Liberal Party’s Mayo branch rejects bid to recruit Rebekha Sharkie and Stirling Griff
Liberals are fiercely rejecting a move to recruit Mayo MP Rebekha Sharkie, bluntly declaring “she is not one of us”.
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Liberal members are fiercely rejecting a bid to recruit Mayo MP Rebekha Sharkie, bluntly declaring “she is not one of us” and “does not share our values”.
In a letter to state and federal Liberal president John Olsen, Mayo Liberals express their “deep disapproval” of moves to recruit Ms Sharkie and her Centre Alliance Senate colleague Stirling Griff.
The Mayo Liberal branch’s letter says hardworking members have raised considerable funds to campaign tirelessly in three successive elections against Ms Sharkie, who they argue has a long track record of opposing Coalition government policies.
The Advertiser revealed on August 11 that the Liberals had launched a bid to recruit Ms Sharkie and Mr Griff, arguing Centre Alliance’s electoral support had evaporated and they could achieve more for the state in a major party.
“Asking our members in Mayo to get behind a representative (Ms Sharkie) who does not share our values and who has campaigned hard against our Party over the last five years is inappropriate and will not be accepted,” says the letter, from Mayo federal electorate committee president Rowan Mumford.
“Our members joined the Liberal Party because they share the values of individual freedom, small government, strong families and love of country.
“They get behind people they believe will represent their values and help elect Liberal governments because this is the best thing for our country.
“Ms Sharkie does not share these values. She is not one of us. Inviting her into the Liberal Party renders these values meaningless.”
The letter, which is marked confidential, says out of respect for members and the party’s values, the Mayo Liberals ask the state executive to reject any application from Ms Sharkie to rejoin the party.
The Liberals made a failed bid to return Ms Sharkie to the party ahead of a Mayo by-election in mid-2018, forced by her resignation over citizenship issues.
But those talks collapsed when branch members also spurned the bid to return Ms Sharkie to Liberal ranks.
It is understood no formal offer has been made to Ms Sharkie and Senator Griff in the latest recruitment drive and any talks thus far have been informal and at a low level.
But it is expected they will be wooed in talks with senior party figures after parliament returns on August 24, with a future ministry floated as an enticement for Ms Sharkie if she rises through the ranks down the line.
Ms Sharkie on August 13 told The Advertiser she would not consider any offer to join the Liberal Party that undermines her “100 per cent” commitment to her Adelaide Hills electorate or her beliefs.
The Mayo branch letter, a copy of which has been supplied to The Advertiser, accuses Ms Sharkie of being a strident opponent of federal Coalition policies including:
STRONG border protection, particularly through moves to support Medevac legislation to give asylum seekers access to medical care in Australia.
TAX cuts, particularly her opposition to company tax cuts.
CLIMATE change and emissions targets – saying Ms Sharkie called for federal parliament to declare a climate emergency and backed an economy-wide net-zero target by 2050.
THE Murray-Darling Basin Plan, saying Ms Sharkie has called for water buybacks despite their detrimental impact on regional communities and has aligned herself with the Greens and Labor.
Mr Olsen, Mr Mumford and Ms Sharkie all declined to comment. Senator Griff has been approached for comment.
The Liberal pitch to Ms Sharkie – previously a staffer to former Liberal state leader Isobel Redmond – follows the resignation of Senator Rex Patrick from Centre Alliance, as revealed by The Advertiser on August 9.
Until Ms Sharkie won in 2016, Mayo had been held by former Liberal federal leader Alexander Downer (1984-2008) and former federal minister Jamie Briggs (2008-2016).
Mayo Liberal branch members spurned the move to return Ms Sharkie to the party ahead of a by-election in mid-2018, forced by her resignation over citizenship issues.
Both Ms Sharkie and Senator Griff were swept to power in 2016 during a peak of electoral success for the Nick Xenophon Team, which was spearheaded by the former senator who in 2018 made a failed bid to secure the state seat of Hartley.
Ms Sharkie ousted Mr Briggs, for whom she also worked as a staffer, and twice trounced Mr Downer’s daughter, Georgina Downer – at the 2018 by-election and at the 2019 general election.