Andrew Murray will not stand for preselection

Senator Andrew Murray, Australian Democrat senator for Western Australia, has announced that the will not be running at the next federal election expected some time early in 2007. Senator Murray has served two terms as Senator for Western Australia. This announcement has both positive and negative aspects for the Australian Democrats. It the Western Australian Democrats will have to campaign hard to get a new candidate known to the electorate, but it will also remove from the political spectrum a Senator somewhat tainted by scandals over leadership and intra-party wrangling in years past. Senator Murray spoke positively about the future of the democrats at the time his announcement, commenting that he felt sure Australians would realise how much they needed the Democrats in the Senate as a voice for fairness after witnessing the recent abuses of parliamentary power by the Howard government who currently control both houses.

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