Liberal no more: The MP for Monash will serve out his term on the crossbench. By Catherine Watson
RENEGADE Liberal MP Russell Broadbent had one more trick up his sleeve after the Liberal Party called time on his political career. He responded in kind.
Yesterday he announced he had left the party he has belonged to for almost half a century and would move to the crossbench.
“On Sunday, there was a pre-selection where I received less than 10% of the vote,” Mr Broadbent posted on his Facebook page. “This was a clear signal from members and one which I believe revokes my licence to represent the Liberal Party in the electorate of Monash.
RENEGADE Liberal MP Russell Broadbent had one more trick up his sleeve after the Liberal Party called time on his political career. He responded in kind.
Yesterday he announced he had left the party he has belonged to for almost half a century and would move to the crossbench.
“On Sunday, there was a pre-selection where I received less than 10% of the vote,” Mr Broadbent posted on his Facebook page. “This was a clear signal from members and one which I believe revokes my licence to represent the Liberal Party in the electorate of Monash.
“Today I resigned from the Liberal Party and will move to the crossbench where I’ll continue to represent the people of Monash. I am a Liberal at heart and my values have not changed.”
Aged 72, he has been a federal MP for 24 of the past 33 years and continuously since 2004. He has stood for the Liberal Party at every federal election since 1984, when he was aged 33.
Despite the tide turning against the Liberal Party in the 2022 federal election, he retained the seat of Monash though his majority dropped from 7.4 to 2.9 per cent.
He surprised many when he announced he wanted another go at Monash in the next election, in 2025. By then he will be 74.
The word was that he was standing to ward off a challenge from the religious right, but in the end the challenge came from a classic blue-blood Liberal.
Ms Aldred’s father, Ken Aldred, was a long-serving federal Liberal MP between 1975 and 1996. She has held many public roles, including being CEO of the Committee for Gippsland between 2011 and 2018. She is currently Fujitsu’s Head of Government Relations for the Asia Pacific.
On Sunday he suffered his worst political defeat ever, going down in a landslide to a much younger challenger. He garnered just 16 votes to Mary Aldred’s 161 in the Liberal preselection for the seat of Monash.
Mr Broadbent’s political career has been long but not stellar. He did not achieve a ministerial post despite being one of the longest serving MPs. That may have been at least partly because he so often annoyed his own party.
He crossed the floor several times in support of asylum seekers, pushed for reform in indigenous affairs and spoke publicly about the need to increase welfare payments, against his own party’s policies.
He was one of the few Liberal MPs to support an Aboriginal Voice to Parliament, then surprised and confused many when he announced a few weeks before the referendum that he no longer supported it.
He voted no to marriage equality in 2018, despite 65 per cent of his electorate voting yes.
In 2021 he went public on his decision not to get vaccinated against Covid, in an electorate in which 95 per cent were double vaccinated. He has subsequently become a folk hero to the anti-vaxx community, but it was probably the last straw for many party members.
Announcing his resignation from the Liberal Party yesterday, he was as enigmatic as ever:
“As I said in the party room this morning, I believe there are storm clouds ahead for this nation and I strongly encouraged the party to support the leader.
“It has been an honour to stand in the parliament as the Liberal member for Monash for the past 25 years, and I wish the Liberal party all the best.”
He now joins a massive crossbench including four Green MPs and 10 independents, most of them part of the “Teal” wave that swept into power in last year’s election on the vote of disaffected Liberal voters.
Mr Broadbent is likely to find common cause with his crossbench colleagues on some matters – asylum seekers and raising the unemployment benefit – although his views on vaccination may not win him friends.
Deb Leonard, who stood as an independent against Mr Broadbent at last year’s election, said his defection from the Liberal Party makes Monash a seat to watch at the next election.
“I had hoped to be the first Independent for Monash but it appears Russell has pipped me to the post!
“I will be watching closely to see if, as an independent, Russell listens to and represents his community’s values now that he is free from the constraints of following the Liberal party line.
“Monash has been ignored by the major parties for decades and it is time we are heard on issues that affect us, and receive the funding for housing, infrastructure and health services that we vitally need.”
Aged 72, he has been a federal MP for 24 of the past 33 years and continuously since 2004. He has stood for the Liberal Party at every federal election since 1984, when he was aged 33.
Despite the tide turning against the Liberal Party in the 2022 federal election, he retained the seat of Monash though his majority dropped from 7.4 to 2.9 per cent.
He surprised many when he announced he wanted another go at Monash in the next election, in 2025. By then he will be 74.
The word was that he was standing to ward off a challenge from the religious right, but in the end the challenge came from a classic blue-blood Liberal.
Ms Aldred’s father, Ken Aldred, was a long-serving federal Liberal MP between 1975 and 1996. She has held many public roles, including being CEO of the Committee for Gippsland between 2011 and 2018. She is currently Fujitsu’s Head of Government Relations for the Asia Pacific.
On Sunday he suffered his worst political defeat ever, going down in a landslide to a much younger challenger. He garnered just 16 votes to Mary Aldred’s 161 in the Liberal preselection for the seat of Monash.
Mr Broadbent’s political career has been long but not stellar. He did not achieve a ministerial post despite being one of the longest serving MPs. That may have been at least partly because he so often annoyed his own party.
He crossed the floor several times in support of asylum seekers, pushed for reform in indigenous affairs and spoke publicly about the need to increase welfare payments, against his own party’s policies.
He was one of the few Liberal MPs to support an Aboriginal Voice to Parliament, then surprised and confused many when he announced a few weeks before the referendum that he no longer supported it.
He voted no to marriage equality in 2018, despite 65 per cent of his electorate voting yes.
In 2021 he went public on his decision not to get vaccinated against Covid, in an electorate in which 95 per cent were double vaccinated. He has subsequently become a folk hero to the anti-vaxx community, but it was probably the last straw for many party members.
Announcing his resignation from the Liberal Party yesterday, he was as enigmatic as ever:
“As I said in the party room this morning, I believe there are storm clouds ahead for this nation and I strongly encouraged the party to support the leader.
“It has been an honour to stand in the parliament as the Liberal member for Monash for the past 25 years, and I wish the Liberal party all the best.”
He now joins a massive crossbench including four Green MPs and 10 independents, most of them part of the “Teal” wave that swept into power in last year’s election on the vote of disaffected Liberal voters.
Mr Broadbent is likely to find common cause with his crossbench colleagues on some matters – asylum seekers and raising the unemployment benefit – although his views on vaccination may not win him friends.
Deb Leonard, who stood as an independent against Mr Broadbent at last year’s election, said his defection from the Liberal Party makes Monash a seat to watch at the next election.
“I had hoped to be the first Independent for Monash but it appears Russell has pipped me to the post!
“I will be watching closely to see if, as an independent, Russell listens to and represents his community’s values now that he is free from the constraints of following the Liberal party line.
“Monash has been ignored by the major parties for decades and it is time we are heard on issues that affect us, and receive the funding for housing, infrastructure and health services that we vitally need.”