Talbot resident Ben Green has thrown his hat in the ring for the seat of Ballarat, standing for the Liberal Party at the federal election.
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He will be up against incumbent Catherine King, from the ALP, the United Australia Party's Terri Pryse-Smith, the Greens' John Barnes, the Liberal Democrats' Julia McGrath, and the Great Australia Party's Chris Kelly.
A lawyer and former construction manager, raised on a farm "breaking in horses", Mr Green said he was motivated to stand after years of fighting for his clients.
"I've always been interested in politics, even before I studied politics at school and uni - my father was in politics, and as we grew up, the dialogue, politics was always there in the foreground or background," he said.
"The reason I'm seeking to represent Ballarat now is that I've actually had to make my own life, I've had to make a living, and I've had to put everything into that.
"Given my background, I believe I have the right attributes and the right skillsets, I've been a very busy lawyer for a long time now, 14 years, I've traveled the entire country advocating for my clients' interests and rights.
"I'm used to an adversarial system, and I'm used to playing fair in an adversarial system, I'm objective, I don't take things personally even if they are personal, and I believe I have the right integrity and skillset for Ballarat, and the connection to Ballarat."
The controversial Western Victoria Transmission Network Project was a major issue for Mr Green - he stated he was "dead against it", and the ongoing environmental effects statement process was "window dressing for something you just can't window dress".
He also called for more federal infrastructure funding for roads and the Ballarat airport - while he would not commit to supporting funding the Ballarat Link Road's stage two, duplicating Dyson Drive, he said "Ballarat deserves a higher prominence than it's had under the current member", and there were several projects that should be funded.
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"There's other smaller items - there's a mistake these days to always go big, I think it's good to go small, small is beautiful, things happen small and local," he said.
Ballarat is currently held by the ALP by a significant margin - at the 2019 election, on the two-party preferred, Ms King defeated Liberal challenger Timothy Vo 61 per cent to 39 per cent after preferences.
Mr Green said he is determined to "meet as many people in Ballarat as I can, and the surrounding districts".
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"I've arranged a leave of absence during the campaign period, and I've made arrangements to quit being a partner (at the law firm) should I be successful - should I not be successful, I'd intend to run again here," he said.
"It's not capricious or flash in the pan, it wasn't just the other day I thought this, I've been interested for a long time."
The federal election will be held on May 21.
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