Liberal MP Russell Broadbent quits the party after losing preselection

Russell Broadbent will sit on the crossbench after serving the Liberal Party for more than 25 years.

Russell Broadbent has been a Liberal Party member since 1980. Picture: AAP

Russell Broadbent says his emphatic preselection loss revoked his licence to represent the Liberals, announcing he has quit the party and will move to the crossbench to serve out the rest of his parliamentary term.

In a bruising weekend preselection battle for the Victorian seat of Monash, the 72-year-old moderate Liberal MP gained just 16 votes compared with 161 votes for Fujitsu government relations executive Mary Aldred, the stepsister of ­former Liberal minister Alan Tudge.

“Today I resigned from the Liberal Party and will move to the crossbench where I’ll continue to represent the people of Monash,” Mr Broadbent said on Tuesday.

“I am a Liberal at heart and my values have not changed.

“On Sunday, there was a pre­selection where I received less than 10 per cent of the vote.

“This was a clear signal from members and one which I believe revokes my licence to represent the Liberal Party in my electorate of Monash.

“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.”

Anthony Albanese seized on Mr Broadbent’s resignation from the Liberal Party in Labor’s caucus meeting, pointing out the ­Coalition had reduced from 58 lower house members to 55 under Peter Dutton’s watch.

As well as Mr Broadbent’s departure, Andrew Gee has quit the Nationals to sit on the crossbench over that party’s opposition to the Indigenous voice proposal and Mr Tudge resigned from parliament, triggering the by-election in Aston that saw the government win a seat off the opposition for the first time in more than 100 years. The Prime Minister noted the Opposition Leader had made it clear it was a key priority to keep his party together but Mr Gee, Mr Tudge, Karen Andrews, Stuart Robert and Julian Leeser had all left the frontbench under Mr Dutton’s leadership.

Mr Broadbent, who lost his seat at the 1993 and 1998 federal elections, has served for more than 25 years in the House of Representatives and has been a member of the Liberal Party since 1980.

Liberal MP Warren Entsch, first elected in 1996, conceded that the outcome of Mr Broadbent’s preselection sent a message as he wished his colleague well. “I really feel for him. He was a thinker,” Mr Entsch said. “It highlights to everybody politics can be brutal.

“His contribution over many years has been quite outstanding. I’m sorry it’s gone the way it has. I’m going to miss him.”

Mr Broadbent, who has never sat on the frontbench, prided ­himself on being an outspoken member of the backbench representing his electorate and regional Australia.

During the Howard years, he was a leading critic of the government’s policies on asylum-seekers and he was one of the rebellious backbenchers who pointed out the incarceration of refugees was unacceptable.

Mr Broadbent was also one of four MPs in the House of Representatives to vote against legalising same-sex marriage.

“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 said.