Wentworth Liberals select by-election candidate as PM admits to ‘no expectations’
PRIME Minister Scott Morrison’s pick for the seat of Wentworth failed to make it to the final round of voting as Liberals ignored their leader’s call for a female candidate to be selected.
Former Australian ambassador to Israel Dave Sharma has been pre-selected by the Liberal Party to contest the Wentworth by-election, despite Canberra lobbying for a woman to be picked.
Mr Sharma emerged the winner after a marathon Liberal Party meeting at the Easts Rugby Club in leafy Bellevue Hill just before 2am.
Speaking to reporters outside, Mr Sharma thanked his supporters.
“It’s been a long evening, but I’m honoured to have been preselected as the Liberal candidate for the seat of Wentworth,” he said.
“We have a tough fight ahead of us to hold onto this seat, but I’ll be throwing my all into it and I believe we can retain it and retain a Liberal government in Canberra. Thank you so much.”
Former Liberal staffer Katherine O’Regan was widely seen as a favourite going into the meeting with support from Prime Minister Scott Morrison until a controversial intervention from Mr Turnbull, who threw his weight behind Mr Sharma.
Mr Sharma is a successful businessman and former public servant who served as Australia’s ambassador to Israel from 2013 until 2017.
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The 43-year-old will now battle it out on October 20 in a must win by-election after Mr Turnbull’s ousting.
The preselection vote involved eight candidates giving speeches and taking questions before more than 200 local Liberal Party members cast their votes in a secret ballot.
Liberal sources said Mr Sharma won convincingly.
The Morrison government must win Wentworth to maintain its one-seat majority.
Earlier, Barnaby Joyce blasted Mr Turnbull on 2GB for meddling in his old seat while on a trip in New York.
Mr Turnbull reportedly phoned Mr Sharma urgng him to stay in the race despite Mr Morrison’s opposition.
“What is the purpose behind an individual deciding that their goal now in life is to bring down the government, which they weren’t just a member of, they were the leader of,” Mr Joyce said on air.
“People say, ‘what was wrong with Malcolm Turnbull?’, I think we’re starting to find out.”
He urged Mr Turnbull to stay out of politics and said the government was on a precipice with its one-seat majority.
“Remember the great honour you had and reflect on that and remember that people are going to remember you, if you don’t watch out, not for what you did when you were prime minister, but for what you did when you left,” Mr Joyce said.
Mr Turnbull had appeared in the same Bellevue High rugby club where tonight’s pre-selection was held only two weeks ago and promised to stick clear of politics after resigning.
“A former prime minister is best out of it than in it, and recent events probably undermined the value of that observation, so accordingly … I will resign from the House of Representatives,” he said.
It came after former Business Council of Australia director Andrew Bragg sensationally pulled out of the preselection race, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison saying he wanted a female candidate to run.
Mr Sharma won with 119 votes followed by former Liberal Party deputy state director Richard Shields, who won 83 votes.
It’s understood Ms O’Regan was eliminated earlier in the night and the contest boiled down to a battle between Mr Sharma, Mr Shields and Peter King, who was famously kicked out of the seat by Mr Turnbull.
Eastern suburbs Liberal stalwarts were seen leaving the building, including former Premier Nick Greiner, former federal frontbencher Philip Ruddock and Tony Abbott’s sister Christine Forster.
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