Former state government minister John Bowler has announced he will stand for the seat of Kalgoorlie as an independent candidate at the next state election, due in early 2009.
Mr Bowler left the ministry and the Labor Party last year after revelations in the Corruption and Crime Commission that he leaked a draft parliamentary report to lobbyist Julian Grill.
The planned retirement of current Kalgoorlie member, former Liberal Party leader Matt Birney, has opened up the seat to new candidates.
Mr Bowler said he felt some trepidation at taking on the two main parties, but believed his pro-mining stance and intimate knowledge of the resources industry in Western Australia would strike a chord with Kalgoorlie voters and deliver him a third term in Parliament.
"There's hardly anyone in Parliament at the moment with the corporate and technical knowledge of mining matters," he told WA Business News.
"There is this laissez faire attitude in government that the billions of dollars the state is reaping from the mining boom is going to last forever and everything is sweet... but it won't look after itself."
"I've seen the booms and busts and we must be prepared for the downturn."
The former minister said he supported the stepping up of greenfields exploration in the region and reform of native title and heritage laws, which were proving a stumbling block to further exploration and the advancement of Indigenous people.
