Liberals select lawyer Jack Batty to run for Vickie Chapman’s old seat of Bragg

David Speirs has revealed why he didn’t vote for the new Liberal candidate running for Vickie Chapman’s blue ribbon seat of Bragg.

Opposition Leader David Speirs has revealed he did not vote for Liberal Bragg by-election candidate Jack Batty because he believed a woman should have been pre-selected in the seat.

Speaking alongside Mr Batty at a press conference, Mr Speirs said he was “not embarrassed” to admit he voted for one of the two female candidates.

“I had made it very clear that I was going to support a woman in the pre-selection,” he said on Monday.

“There’s too much hypocrisy in politics and, for me to be saying I’d really like to see more women elected and pre-selected, and then to vote for a man wouldn’t have been the right thing to do.”

Mr Speirs said the party needed to be more representative of the South Australian community, and vowed to take steps to ensure more women are elected.

“I’m going to be setting up a committee within our party, with women from the parliamentary ranks and women who have had involvement in the party over the years, to help this party find more ways for women to be involved,” he said.

Mr Batty won in a landslide to be the Liberal candidate vying for the blue-ribbon state.

The SA Liberal Party voted for Mr Batty as its candidate for the Bragg by-election at a special meeting on Sunday night.

He won with 113 votes despite an internal push in state and federal Liberal ranks to increase the party’s female representation.

Mr Batty beat three other preselection candidates, including Liberal adviser Sandy Biar, who only polled eight votes. Businesswoman Cara Miller got 12 votes, while commercial lawyer Melissa Jones pulled 33 votes.

Those casting their vote at the meeting included state Liberal leader David Speirs and newly-minted Opposition Foreign Affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham.

New Bragg candidate Jack Batty. Picture: supplied

Former Attorney-General Vickie Chapman spectacularly triggered a by-election by quitting on the same day David Speirs was appointed Liberal leader. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

Mr Batty, 31, is a lawyer who also worked as an adviser to Australia’s High Commissioner to the UK, George Brandis.

In official campaign material, Mr Batty boasts working on “some of our most foreign policy priorities”, including the Australia-UK free trade deal and the AUKUS security pact.

After the vote was taken, Mr Batty said he was “honoured” by the opportunity.

“I’m honoured to be selected as the candidate for the seat of Bragg and am looking forward to putting myself forward as the Liberal candidate – to be a strong fresh voice on issues that matter to us like the economy, health and the environment,” he said.

“I am passionate about being a strong voice for my community and I am keen to work hard to connect with individuals, families, small businesses and community groups about what is important to them.”

Ms Chapman stunned her colleagues in April when she controversially announced she would quit politics and trigger a by-election, which will be held on July 2.

The decision infuriated some Liberals as it came on the same day Bright MP David Speirs was installed as the new Liberal leader following a bloodbath defeated in the March state election.

Liberal leader David Speirs congratulates the new Bragg candidate Jack Batty. Picture: Supplied

The Bragg preselection race itself was also not without controversy, as the party rejected former staff Chelsey Potter’s bid to replace Ms Chapman.

The race was plunged further into controversy when it was revealed aspiring candidate Cara Miller was embroiled in a civil law dispute with the family of her late husband Dr Detlef Kirsten over his estate and the couple’s company Sound Diagnostics. Party sources said the legal issues could have been a “distraction” in the by-election campaign if she was preselected.

But not all were happy. A senior Liberal source criticised the lack of female representation.

“The left faction have proven once again that they talk a big game about bringing women into parliament, yet when the rubber hits the road, it gives their safe seats to male staffers to ensure their power base stays alive,” they said.

“In the last 12 months the conservatives have put forward numerous highly capable women such as Nicola Centofanti MLC, Heidi Girolimo MLC and Laura Curran MLC. All were preselected for winnable spots and all entered Parliament.

“If you are a female from the left, the best you can expect is to work your guts out to try to win a Labor seat. If you are a young male staffer from the left, you are on the fast track to a safe seat in Parliament.”