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Loddon HERALD Vol 3 No 42, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2023 ISSN 2653-1550
COMEBACK BID Ex-MP Broad seeks new horizons for skills 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 lateterm 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 Parlia-
By CHRIS EARL ment 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 oth-
er 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.
Date set to elect mayor
Fuel load reductions ahead of fire season PREPARATIONS for the summer fire season stepped up across the Loddon last week with planned burns at Inglewood and Wedderburn. Forest Fire Management Victoria conducted a 57-hectare burns\ in Sullivan Street last Friday with plumes of smoke seen across the district. The burns come as Loddon Shire Council this week begins fire hazard checks across the region before the introduction of restrictions on November 13. Restrictions will apply until May. Council operations director Steven Phillips said landholders should now reduce hazards around their properties, “We’re all taking steps to reduce risks over summer ... everyone has a role to play,” he said.
Andrew Broad
Forest Fire Management Victoria starts the planned burn in Inglewood on Friday. AP PHOTO
LODDON Shire’s next mayor will be known in less than a fortnight. Council has set November 14 as the date for a special meeting to elect the local government leader. The mayor will be Loddon’s last before residents go to the polls next October to elect five new councillors. A redrawing of current ward boundaries is to start in January, according to the Victorian Electoral Commission. Tandarra Ward’s Dan Straub has been mayor for the past two years. Both Cr Neil Beattie (Boort Ward) and Cr Gavan Holt (Wedderburn Ward) have previously served as Loddon Shire mayors. Councillors last week held confidential talks ahead of the special meeting.
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