For a party suffering from an image problem of being male, pale and stale, Chinese-Australian Gladys Liu is the antidote that can help the Liberal Party present the face of modern multicultural Australia.

She also could become an unlikely party hero. If Scott Morrison is to remain prime minister after May 18, he is sweating on Ms Liu holding the seat of Chisholm (3.4 per cent margin) in Melbourne's eastern suburbs against the expected anti-Liberal tide south of the Murray.