Rex Patrick facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rex Patrick
Patrick in 2025
Senator for South Australia
In office 14 November 2017 – 30 June 2022
Preceded by	Nick Xenophon
Personal details
Born	(1967-05-08) 8 May 1967 (age 58) Whakatāne, New Zealand
Political party	Jacqui Lambie Network (since 2024)
Other political affiliations	Liberal (before 2014) Centre Alliance (2015–2020) Rex Patrick Team (2021–2022) Independent (2020–2021, 2022–2024)
Occupation	Businessman Politician
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Australia
Branch/service	Royal Australian Navy
Years of service	1983–1994

Rex Lyall Patrick was born on 8 May 1967. He is an Australian politician. He was a Senator for South Australia from November 2017 to June 2022. A senator is a person who represents their state in the Australian Parliament.

He became a senator to fill a spot left open when Nick Xenophon resigned. Rex Patrick first joined the Centre Alliance party. In August 2020, he left the party and became an independent. This means he did not belong to any major political party. In January 2021, he started his own party called the Rex Patrick Team. He was the only member of this party in parliament during his time as senator.

Before becoming a politician, Rex Patrick worked in the Royal Australian Navy. He was a submariner. Later, he worked as a businessman and a senior executive.

Early Life and Navy Career

Rex Patrick was born in Whakatane, New Zealand. This was on 8 May 1967. When he was a child, he moved to South Australia. He went to school in Whyalla. After school, he joined the Royal Australian Navy.

He served in the Navy from 1983 to 1994. He learned to be an electronic technician. He chose to work on submarines. He served on several Oberon-class submarines. Later, he was chosen to be part of the team that tested the first Collins-class submarine in Adelaide.

After leaving the Navy, Rex Patrick worked for a company called Sonartech Atlas. This company designed sonar systems. Sonar uses sound waves to find things underwater. He worked there from 1995 to 2008.

In 2008, he started his own company, Acoustic Force. This company taught people about sonar and acoustics.

Early Views on Submarines

In 2009, Rex Patrick started writing articles. He suggested that Australia should buy cheaper submarines. He thought these would be better than the Collins-class submarines. He felt that some Navy people tried to stop him from sharing his ideas. He believed that public discussions about defence should include people who know a lot about the topic.

In 2012, he said that American nuclear-powered submarines would be cheaper for Australia. He also thought they would be better for Australia's defence.

In 2013, he took over a training contract. This contract was with a company that trained members of the Royal Malaysian Navy.

Political Journey

Working for a Senator

In the 2010s, Rex Patrick worked for Liberal Senator David Johnston. Senator Johnston was in charge of defence matters for his party. Rex Patrick helped him show how expensive the Collins-class submarines were. At one point, none of these submarines were working at sea. Because of their efforts, a review was started in 2012. This review helped fix the problems with the submarines.

In 2013, Rex Patrick found some secret documents. These documents were about new submarines for the Indian Navy. He gave some of these documents to a newspaper in 2016. He did this after a contract for new submarines was given to a French company. He was working for Senator Nick Xenophon at the time. Senator Xenophon then gave the documents to the Defence Minister.

Senator Xenophon called Rex Patrick "Inspector Rex". This was because of his skills in finding information. He often used Freedom of Information laws to get details that were important for the public. Rex Patrick was not investigated for handling these documents. He kept his security clearance.

Becoming a Senator

On 30 October 2017, Nick Xenophon said Rex Patrick would take his place in the Senate. On 14 November, Rex Patrick was confirmed as the new senator. He officially became a senator on 15 November.

In his first speech in the Senate, Rex Patrick asked for more checks on Australia's intelligence agencies. These agencies gather secret information for the country.

In December 2017, Rex Patrick told the government that his party would stop talks on welfare changes. This was because a minister did not answer questions properly. He said this showed a bigger problem with the government not being open enough.

Rex Patrick also spoke out about the Future Submarine program. He said that the project leader did not have enough experience in managing big projects. He also pointed out that less of the submarine parts would be made in Australia than first promised.

He used his power as a senator to call out a company boss. He said the boss was not paying enough tax in Australia.

In August 2020, Rex Patrick left the Centre Alliance party. He believed being an independent would help him get re-elected. His former party colleague said this move removed a strong group that had done a lot for South Australia.

In January 2021, Rex Patrick started his own political party. It was called the Rex Patrick Team.

Rex Patrick Team

Rex Patrick formed the Rex Patrick Team in October 2020. This was after he left the Centre Alliance party. The party was officially registered in January 2021.

In the 2022 federal election, the party got 2.08% of the votes in South Australia for the Senate. Rex Patrick was not re-elected. The party was closed down in October 2022.

Local Government and Beyond

In August 2022, Rex Patrick ran for Lord Mayor of Adelaide. He lost by a very small number of votes. He tried to challenge the result, but later dropped his appeal in March 2023.

Rex Patrick later joined the Jacqui Lambie Network. This party is based in Tasmania. He ran for this party as a senator for South Australia in the 2025 Australian election. He was a strong critic of the AUKUS program. This program is about Australia getting nuclear-powered submarines. Rex Patrick did not win a seat in the 2025 election.

Images for kids

• 

  Rex Patrick's signature