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Close encounter Photograph: Liam Durkin MARY Aldred, the former chief executive of the Committee for Gippsland, has been resoundingly endorsed as the Liberal candidate for Monash at the next federal election, outpolling the current member Russell Broadbent. Ms Aldred, 40, won a clear majority in the first round of voting to defeat Mr Broadbent,72, who has been the local member for the last 19 years, while also briefly serving in the 1990s. Ms Aldred said after the vote on Sunday that it was a tremendous honour and privilege to have the great confidence invested in her by local party branches to represent the Liberal Party in Monash. “I will work my hardest to make a compelling case as the Liberal candidate for Monash at the next election,” she said. “I also want to acknowledge Russell Broadbent and the tremendous contribution he has made to the Gippsland region over 25 years, and I pay my respects to his contribution to the Liberal Party
Darren Chester Member for Gippsland pp
over that time. It’s a privilege to follow as the next Liberal candidate.” Ms Aldred said she had worked closely with the Liberal branches in Phillip Island, Leongatha, Warragul, the Latrobe Valley and Trafalgar. “I’m deeply humbled by the great support I’ve had from those branches,” she said. Ms Aldred said as a candidate she would work very hard to make the case to local voters on many issues. These included the cost of living, the infrastructure base in Gippsland to handle new population, aged care and health and “make local families feel they are supported”. “In the last 20 years, I’ve been working with not-for-profit organisations, small businesses and healthcare organisations. I have an acute understanding of the issues and I’ll be able to hit the ground running and focus on local issues and will continue to engage with all those local organisations being at farmers markets, speaking with local families in the electorate and seeing
what most matters to them,” she said. As the daughter of a former federal Liberal MP, Ken Aldred, Ms Aldred said she had grown up with politics. “I’ve always been interested in the communities. From a very young age, I’ve been involved in not-for-profit organisations. I have a real passion for small business,” she said. At last year’s federal election, Mr Broadbent’s margin was reduced to 2.9 per cent after preferences after a four per cent swing to Labor. Mr Broadbent is expected to see out the rest of his term until the next federal election. Ms Aldred, a passionate Gippslander, has worked in a number of leadership roles for local business and community organisations over the past 20 years. Graduating with a Master of Business Administration from Federation University Australia in 2018, Ms Aldred has also completed a Bachelor of Arts (Honours), a Master of Agribusiness, and is a graduate of the Gippsland Community Leadership Program. She
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also completed an apprenticeship at McMillan Training (now Community College Gippsland). Ms Aldred is most well known as the founding chief executive of the Committee for Gippsland (C4G), which represents more than 100 business and community organisations across Gippsland. These range from Phillip Island Nature Park to Burra Foods and Saputo in South Gippsland, to the Latrobe Valley energy sector, Federation University and TAFE, through to manufacturing, health and small businesses in West Gippsland. She has served in many local community and business roles, including the boards of Lifeline Gippsland, Wooryl Lodge in Leongatha, Gippsland Basketball League, Latrobe Regional Hospital, Federation University’s industry advisory board, and is currently a director of Australian Sustainable Hardwoods in Heyfield.
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Not many people can say they’ve seen the Pope in person. Traralgon teenager Zahra Hanratty saw his Holiness at this year’s World Youth Day. Read about her incredible journey to Portugal on page 32.
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