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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-07-06 Daily Xml
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Member for MacKillop

Mr McBRIDE (MacKillop) (15:15): I rise today to inform the house of my decision to become an Independent member of MacKillop. I have come to the conclusion that it is no longer tenable for me to remain in the Liberal Party.

I have been a proud member of this party for more than 30 years, so this has been an extremely difficult decision for me. I believe my constituents and electorate will be better served by me working as an Independent member of MacKillop. My primary aim is to achieve better outcomes for the people of the MacKillop electorate. I believe a party should work together regardless of individuals to achieve good results for their community.

Despite what the Liberal Party must say, there are factional pressures at play, which have resulted in disunity. I understand some people may be disappointed with my decision, given I was elected as a Liberal member. I hope those people can understand I have found it increasingly difficult to represent the party that I believe is trying to ostracise one of its own.

At the 2022 election, I won 62.3 per cent of the first preference votes, the highest in the state. On the two-party preferred basis, I received the second to highest number of votes, at 72.6 per cent. I believe this is a testament to the work my election team and I had achieved, supported by my hardworking office staff.

Despite what people may think, winning the seat of MacKillop was not easy. Prior to the election, MacKillop constituents in the cross-border community were battered by the restrictions put in place by my Liberal government. During this time, there was little support offered to assist, and even back then I questioned my position in a Liberal Party that would not listen.

More recently, these factions in the party have revisited my seat of MacKillop and have now removed the very team who worked so hard to see me re-elected. I no longer have the core support required in the Liberal Party. As I have said, I believe my position as a Liberal is untenable.

Five weeks ago, I was pressured by the Liberal Party into signing a statement reaffirming my commitment to them. This was at the same time when unfounded rumours circulated regarding a deal offered to me to join the Labor ministry. I reiterate now this was never the case. While I know this will be denied, I believe there were people working behind the scenes to discredit me.

I now believe that the electors in MacKillop will be best served by an Independent member who is not aligned to a particular party, an Independent who will focus on the issues that matter in the region, such as affordable housing; improved health care; child care availability; education; cost-of-living pressures; industry, which includes forestry, agriculture and fishing; regional roads and transport; telecommunications; energy; and coastal erosion.

In my maiden speech in parliament in 2018, I spoke of my election motto being 'substance not spin'. In the five years since being elected, I do not believe I wavered from that motto. I am a firm believer in doing what is right and representing the people of my electorate. I am tired of the games and the infighting of party politics, and I want to concentrate on working on what is good for my constituents, rather than what is good for the party. This involves having and building relationships with all sides of politics.

The MacKillop electorate is important to the state's economy and should never be forgotten. I believe that, as an Independent, I will be able to deliver results that lead to an even stronger electorate. I am excited about my future as an Independent and I look forward to communicating a clear strategy that ensures MacKillop receives a fair share of funding that helps shape the success of our region. I look forward to contesting the next election in 2026 as the Independent member for MacKillop.

The SPEAKER: Member for MacKillop, your courage and willingness to serve your community first and before factional interests is manifest.

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