Robert Keith Bennett Doyle (born 20 May 1953) is an Australian politician who was the 103rd Lord Mayor of Melbourne, elected on 30 November 2008 until he resigned on 4 February 2018 amidst allegations of sexual harassment. He was previously Member for Malvern in the Legislative Assembly of Victoria from 1992 to 2006 and Leader of the Victorian Opposition from 2002 to 2006, representing the Liberal Party.
Born in Melbourne, Doyle attended secondary school in Geelong. He graduated from Monash University in 1977, and the following year began work as a teacher at Geelong College, his alma mater. In 1982, he moved back to Melbourne, working as a departmental head at Lauriston Girls' School. After three years, he again changed schools, becoming a senior administrator and English teacher at Scotch College.
At the 1992 state election, Doyle succeeded in winning Liberal preselection for the electorate of Malvern by defeating Geoff Leigh. The Liberal Party, under Jeff Kennett, won government, defeating Joan Kirner. After the election, Doyle was immediately placed on the Crime Prevention Committee, and several other taskforces, particularly in the area of health. In April 1996, Doyle was promoted to the position of Parliamentary Secretary for Human Services.
The Kennett government suffered an unexpected defeat at the 1999 election, and Kennett himself retired from politics soon afterwards. Kennett's deputy and Health Minister, Denis Napthine, became leader, and Doyle became shadow Health Minister.
Leader of the Opposition (2002–2006)
By 2002, the Liberal Party was flagging in the polls, and was expected to lose the election due later that year. Doyle successfully challenged Napthine for the leadership of the state Liberal Party, claiming that the party was "facing political oblivion" if it stayed under Napthine's leadership.
He lost the 2002 election by a large margin; the result was in fact the worst showing for the main non-Labor party in Victoria since it adopted the Liberal banner in 1945. The party lost control of the Legislative Council for only the second time in Victorian parliamentary history, while their lower house seat count was more than halved, to 17 seats–their smallest presence in the legislature in half a century. The Liberals were further crippled when the Shadow Treasurer, Robert Dean, was deemed ineligible to stand because he had failed to update his voter registration after moving to a new electorate; under Victorian law, he was no longer on the electoral roll.
For some time after the 2002 defeat, Doyle remained Opposition Leader, partly through the sheer shortage of potential alternative candidates for the job in the much-reduced Liberal party room. However, following the decisions of Shadow Minister Victor Perton and Deputy Leader Phil Honeywood to resign, and the further resignation of Doyle's Chief of Staff Ron Wilson and his Director of Communications Rob Clancy, debate as to Doyle's future was re-ignited. Even many of Doyle's key supporters—including Upper House MPs Andrea Coote and Philip Davis, and Michael Kroger and Helen Kroger—eventually recognised that Doyle's leadership was unlikely to attract sufficient electoral support. It was also reported that Doyle's personal approval rating had dropped to 15 per cent. On 4 May 2006, Doyle announced his resignation as Opposition Leader, stating that "I have given my best—it was not enough" and that the move would give the party the "best chance of electoral success". Ted Baillieu succeeded Doyle in the post.
He officially ended his term as a Member of Parliament for the District of Malvern on 25 November 2006. On that day, the Liberals under Baillieu were again severely defeated; and as a result, Doyle publicly criticised several prominent party figures.
On 21 June 2007 the state government announced that it would appoint Doyle as the new chairman of Melbourne Health, the group that operates the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
When Lord Mayor of Melbourne John So announced his decision not to contest for a third consecutive term in early October 2008, Doyle emerged as a contender for the Lord Mayoralty in November 2008. Doyle told the media that he "was a better than 50-50 chance of running". On 27 October Doyle announced his candidacy, saying he could leave partisan politics aside to work with the State Government if he became Lord Mayor. Doyle selected John So's deputy between 2001 and 2004, Susan Riley, as his running mate.
On 30 November 2008, Doyle was elected Lord Mayor, defeating Councillor Catherine Ng in a tightly contested election. Doyle also defeated former Melbourne Deputy Lord Mayor and Spotless heir-apparent, Peter McMullin and So's deputy between 2004 and 2008, Gary Singer.
Doyle's great-great-grandfather, Robert Bennett, previously served as Lord Mayor (then known as simply Mayor) from 1861 to 1862 and Bennett Lane, of Bennetts Lane Jazz Bar fame in Melbourne is named after him.
On 27 October 2012, Doyle was re-elected as Lord Mayor, with an increased majority, defeating high-profile candidate, Gary Morgan and former Councillor and Lord Mayor Candidate, Catherine Ng.
On 11 November 2015, Doyle announced that he will run again for the office of Lord Mayor in the elections to be held in October 2016. Stating that it was the "best job in the world"
Many of Doyle's policies were around 'activating' Melbourne as a night time city in conjunction with the Andrews Government's introduction of 24-hour public transport on weekends, extending hours of hospitality operation, and continued support of 24-hour arts festivals.
In July 2016 Doyle announced that the homelessness problem in the Melbourne central business district had reached "emergency" levels. He cited a study conducted by the City of Melbourne suggesting the number of homeless people had increased by 74% in two years.
Doyle was a vocal supporter of marriage equality, and appeared regularly on LBGTI radio station Joy 94.9 as a prominent conservative politician.