OK, so Rotary is strictly non-political, and therefore, at our club meeting this morning, Trent had to be careful to stay within the boundaries. He modestly introduced himself as a “senior member of the LNP”. Trent is the Chairman for the Gold Coast Region of the LNP, equivalent to a board position of the party. Of course, he is also our club’s Secretary, but what you may not know, he also is a Director of St John’s Crisis Centre.You couldn’t be blamed if you expected a “Politician’s waffle”. To the contrary: we were all suitably impressed by his clear, concise and “no bull” analysis of the 2025 Election. Thoroughly prepared, Trent informed us in an honest and calm way on what happened, and what went wrong for the conservatives (not much went right). Yes, we knew most of that already, but some of the facts he outlined may have been new to many of us. For example, are the ‘Teals’ as they call themselves, really Independents? In reality they are a political party. Simply expressed, if a candidate doesn't toe the line of their financier (Climate 200), he/she won’t be endorsed. A clear example Trent outlined was the battle for Karen Andrew’s replacement in the McPherson electorate. “The Teal Party candidate spent over $2 Million on advertising", Trent claimed. That candidate (who was defeated by the LNP candidate) is officially an Independent (with $2 Million to spare?) Before she ran as an Independent, she was a member of the Greens Party.
Trent allowed good time for Question Time – and they came thick and fast, and they were answered competently. Looking forward to you getting interviewed in the foreseeable future on the 7:30 Report, Trent!
(Photo: Trent (left) with President Elect Paul Seymour. A copy of Trent’s slides (in PDF format) is available in the Download Section on the right.)