Jones, Richard Stanley Leigh, 1940 –

Richard Stanley Leigh Jones (1940- ), activist and parliamentarian, was born at Epsom, Surrey in the UK, son of Edward and Marjorie Jones. He was educated at Downsend School and Epsom College before settling in Australia in 1965. He worked in advertising and publishing and from the late 1960's onward was an activist for environmental, human rights and animal welfare causes. He is an active member of Amnesty International and Greenpeace Australia, was a member of the Myall Lakes Committee (1971), and has long been involved in Project Jonah's anti-whaling activities.

Jones stood unsuccessfully for the NSW Parliament in 1972 as an Australia Party candidate for the northern Sydney seat of Mackellar. He also stood unsuccessfully as an Australian Democrat candidate for the Senate in the seat of Warringah in the 1984 federal election.

In 1988 Jones was elected to the NSW Legislative Council on the Democrat ticket. During the period of the first Greiner Coalition government, Jones and his fellow Democrat Elisabeth Kirby effectively held the balance of power in the upper house and were able to negotiate amendments to proposed legislation and influence the passage of bills through the parliament. Jones was re-elected to the upper house in 1995 and resigned from the Australian Democrats in 1996. He remained in parliament as an independent member until his resignation in 2003.