From stopping the Taliban to fighting greenies: The incredible story of an Afghanistan war hero now Federal MP who was raised by a single mum, dropped out of school and survived a BOMBING - and how his wife saved his life
- Phillip Thompson, 31, won the seat of Herbert, in north Queensland, at election
- The Afghanistan war veteran's victory was crucial in deciding the election result
- In 2009 he was sent home from war when a roadside bomb exploded at his feet
- He suffered PTSD and long-term memory loss, and began to drink heavily
- Thompson's wife Jenna pulled him off the couch and got his life back on track
Phillip Thompson was sitting on the couch with the TV on and empty beer bottles at his feet when his girlfriend marched in.
'Get up,' she said.
It may have been three long years since Thompson had returned a broken man from Afghanistan, but he still knew an order when he heard one.
Jenna had stood by the war veteran as he battled PTSD and long-term memory loss - the fall out from the roadside bomb that exploded one metre in front of him in 2009.
But he had been wallowing in his misery long enough and she knew he now needed to honour his mates, many of who had not made it home.
Grabbing her partner by the hand, she led him to the mirror and they stood together.
'Who are you?' she asked.
It's that 'kick up the bum' from his now wife that Thompson credits for getting his life back and catapulting him to Australia's Federal Parliament as the Liberal member for Herbert in North Queensland.
Afghanistan war veteran Phillip Thompson (pictured with wife Jenna and daughter Astin) was elected to federal parliament last weekend, winning the seat of Herbert in north Queensland
After dropping out of school at a young age Thompson, 31, joined the Australian Defence Force and began serving in 2007, with his first duties in East Timor and later in Afghanistan (pictured)
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia during a rare break from the dozens of meetings that have filled his first days since being elected, Thompson said the dark days were just as important as the ones he was enjoying now.
'It's something I don't shy away from... it makes me who I am,' the fresh-faced Liberal MP said.
'It was a day in, day out feeling of not really knowing who I was. I felt like I'd let down my team because I had to leave them to come home.
'There's these mixed feelings of identity, mixed feelings of letting your friends down - as well as having a few extra drinks than what I should have.
'I went through a pretty rough time for a while, (it wasn't) just a day or so.
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'But my wife gave me a nice kick in the bum that just changed how I viewed and did things.'
One of three children, Thompson and his siblings were raised by their single mother on the Sunshine Coast.
Their upbringing was far from the glitzy tourist haunts of Noosa.
In Year 9, at just 15, he dropped out of school and picked up work as a concreter, but knew that he wanted to do something more with his life.
He realised that he wanted to join the army, but having left school at such a young age, couldn't walk straight in.
When in Afghanistan (pictured) in 2009, he was injured after a roadside bomb exploded one-metre in front of him. He was flown back to Australia where he suffered PTSD and long-term memory loss
After struggling for three years, Thompson's then girlfriend - now wife - Jenna (left) took him by the hand and led to in front of a mirror where she asked him: 'Who are you?'
Thompson (centre, with daughter Astin, wife Jenna and Prime Minister Scott Morrison) managed to win the seat of Herbert from the incumbent Labor MP, achieving a swing of more than 7 per cent - one of the biggest in the federal election
He put himself through night school and was accepted into the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, at 17.
'In 2007 I went to East Timor and then in 2009 I went to Afghanistan. On 19 October I was wounded in action - an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) detonated within one metre of me.
'I had a mild brain injury, but I still have hearing loss and can't hear in my right ear.'
While Thompson came back, many of his mates didn't.
But being back in Australia wasn't easy, either. Funerals became commonplace in his diary as many of those he served alongside committed suicide.
But after being pulled out of his dark days by his wife, Thompson realised he was one of the lucky ones and started advocating for veterans' affairs.
It was his work with veterans that saw him named Queensland Young Australian of the Year in 2018 - and the title helped him gain backing within the Liberal National Party to be their candidate of choice for the seat of Herbert.
'My friends who died overseas or succumbed to their "war within" back here, they're the reason I fight so hard,' Thompson said.
'(They are) the reason I put my hand up to be in politics, among others.'
After advocating for veterans' affairs, Thompson was award Queensland Young Australian of the Year in 2018 (He is pictured far-right alongside other award winners including Johnathon Thurston, second from left)
On Anzac Day this year, Prime Minister Scott Morrison spent the day campaigning alongside Thompson in Townsville and even enjoyed a beer with locals at The Australian Hotel (pictured)
The war veteran's campaign essentially began at his pre-selection, giving him just 12 months before the polling booths opened to get his name out there.
His understanding of the region and its people - and what makes it different to other parts of Australia - won Thompson plenty of support, and on May 18th, votes.
He stood firm in his support of the controversial Adani coal mine, knowing that it will bring jobs to a region where unemployment in many areas is triple the national average and opportunities are often limited.
While he looked a sure thing several months out from the election to take the seat of the sitting Labor member, he couldn't believe his luck when Bob Brown and his 'Stop Adani Convoy' rolled through the electorate.
The convoy of hundreds of largely city-dwelling Greens - many from as far south as Tasmania and Melbourne - told those within his Queensland electorate to put climate change ahead of a new coal mine and the jobs it would bring.
While it backfired, spectacularly, with the surprising swing of four per cent to the Liberal Party across Queensland.
Even post-election, talk of the Greens convoy still fires Thompson up.
One of the biggest issues of the election in Herbert was the controversial Adani coal mine, with protestors from as far south as Tasmania travelling through Queensland (pictured) and urging locals not to support it - a move that backfired spectacularly
'In central and north Queensland we don't get told what to do by some latte-sipping leftie from down south,' Thompson said, a reference to the way local voters (pictured) deserted Labor and the Greens on election day
'Mate, I couldn't believe it,' he said.
'In central and north Queensland we don't get told what to do by some latte-sipping leftie from down south.
'They're not from here, they clearly don't know what they're talking about and we just won't get dictated to by someone when you're not even from here.
'I back Adani. I wear a start Adani t-shirt. It is literally a job multiplier for Queensland.
'When extremists come up to tell us they are far more superior and we have no idea what we're doing, when they're not even remotely from this region… it doesn't fly.
'Townsville's put its faith in me now and I won't take it for granted.'
