LOCAL MP Andrew Broad has quipped that the Nationals’ ‘raucous’ Christmas party helped convince a former senior Liberal MP to join the party’s ranks in a huge coup.
Ex-Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane, who stood down from the front bench when Malcolm Turnbull became Prime Minister, defected to the National Party on the last sitting day of parliament for the year, last Thursday.
The move has been labelled a blow to the Prime Minister’s image, but in practice means nothing as the Liberals and Nationals merged in Mr Macfarlane’s state of Queensland in 2008.
Member for Mallee Andrew Broad said he empathised with the incoming party member.
“All I can say is everyone is on a journey and I was once a member of the Liberal Party for just under 12 months, and then I was on my road to Damascus and I saw the light,” Mr Broad said.
“I realised that the free market is not always right. The government does have a role in how the country is run, and the National Party really is the political party of choice.
“So it’s really not surprising that Ian may have come to that realisation, and there’s hope yet for other Liberals.”
For more on this story, pick up a copy of Monday’s Guardian (December 7).
