He took on the police and emergency management portfolio after the 2014 state election.

In that election, Mr Hidding was more popular in the South, receiving 397 of the Liberals 946 first preference votes and the 1951 total formal votes in Brighton and 450 first preference votes out of 939 at Sorell.

In Northern rural areas, his numbers were far less, with only five first preference votes out of the Liberal Party’s 66 at Bishopsbourne, 13 out of 62 at Bronte, 20 out of 100 at Avoca and 29 out of 285 at Bracknell.

It’s the farmers and sporting shooters from those rural regions that the Liberals are “supporting” with their latest firearms policy, which was publicly announced days before Saturday’s election.

Other policies pushed by Mr Hidding and the Liberal Party throughout the election have been linked to an overall “law and order” crackdown, including a proposed new prison for the North.

While the location of the proposed prison has yet to be confirmed, Deloraine and its Ashley Youth Detention Centre has been flagged, which would mean a facility could be built in Mr Hidding’s electorate of Lyons.

In 2014, Mr Hidding secured 200 of the 1855 total formal votes at Deloraine.

Further inland, he only received 25 of the 259 total formal votes at Chudleigh and 47 of the 402 total formal votes at Elizabeth Town.

As part of his police and emergency services portfolio, the past four years has seen Mr Hidding declare a “war on ice”, by increasing specialist police resources, investing in more sniffer dogs for the state and taking a firm stand on outlaw motorcycle gangs. 

His battle against bikies did create public backlash, but that didn’t stop Mr Hidding and the Liberal Party from introducing new laws against them. 

Before entering state politics, Mr Hidding was in local government for seven years and has a background in business.