The ABC reported Mr Muir is the SFFP’s lead candidate to represent Victoria in the Senate and hopes to return to the parliament where he was first elected, off the back of preference deals, with the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party in 2013.
He said it would be “an uphill challenge” to be elected to the Senate with the minor party, following changes to the electoral system for the Senate which took effect at the last election.
Mr Muir said he had “unfinished business defending regional Victoria”.
“I come from rural Victoria, there’s a party that is supposed to represent rural Victoria and I just feel that so much is falling on deaf ears, and I just feel that we can be the circuit breaker,” Mr Muir said.
Mr Muir hopes the success of SFFP — which picked up two regional seats from the Nationals at the recent NSW state election — will help his chances.
He said forestry, drought, electric vehicles and road maintenance would be policy areas he was keen to pursue if elected.
“The number one thing that made me want to run in the 2019 federal election, rather than waiting until 2022, was frustration around the timber industry,” Mr Muir said.
“No agreement being reached with regional forestry agreements between the state and federal government, timber release plans not being released, this is having a massive impact on regional Victoria, right now,”
“It has been going on for months with contractors not being able to do what they need to do and uncertainty … these are regional jobs that are being destroyed because agreements can’t be reached.”
Mr Muir will top the SFFP Senate ticket in Victoria, where the party will also contest two lower house seats.
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