If former prime minister Tony Abbott is weighing up a tilt at the seat of Shortland, he needs to know he won't be given a walk-up start.
That's the message from local Liberals who believe Emma King is the party's best shot at making inroads into the safe Labor seat.
While Mr Abbott has declined to comment about the prospect he may nominate for Shortland at the next federal election, he has made no secret of the fact he is interested in a political comeback.
Having ruled out running in his former seat of Warringah, The Saturday Paper recently reported that Mr Abbott was looking closely at seats on the NSW Central Coast.
Shortland, held by cabinet minister Pat Conroy, was suggested as a good fit for Mr Abbott's style of politics.
"It's got that muscular sort of One Nation-type demographic that Tony would fancy himself a chance of winning over," a Liberal Party member was quoted as saying.
But local Liberals who spoke to the Newcastle Herald said Emma King, who ran for the first time in last year's election, was a better long-term prospect for the party.
Ms King received 38.49 per cent of the two-party-preferred vote at the 2025 poll.
"Ultimately the local branches will decide [as part of the preselection process], but a lot of people would like to see Emma run again," a party member said.
"The Liberal Party needs to be looking for more young professional female candidates rather than former prime ministers."
Mr Abbott did not respond to questions about the likelihood of him running in the seat.
Mr Conroy, who received a 5.5 per cent swing in last year's election, said he was proud of his record representing the electorate since 2016.
"The people of Shortland don't need the Liberal Party budgie-smuggling Tony Abbott in from the affluent Northern Beaches of Sydney just to satisfy his whims," he said.
"When Tony Abbott was prime minister, he set about slashing tens of billions of dollars from health and education and took an axe to rights for workers, including coal miners.
"The people of Shortland deserve better. They deserve a local. I'm proud of my track record of fighting for a better deal, including making healthcare and education more affordable and standing up for workers."
