Mayo MP Rebekha Sharkie will not rejoin Liberals

MAYO MP Rebekha Sharkie has ruled out rejoining the Liberal party to secure the Coalition Government’s numbers in parliament.

• Turnbull to quit parliament on Friday
• ‘Amateur hour’: Inside Peter Dutton’s dud coup
• Dutton stopped au pair deportation for AFL boss

MAYO MP Rebekha Sharkie has ruled out rejoining the Liberal party to secure the Coalition Government’s numbers in parliament.

The government, which won the 2016 election with a one-seat majority, will be down two members following Nationals MP Kevin Hogan’s move to the crossbench and the resignation of Malcolm Turnbull on Friday.

Centre Alliance member Ms Sharkie is yet to commit support to the government but plans to sit down with Prime Minister Scott Morrison this week to discuss her concerns.

Despite being a former Liberal staffer, Ms Sharkie said she did not expect Mr Morrison to invite her back to the party — but if he did, she “most certainly would not accept”.

“You would have to be nuts to join them after last week,” Ms Sharkie said.

“I am very much taking on board the volume of communication coming in to the office … my community is certainly very disappointed in the actions of the Liberal party.”

At their meeting, Ms Sharkie will seek clarity about whether emissions will form part of future energy policies, and if promises made during the Mayo by-election will be funded under a Morrison government.

She is also worried about what SA Senator Anne Ruston’s loss of the water resources portfolio means for SA.

“We need to make sure that we have someone who understands the challenges that we have,” Ms Sharkie said.

She, along with crossbenchers Victorian MP Cathy McGowan and Tasmanian MP Andrew Wilkie have said they will not give their support until going back to their communities.