Editing Rob Borbidge (section)

== Parliamentary and ministerial career ==
In an attempt to broaden its electoral base and reduce the influence of its coalition partner, the [[Liberal Party of Australia (Queensland Division)|Liberal Party]], the Country Party renamed itself as the National Party in 1974. Also in the mid-1970s, it began a concerted effort to retake seats in the Gold Coast. The area had been a National stronghold until the 1960s, but growing urbanization resulted in the Liberals taking most of the seats there. This was part of the Nationals' broader strategy of contesting seats in urbanised areas outside of its rural heartland. As a sign of this, in 1980 Borbidge contested and won the seat of [[Surfers Paradise, Queensland|Surfers Paradise]] from sitting Liberal member [[Bruce Bishop]], who had alleged corruption in property development by the Bjelke-Petersen government.

By the late 1980s, the scandal of the extreme corruption revealed by the [[Fitzgerald Inquiry]] had engulfed Bjelke-Petersen, who was replaced as Premier and National Party leader in 1987 by [[Mike Ahern (Australian politician)|Mike Ahern]]. Borbidge, as a member of the new generation of Nationals untouched by political scandal, was promoted by Ahern to [[Cabinet (government)|Cabinet]] as Minister for Small Business, Communications and Technology.  He received the important portfolio of Tourism in 1989 and was briefly made Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Tourism by Ahern's successor [[Russell Cooper]] before he lost office at the hands of the [[Australian Labor Party (Queensland Branch)|Labor Party]]'s [[Wayne Goss]] in the 1989 election.