Tasmanian Liberal MHA for Lyons. The Liberal website before the election of March 2006 contained the following biographical information:

Rene is a proud Australian who came from Holland as a child - the third son of a large Dutch family. Soon after his family arrived in Australia, they were naturalised and became the truest and bluest of Aussie families and proudly remain that way.

Growing up in Tasmania, Rene was educated in the public school system, met and married Shirley and they have been married for more than 30 years. They have four children and are proud grand-parents of three.

Like most parents they've seen both sides of raising children - the wonderful and the challenging - but they wouldn't have missed any of it for a second.

Rene has a strong business background, experiencing both the highs and lows of running a business. He particularly enjoyed working with his four brothers in developing a substantial family business, over 15 years, into a market leader in its field.

Rene also has had strong community involvement through seven years in local government prior to entering politics. He was elected for the seat of Lyons in the 1996 State Election.

He maintains a belief in mainstream traditional values and principles as well as good manners and respect for all in the community. Family and cultural traditions are of particular interest. His interests include fishing, motor sports, home renovation, cooking, reading and spending time with family and friends.

LYONS

Lyons has an area of approximately 40 604 sq km and is the largest division in Tasmania covering most of the State from the west to the east coasts and from Beaconsfield township in the north to New Norfolk and the Tasman Peninsula region in the south. The main towns include Beaconsfield, Brighton, Campbell Town, Deloraine, Evandale, Exeter, Fingal, Longford, Midway Point, New Norfolk, Oatlands, Perth, Queenstown, Rosebery, Richmond, St Helens, Swansea, Sheffield, Sorell, Triabunna and Westbury.

Products and industries of the area cover fishing, forestry, wool, cattle (dairy and beef), fruit, wine, hydro-power generation, mining and tourism.