REMEMBER WHEN

GOLD COAST BULLETIN Thursday December 12 1991

IT was the Gold Coast’s most famous moment of electoral suicide.

Sitting Liberal Party Currumbin MP Trevor Coomber abandoned his relatively safe seat to contest the 1992 election against incumbent opposition leader Rob Borbidge in Surfers Paradise.

This was a rather curious move for the former Gold Coast councillor given that Mr Borbidge was the leader of the National Party which spent much of its existence in coalition with the Liberals.

Mr Coomber defended the decision and told the Bulletin that he made the decision before Mr Borbidge became party leader following the fall of former head Russell Cooper.

“People deserve the chance to vote Liberal and our party decided … to enter threecornered contests,” he said.

Mr Borbidge had held the seat for 11 years since his 1980 election and easily retained it.

Labor romped home to win the 1992 poll and remained in office until early 1996 when the Goss Government loss a byelection and its control of the parliament, forcing its resignation.

As for Mr Coomber, he retired from politics and today lives in Brisbane working as a chemist.

Meanwhile, police held little hope of finding missing model Christine Petersen after the body of a man believed to be her former de facto husband was found.

The body, with a gunshot wound to the head was found near Bega on the NSW south coast and was believed to be Lawrence Stehlik, 39.

Ms Petersen’s body was found two days later.