Logan city councillor reaches for new seat

ONE OF the most glamorous and controversial politicians in Australia will run for the new federal seat of Wright, which covers Gatton and the Scenic Rim.

LNP pre-selection candidate Hajnal Ban received national media attention in May when news broke of her trip to Russia to surgically alter her height.

In 2002, Ms Ban, whose first name is pronounced “hi-nal”, travelled to the Russian Ilizarov Scientific Centre for Restorative Traumatology, for radical cosmetic surgery to gain eight centimetres of height.

The process of lengthening took 12 months.

The stunning blonde, whose own website said she had been described as a leader in fashion and design, said the media frenzy over her surgery would not be the focus of her political career.

“Let's be honest - people judge you when they first meet you, and I keep fit and like to look good because I hope to make a good impression,” Ms Ban said.

“But I want to focus on policy for the seat of Wright and what I can bring to the area as a conservative politician, not what happened in Russia.”

The seat of Wright covers the Gold Coast and Logan City councils, and all of Lockyer and Scenic Rim regional councils.

Ms Ban, currently a Logan councillor, said the Labor Party had ignored regional Ipswich for too long, which had hampered the trade of local small business.

“There are many issues in the seat of Wright which need addressing, most notably jobs,” Ms Ban said.

“Labour has ignored us, for example the stimulus package contracts largely went to people city-based.”

Ms Ban, 31, said an upgrade to the Warrego Highway would be at the top of her policy list.

“That highway is very dangerous and I will be calling for a government audit into its safety,” she said.

Born in Israel from Hungarian heritage, Ms Ban has postponed a planned book about her trip to Russia.

Ms Ban previously said her story was too personal as some of her darkest moments occurred after her return from Russia.

She has so far written seven chapters, with just one dedicated to her Russian surgery.