, New South Wales]]