He was a Liberal Party member for the Division of Lyons in the Tasmanian House of Assembly from 1996 until his resignation in 2019.
At the 18 March 2006 state election, Hidding failed to defeat the incumbent Labor Party government led by Paul Lennon.
Despite an increase in the Liberal Party's primary vote, the Opposition failed to make any gains in terms of seats.
[4] Hidding resigned from parliament on 25 February 2019,[5] following allegations of historic sexual abuse against a minor, published in The Australian.
[6][7] In September 2019, the police announced that Hidding would not be charged over the allegations, with the Director of Public Prosecutions determining that "given the constraints posed by the passage of time and the resulting impact on the evidence available, there was no reasonable prospect of conviction".