David Perrin

{{Short description|Australian politician}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}}

{{Use Australian English|date=June 2015}}

David John Perrin (born 29 March 1944) is a former Australian politician.

He was born in Geelong, Victoria, to Thomas Perrin and Winifred, née Clarke. An accountant with a Bachelor of Business in Accounting from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, he was involved in the Liberal Party for many years, joining the Brunswick Young Liberals in 1967. He was secretary of the Victorian Dairy Industry Authority from 1983 to 1985, when he was elected to the Victorian Legislative Assembly as the member for Bulleen. In 1988 he was appointed Secretary of Shadow Cabinet, moving to the front bench as Shadow Minister for Ethnic Affairs, the Aged and Youth Affairs in 1989. He stood down from the front bench in 1991 and remained a backbencher for the rest of his career. He lost preselection for the 1999 state election and retired from politics.{{Cite re-member |num2=153 |name=David John Perrin |access-date=25 August 2022}}

He was an outspoken conservative backbencher during the Kennett government, opposing Kennett on drug reform, euthanasia, and gay and lesbian anti-discrimination laws. In 1999, Perrin lost Liberal preselection to former Kennett adviser Nicholas Kotsiras in a bitter contest which saw numerous claims of branch stacking.{{cite news | title=Kennett's orders – prepare for early poll | work=The Australian | date=12 November 1998 | author=Magazinik, Michael}}{{cite news | title=Lib HQ dips into poll stacking row | work=Herald-Sun | date=15 July 1999 | author=Owen, Kristin}}{{cite news | title=Bush trips delay poll date | work=The Age | date=13 August 1999 | author=Hannan, Ewin}}