One-term former senator Ricky Muir is chasing a political comeback, announcing his candidacy for the Victorian seat of Morwell in the state election.
Now aligned with the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, the "proud Gippslander" announced his candidacy for the lower house seat on Monday.
He hopes to "offer voters who are dissatisfied with the major parties an alternative voice," he said in a statement.
Despite not living directly in the Morwell electorate, Mr Muir did not think that would be an issue for voters.
He lives "very close to where the Morwell, East Gippsland and South Gippsland electorates meet" and he has a "clear understanding of how policy decisions in one Gippsland based electorate can have an impact on another".
The Latrobe Valley suffered severe job losses in 2017, with the closure of the Hazelwood coal fired power station and Carter Holt Harvey sawmill in Morwell.
Mr Muir said he would focus on keeping jobs in the region and rally against a push for a Great Forest National Park.
"I will not allow the Morwell electorate's fitters and turners, forestry workers and skilled operators to become baristas for inner city ideology," he said.
The 37-year-old was an unlikely victor in the 2013 election, entering the Senate under the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party with just 0.51 per cent of the primary vote but preferences from about 20 other parties got him over the line.
He was not successful in the 2016 election.
With a margin of just 1.8 per cent, the contest for Morwell will be tight.
Incumbent Russell Northe has previously flagged running as an independent after quitting the Nationals last year to tackle personal problems and fighting off Labor for the seat in 2014.
Victorians go to the polls on November 24.
Australian Associated Press
