Liberal preselectors in Wentworth have snubbed the prime minister Scott Morrison’s choice, opting for Malcolm Turnbull’s preferred candidate Dave Sharma in a marathon meeting on Thursday evening.
Despite a push to preselect a woman to boost female representation and help hold the seat, on which the government’s one seat majority depends, Morrison’s preferred candidate Katherine O’Regan, the former deputy mayor of of the suburb of Woollahra, and Woollahra councillor Mary Lou-Jarvis were eliminated before the final rounds of voting.
Morrison congratulated Sharma on Twitter as a “quality guy with extensive experience and capability”. He said the “best candidate won” and “that’s how it should be”, but noted: “Of course I wanted to see more Liberal women in parliament. But I always want to see the best candidate selected. That’s what members rightly decided last night.”
In a press conference with Sharma at Bronte Beach on Friday, Morrison said that Sharma had his “full support”. He argued it was “not contradictory” to want more women in parliament but believe Sharma was best on the night.
Asked whether he and Liberal power-brokers had attempted to persuade Sharma to withdraw, Morrison dismissed the claim, accusing the media of “always [being] into conspiracies”.
Sharma said that he had “big shoes to fill” after Turnbull’s resignation, as the former prime minister had done “a huge amount” for Wentworth and Australia. He said with the support of Morrison and “hopefully other senior ministers” he would do his best to keep Wentworth in Liberal hands.
Sharma defeated the former MP for Wentworth Peter King and the former Liberal party deputy state director Richard Shields in the final rounds.
The former ambassador to Israel and well-regarded diplomat overcame the handicap of not living in the seat – he currently resides on the north shore to be close to his 90-year-old father.
Sharma’s strong support and knowledge of Israel has been seen as an electoral plus within Wentworth, which is the centre of the Jewish community in Sydney. He had previously worked as a staffer for former foreign minister Alexander Downer.
O’Regan was originally tipped to get the Liberal party nod after frontrunner Andrew Bragg pulled out of the contest under mounting pressure from Canberra, but it was Sharma who emerged the winner at 1.30am on Friday.
“We have a tough fight ahead of us to hold on to this seat, but I’ll be throwing my all into it and I believe we can retain it and retain a Liberal government in Canberra,” Sharma told reporters.
Malcolm Turnbull tweeted his congratulations to Sharma saying “if elected” he would make a “great contribution to our national parliament.”
Congratulations from Lucy and me to @DaveSharma - new Liberal candidate for Wentworth. As a diplomat Dave has represented Australia magnificently overseas, and now if elected will make a great contribution in our national parliament.
— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) September 13, 2018
Preselection candidate and former member for Wentworth Peter King said he respected the party’s decision, but wasn’t surprised a man was selected in the end.
“The decision was made on the merits and that’s the way it should be,” King said.
Sharma will now face a tough byelection battle, with early polling indicating a big swing against the Liberals, who have never lost the seat. Whether the seat remains in Liberal hands may hinge on whether a high-profile independent, the deputy lord mayor of City of Sydney, Dr Kerryn Phelps, now runs.
With voters in Wentworth deeply unhappy about Turnbull’s treatment by his party, there is a prospect an independent could triumph in a three-way contest.
Labor has chosen hedge fund manager and chairman of the Tamarama surf club, Tim Murray, to run as its candidate and he has received endorsement from Turnbull’s son Alex on Twitter.
