A Gold Coast councillor turned parliamentarian has pledged to protect local and small businesses and maintain his community roots.

Giving his first speech in the lower house, Liberal MP Cameron Caldwell spoke of starting his own small law firm at the age of 26 and the strains faced by business owners.

Caldwell said while there were enjoyable times, there were also challenges.

“I will never forget the stresses of making payroll, paying rent and the fact that in all of those years, I paid everyone else’s super but my own,” he told parliament on Monday.

“I will never forget my roots in small business and in the private sector – and so all of those small businesses out there, I pledge my support to you.”

The married father of two also spoke of his family’s roots in Queensland, with his seat of Fadden encompassing the northern Gold Coast.

“I will never forget the early generations of my family from regional parts of our state and the contribution they made,” he said, referencing his late grandfather who ran a citrus farm in Howard, west of Hervey Bay.

“To say that we are the lucky country is to understate the real essence of our being … that we are the land of opportunity.”

Caldwell won the Fadden by-election with more than 63% of the vote and almost made it over the line on first preferences.

The Liberals retained the seat with a 2.7% swing to the party after former Morrison government minister Stuart Robert retired.

This article was first published by AAP.