Dr Michael Wooldridge | |
|---|---|
| Minister for Health and Aged Care | |
| In office 21 October 1998 – 26 November 2001 | |
| Prime Minister | John Howard |
| Preceded by | Himself |
| Succeeded by | Kay Patterson |
| Minister for Health and Family Services | |
| In office 11 March 1996 – 21 October 1998 | |
| Prime Minister | John Howard |
| Preceded by | Carmen Lawrence |
| Succeeded by | Himself |
| Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party | |
| In office 13 March 1993 – 23 May 1994 | |
| Leader | John Hewson |
| Preceded by | Peter Reith |
| Succeeded by | Peter Costello |
| Member of theAustralian Parliament forCasey | |
| In office 3 October 1998 – 8 October 2001 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Halverson |
| Succeeded by | Tony Smith |
| Member of theAustralian Parliament forChisholm | |
| In office 11 July 1987 – 3 October 1998 | |
| Preceded by | Helen Mayer |
| Succeeded by | Anna Burke |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michael Richard Lewis Wooldridge (1956-11-07)7 November 1956 (age 69) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Relations | Mary Wooldridge (sister) |
| Alma mater | Monash University |
Michael Richard Lewis Wooldridge (born 7 November 1956) is an Australian doctor, company director, and former politician. He served as deputy leader of theLiberal Party from 1993 to 1994, underJohn Hewson. In theHoward government, he held ministerial office asMinister for Health and Family Services (1996–1998) andHealth and Aged Care (1998–2001). He represented the Liberals in theHouse of Representatives as the member forChisholm (1987–1998) andCasey (1998–2001).
Wooldridge was born inMelbourne on 7 November 1956.[1] The son of a real estate agent, he grew up in the suburb ofSurrey Hills and attendedScotch College, Melbourne. He went on toMonash University, initially studying economics and politics before transferring to a science degree and then studying medicine. He graduated in 1981 and completed hisresidency atThe Alfred Hospital.[2]
Wooldridge was elected to theHouse of Representatives at the1987 federal election, winning the seat ofChisholm from the incumbentAustralian Labor Party (ALP) MPHelen Mayer.[3]
During his time in Opposition he wasDeputy Leader of the Liberal Party and therefore theDeputy Leader of the Opposition from March 1993 to May 1994.[1] He was 36 years old when he became deputy opposition leader, becoming the youngest person to hold the position.[4] In May 1994, Liberal LeaderJohn Hewson called a spill for both the leader's and deputy's positions. Hewson lost toAlexander Downer while Wooldridge withdrew at the last minute as it became clear he did not have the numbers to beat Downer's running matePeter Costello.
Wooldridge's demise as deputy leader came as a result of an opinion poll that showed only 4% of voters preferred him as Liberal leader despite Wooldridge himself stating he had no desire to become leader. In response to this poll, Wooldridge argued onThe 7.30 Report that 4% was a good result for a deputy leader as the deputy leader was not meant to be an alternative leader.Ironically the man who replaced him as deputy leader, Costello, did not succeed in his ambitions to become leader and eventually became the party's longest serving deputy leader.
As well as expressing no desire to become leader, Wooldridge as deputy leader did not request to become Shadow Treasurer, making him one of a few deputy leaders who never held the Treasury portfolio either in government or in opposition.
Wooldridge's reason for not taking up Treasury was his belief that his strength was in social policy area and that Treasury would take him "a year to get up to speed".[5]
In 1996, the Liberal andNational Parties were elected to Government and Wooldridge served asMinister for Health and Family Services from 1996 to 1998 andMinister for Health and Aged Care from 1998 up to his retirement in 2001. During his last term, he transferred from his marginal seat of Chisholm to the somewhat friendlier seat of Casey.[1]
During this time he instituted significant and widespread changes to general practice. By setting up and responding to the report: "General Practice, Responding to the Future With Partnerships",[6] he commenced a reform process that cemented the divisions of general practice as change agents, took responsibility for training GPs away from the RACGP and into the hands of an independent body (General Practice Education and Training), and instituted the Practice Incentives Program.[citation needed] He was forced to make a public apology to the President of theAustralian Medical Association at the time,Kerryn Phelps in 2001[7] for publicly claiming she had no medical qualifications.[8] During Woolridge's term as Health Minister, he was criticised for having close links with multinational drug company,Pfizer[9] that impacted the independence of thePharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC). Wooldridge was also criticised for appointing Pat Clear, a former executive ofGlaxo-Wellcome Australia who had recently retired as head of Medicines Australia (then known as the Australian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association) to the committee of the PBAC, prompting the immediate resignation of the Chair of the committee,Emeritus Professor Don Birkett, and leading to the refusal of five of the other committee members to be reappointed.[10]
In 2002, Wooldridge's contract with theRoyal Australian College of General Practitioners was terminated due to allegations from theAustralian Medical Association and the Federal Opposition that his involvement in the allocation of the $5,000,000 as well with his recent retirement as Health Minister represented a conflict of interest;[11] in 2003 the parties settled and Wooldridge received a $382,500 payout.[12] In 2006, Wooldridge was appointed 'Lead Independent Director' of the ASX listedAustralian Pharmaceuticals Industry Limited.[13] In September 2009, Wooldridge was invited to join a panel hosted byCSL Limited "a major manufacturer [of flu vaccine] in a US$2 billion influenza industry"[14] hosted by the company to dispel myths about swine flu vaccination.[15]
Wooldridge has served on the Boards of Resonance Health Ltd, Dia-b Tech Limited (resigned in 2009, company since de-listed) and a Director of CogState Ltd. He is currently Chairman of Neurosciences Australia, Healthsource Australia (Ministerial Advisory Committee on AIDS, Sexual Health and Hepatitis), the CRC for Mental Health and the Oral Health Cooperative Research Centre. He is also Associate Professor at theUniversity of Melbourne.[16]
In December 2013, Wooldridge and four other directors of Australian Property Custodian Holdings Ltd (APCHL) were found liable by theFederal Court for breaching their duties as officers of APCHL. APCHL was the responsible entity of the Prime Retirement and Aged Care Property Trust (Prime Trust), a managed investment scheme which owned retirement villages in Queensland, NSW and Victoria. APCHL collapsed in 2010 when administrators were appointed owing investors approximately $550 million.[17] On 2 December 2014 he was banned as a company director for more than two years over his role in Prime Trust. Other directors, including founder Bill Lewski, received bans up to 15 years.[18]
Wooldridge has also served on the board of the anti-wind energy activism organisation, theWaubra Foundation,[19] along with other prominent anti-wind energy activists, including Sarah Laurie,[20][21] Peter Mitchell,[22] and Kathy Russell.[23][24][25][26] The Waubra Foundation promotes the view that wind turbines cause ill health.[27] Wooldridge and family are objectors to theBald Hills wind farm in Gippsland Victoria.[28][29]
Michael Wooldridge is the brother ofMary Wooldridge, Mental Health Minister in theVictorian State Government 2010–14.
| Parliament of Australia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member for Chisholm 1987–1998 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member for Casey 1998–2001 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister for Health and Family Services 1996–1998 | Succeeded by |
| Minister for Health and Aged Care 1998–2001 | Succeeded by | |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia 1993–1994 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| People | |
