FORDE MP Bert van Manen has been appointed to the highly-coveted role of government whip in the Turnbull government.
On Friday, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull appointed Mr van Manen and Rowan Ramsey to the whip positions and re-appointed Nola Marino MP as chief government whip.
Prime Minister Turnbull said he was pleased to announce the new whip teams.
“As I have previously announced, Nola Marino has been re-appointed as chief government whip. Nola is an outstanding chief government whip and I value her experience wise counsel,” he said.
“Rowan and Bert come to these vitally important positions with extensive parliamentary experience and the respect and trust of their colleagues.”
“The whips role is vitally important to the smooth running of our parliament. I thank Nola, Rowan and Bert for agreeing to serve in these roles.”
“I thank Ewen Jones and Brett Whiteley for their service to our government as whips. They will be missed and leave big shoes to fill.”
Coup for Logan
Mr van Manen narrowly retained his Forde seat by about 1000 votes in the July 2 election after a hard-fought battle against Labor challenger Des Hardman.
The plum role for Mr van Manen is also a coup for Logan, which will almost certainly gain a bigger voice in federal parliament considering the Forde MPs close relationship with the prime minister.
The likelihood of contentious projects including the M1 upgrade coming to fruition appear certain to be boosted by the news.
Mr van Manen’s appointment is also the second time in recent years that a south-east Queensland federal MP served as whip.
Wright MP Scott Buchholz served as the chief government whip in Tony Abbott’s government for seven months in 2015 before he was sacked following Mr Abbott’s dumping as prime minister.
