“But there is still lots to do and for this reason I have put my hand up for pre-selection for the seat of Leichhardt at the upcoming Federal Election, due to be held by June 2019.

“I am unaware if I will face a challenge at this stage but that is the beauty of our party,” said Entsch, who has represented Leichhardt since 2010.

Pre-selection for the seat closes on Monday, 16 April.

This will come as good news for many in the Douglas Shire – which is part of the Federal Electoral Division of Leichhardt – especially those north of the Daintree River where Entsch has been long fighting to secure a power grid and improvements to the ferry crossing.

He was recently in the Daintree at a forum where he wholly endorsed a detailed document entitled Powering Daintree, which he has presented to the energy minister.

Entsch said there will be people, especially the keyboard warriors, who will question my decision purely because of my age. He turns 68 in May.

“We live in a democracy. If they feel they could do a better job representing the people of Cairns, Cape York and Torres Strait, then I look forward to seeing their names on the ballot paper.

“I also know there are people out there, including within my own party, that didn’t agree with my advocacy for marriage equality.

“I am extremely proud of the role I played in achieving equality for thousands of Australians.

“But at the end of the day they conveniently like to ignore the fact the overwhelming majority of Australians supported change, including 64.4 per cent of people living in Leichhardt,” he said.

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