Contenders for the Mallee

JOHN Forrest says there will likely be a football team’s worth of candidates stepping forward to strap on his boots as The Nationals’ candidate for the Mallee electorate, as the pre-selection race begins in earnest.

Given The Nationals strong electoral record over the past two decades — Mr Forrest routinely secured more than 60 per cent of primary vote — the battle for pre-selection is likely to be fierce. 

Likely to be a strong candidate will be the high profile former Victorian Farmers’ Federation president Andrew Broad, who also served on the boards of the National Farmers Federation and Australian Made, Australian Grown Campaign.

Mr Broad said he had been waiting until Mr Forrest had stood down from the role before making his push for the coveted Mallee seat.

Mr Broad boasted strong connections to Canberra as evidence of his suitability for the role.

“I’ve already got extensive experience walking the halls of Parliament house,” he said.

“I can call Tony Abbott, Warren Truss or the Prime Minister’s chief of staff on my mobile phone.”

Mr Broad said his run at pre-selection was about making sure the Mallee was given a “fair go”.

“If you look at the collective contribution of the people who live in the seat of the Mallee, from an economic, cultural and environmental management sense, then you see the wealth that is coming out of the region,” he said.

“But if I was asked are things coming back into the Mallee in the form of adequate health services, educational and road and rail infrastructure then the resounding answer is no.”

While Mr Broad is currently based in Bridgewater, at least two other candidates are looking to follow in Mr Forrest’s footsteps as Swan Hill residents being picked as The Nationals’ Mallee candidate.

For more on this story, see Friday’s edition of The Guardian
(08/03/13).