Paul Brown addressing the Keep the Sheep rally in Canberra earlier this year.
The Nationals WA have endorsed Keep the Sheep campaigner Paul Brown as Senate candidate for the 2025 Federal Election.
After the party’s State Council chose Mr Brown on Sunday, state president Julie Freeman described him as a strong advocate for Western Australia with tremendous drive and the capacity to take commonsense to Canberra.
“Paul is a passionate campaigner and has garnered enormous support from his work as an Upper House Member of Parliament and as a Leader of the Keep The Sheep movement,” she said.
Mr Brown said he was grateful to the Nationals for the opportunity.
“Western Australians have had enough of Labor’s neglect and dodgy deals,” he said.
“We need a government that will get back to basics and fix the fundamentals.
“I’m proud to stand up for our regional communities and rural industries, and I won’t back down when Western Australian livelihoods are at stake.”
Mr Brown told the Weekender he would not be a “political fixer” but an “issues fixer” for WA.
“If that means I have to be vocal about issues that is what I will do,” he said.
“I will bring my own brand of politics to the issue and people know I have loud voice for Western Australia.
“I have been a very vocal champion in regional Western Australia and I will also bring that type of advocacy to the metropolitan Perth as well.”
Mr Brown joins the Federal campaign with former WA Nationals leader Mia Davies MLA who is now The Nationals Candidate for the new Federal Seat of Bullwinkel.
Mr Brown was MLC for the Agricultural Region from May 2013 to February 2017, when he resigned to stand for the Lower House seat for Geraldton.
He lost the election to Liberal Ian Blayney, who later changed sides to join Mr Brown’s own party.
Meanwhile, Mr Brown stayed busy working as research officer for Vince Catania MLA, and developing his own feed lotting and cattle export business.
He coached the inaugural Towns women’s football team in Geraldton and stood unsuccessfully at City of Greater Geraldton’s 2017 council elections.
Mr Brown was a key figure in the recent Keep the Sheep campaign.
If elected he would be the first coalition Senator from rural WA since Liberal John Panizza died in 1997.
Bill Storrs was the last WA senator for the Country Party, which became the National Party. He retired in 1971.
