‘Anyone but Rennick’: Fate of LNP senator decided

Controversial senator Gerard Rennick has lost his position on the LNP ticket after a marathon preselection debate.

Controversial senator Gerard Rennick has lost his position on the LNP ticket after a marathon preselection debate on Friday.

He will be replaced in the third spot on the ticket by Stuart Fraser, who beat out Senator Rennick and former Young LNP president Nelson Savanh.

It’s understood the margin between Mr Fraser and Senator Rennick was as tight as three votes.

While there will be no immediate change, as Senator Rennick will finish his six-year term in July 2025, Mr Fraser will contest the next federal election for the LNP.

The third spot is considered a difficult position for the new candidate to win.

Senator Rennick sparked anger in the party after taking part in a vote blockade in the Senate against the then Coalition government in late 2021 and early 2022 over the vaccine mandate.

Senator Gerard Rennick

Senators Paul Scarr and Susan McDonald kept their first and second spots on the ticket as expected.

Mr Fraser is the party’s treasurer and is understood to have gained support from a strong performance during the speeches.

After Mr Savanh was knocked out in the vote late in the day, his supporters moved behind Mr Fraser.

One insider had described the contest as between “Gerard Rennick and anyone but Gerard Rennick”.

The process began at 9am on Friday and was only finalised shortly after 5pm.

Nelson Savanh

LNP president Lawrence Springborg said there was a broad field of candidates and that the chosen senate team came from all walks of life.

“I also want to thank Senator Gerard Rennick for his tireless efforts and pay tribute to him

for his passionate advocacy for Queensland, who he has represented since 2019, and will

continue to do until the next federal election,” Mr Springborg said.

Mr Savanh works with strategic communications firm Michelson Alexander, and has been outspoken about the party’s need to reform.

In a blog post made in June last year, Mr Savanh warned the Liberal Party, similar to British conservatives 20 years ago, was facing a “nasty party moment”.

“We’ve just seen an election dominated by coarse debates about trans kids, the safety and agency of women, climate denialism and integrity in politics,” he wrote in the post.

He argued the party needed to seek more diverse candidates to win, suggesting a range of ideas be considered, including increasing vote weighting for some “A-list” candidates.