BRIDGEWATER farmer and former Mallee MP Andrew Broad has hit the political comeback trail.
Mr Broad, who served two terms in the Federal Parliament and was an assistant minister in the Morrison Government, has started campaigning for next year’s Fraser Coast Regional Council elections.
He was one of 30 candidates for a casual vacancy filled by councillors of the region based around Maryborough and Hervey Bay last month.
Within days of missing out on the late-term vacancy, Mr Broad announced he would stand in quadrennial elections next March for Division 7 on a council where councillors are paid $55,192 a year.
The National Party MP quit Federal Parliament at the 2019 election after a women’s magazine earlier reported he had used a “seeking arrangements” website to meet a younger woman.
Mr Broad and wife Rachel spent three years travelling Australia, the Pacific Islands, Asia, Europe and North America before establishing businesses in Hervey Bay, including Rachel’s Living OT where the occupational therapist specialises in patients with Parkinson’s Disease and dementia.
He said: “It’s never healthy for a person to look back ... living up here is keeping life fresh. I come down to the farm every four or six weeks ... a third of the farm is leased out and we’re running crossbred ewes on the other two thirds. Our parents are still there and we fly in and out of Bundaberg.”
Mr Broad said he could have “hung around” for another crack at federal politics but decided to “contribute somewhere else in life” after deciding to settle his family on the Fraser Coast.
He said the Fraser Coast had experienced rapid growth and had a need for improved services.
“I’m running to use my skills and experience to help make this part of Australia even better,” Mr Broad said.
Since settling in Hervey Bay, Mr Broad has become a director of the Bendigo Community Bank and is active in the chamber of commerce.