THOMPSON MARKS YEAR IN POLITICS FIGHTING FOR YOU

WHEN Phillip Thompson was elected 12 months ago, there was no time to settle into the role – he had to help the city recover from one of its worst disasters.

Townsville was still mopping up the mud, trying to rid homes of damp and battling with insurance companies.

Thompson had made a career out of safeguarding the Australian democratic process in the Defence Force and a one-in-500-year flood was not going to change that.

“For the last 12 months, we’ve seen something we’ve never seen before,” Thompson said.

“Some people are still only just getting into their homes, businesses are still trying to recover, projects we’ve been fighting for and pushing for … they’re starting to take shape.”

But the 2019 floods will not be the only defining moment when Thompson reflects on his first 12 months in politics.

When the coronavirus first hit Australian shores, Thompson’s wife Jenna was pregnant with their second daughter, Emery.

His eldest daughter, Astin, was just three weeks old when Thompson was preselected for Herbert and as the veteran approached his first year in parliament, Emery was born.

“There is an old saying that behind every strong man is an even stronger woman. That is not the case in my house, my wife doesn’t stand behind me, she stands beside me,” Thompson said.

“Everything we’ve done, we’ve done as a family.

“We have two daughters and they have both been born into politics.

“It can be tough on everyone, but we do things as a family.

“I will miss birthdays, I will be on the phone during Christmas … I will be away for early mornings and late nights and not see my family, but I do everything for that reason … so that my daughters, the children and the people of Townsville will grow up and have a future here.”

Thompson, 32, said securing the long-term future of Townsville meant prosperity for everyone, including his children.

“I am sick of hearing people come and speak to me saying ‘ oh there are no jobs and my kids have left to go down south’,” he said.

“I want to help and be part of the change within politics and within what a local member does to help listen to the people; listen, work, deliver and create jobs here.”

Ministers were taken aback when the youngest serving federal politician made it to Canberra with

Thompson “kicking down doors” to tell people what Townsville needed.

It didn’t go down too well, according to the Herbert MP, but it was effective.

“It’s important that the people of Townsville can talk to and get their pound of flesh from the ministers and the Prime Minister,” Thompson said.

“I demanded to speak to the people, the minister in charge … because Townsville has been neglected and when the PM comes here, the sentiment is echoed.

“Out of everything, Townsville must come first, regardless of politics.”