‘I am very humbled’: Phil Thompson vows to go after insurance industry after securing third term in Herbert
Phil Thompson describes himself as a fighter, which is probably why he’s one of the few Liberal MP’s left standing after the election bloodbath. His next fight? The insurance industry.
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Phil Thompson describes himself as a fighter, which stands to reason given he’s one of the few Liberal MP’s left standing after the election bloodbath.
Secured for another three years, the Townsville-based Thompson says his next fight will be against the insurance industry.
“People are going from a $2000 premium to $14,000 and that is a ridiculous market failure,” Mr Thompson said.
“I’m going to get the Australian Reinsurance Pool Corporation (ARPC) called up to make sure they are doing their job, and I want to hold the insurance companies over the fire.”
Mr Thompson’s ability to focus on North Queensland issues, rather than spending his time in front of a camera arguing about Canberra topics, could be part of his secret to success.
“People come to me and they say they like how visible I am, and that I’m always around,” Mr Thompson said.
“People are coming into my office all the time, they complain to me about the barking dog on their street.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a local issue, a state issue or a Federal one, if it matters to you, it’s a Phil issue.”
Now aged 36-years-old, Mr Thompson joined the Liberal Party in 2019 and became the shadow assistant minister for defence in 2022.
“This is definitely the smallest Liberal parliament I’ve been in. When I joined we were in government, then we were in opposition, now we’re a small opposition,” he said.
At the time of writing, the Coalition was ahead in 37 seats – however, it’s predicted this could slump down as far as 25 seats as counting continues – while Labor was sitting at 85 in the first ever Australian election where Baby Boomers were outnumbered by younger voters.
Of those 37 hopeful Liberals, Phil Thompson was one of the most dominant, so far securing 63.5 per cent of the Herbert vote with a 1.7 per cent swing towards him.
The only Liberal politician performing better than Mr Thompson is Sussan Ley who has 64.6 per cent of the vote in Farrer.
Neighbouring electorate Dawson also voted in their incumbent Liberal MP Andrew Willcox with 62.1 per cent of the vote, making the Townsville region something of a Liberal stronghold for the party.
“People were telling me ‘don’t worry, you’ll be fine’ but every election I am just as nervous,” Mr Thompson said.
“I am very humbled to be voted in again, and very thankful for the Townsville community for putting their faith in me.”
So what does the future of the Liberal Party look like?
Mr Thompson said there will be a lot of “long discussions” with his fellow MPs.
“I spoke with Peter Dutton this morning, we had a good chat, obviously he’s taken responsibility for the outcome like a good leader,” he said.
“Now we’re going to be regrouping and coming together … the Australian people casted their votes and gave us a clear message on what they want to see from the Liberals.”
At the moment, it’s not clear who will succeed Peter Dutton as Liberal leader.
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Originally published as ‘I am very humbled’: Phil Thompson vows to go after insurance industry after securing third term in Herbert
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