New challengers arise in bid to overthrow Zali Steggall MP
Zali Steggall MP is on a war footing for the next federal election and Mosman is the new frontline.
Mosman
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On one of the busiest corners of Mosman, the battle lines for Warringah are being drawn up. The ‘Zali Army’ has taken hold of a shopfront at Spit Junction and as pre-election war rooms go, locations don’t get much better than this.
Called Mosman Independent Hub, No. 559 Military Road captures the attention of thousands of drivers travelling through the busy junction every day. It’s unapologetically turquoise — the colour that helped catapult Zali Steggall MP to a landmark victory over Liberal rival Tony Abbott in 2019 — and her political messages beam clearly out of the window.
The Mosman garrison is being staffed by loyalists and Steggall says the rent is being paid for by multiple donors, not taxpayers.
“The feedback is that people have been happy with the job I’ve done and what the team has done,” Steggall says.
“There’s still a level of excitement to be involved in an independent Warringah.
“It’s people who don’t traditionally engage in politics that want to be part of the next election campaign. The enthusiasm is still there.
“As soon as we put a call out, we have no shortage of people coming forward.”
Steggall automatically inherited Abbott’s old rooms at Sydney Rd, Manly, which remain open as her electorate office. The appearance of this additional Mosman base ahead of an election that could be a year away, signals her intent to go out strong early. She says for the past 25 years the south side of the electorate, which accounts for around a third of the Warringah vote, has not had easy access to their local member’s office.
“I want to show Mosman some love,” Steggall says.
“People can pop in and ask questions or make an appointment to see me.”
The atmosphere inside the Mosman hub is friendly and welcoming, and there is a genuine camaraderie among the volunteer team. The level of organisation is clear. Turquoise T-shirts with the slogan ‘Warringah Proudly Independent’ have been printed and piled up neatly, alongside stacks of leaflets and bumper stickers. There’s reusable ‘Go Zali’ water bottles and even a row of pot plants with turquoise branding wrapped around them. Team members are busy on the phones.
Steggall doesn’t yet know who she will be up against, with the next Liberal candidate for Warringah undecided, despite a heap of speculation.
The question of who will stand against Steggall has piqued the interest of Sportsbet. Its latest list of odds has Natalie Ward MLC, a former commercial litigation solicitor, as the favourite, paying $3.00.
Most of the other contenders are from the northern beaches side of the electorate and Tim James is the only potential face from Mosman on the list so far. Due to party rules ahead of preselection, none were available to comment. Former NSW premier Mike Baird, now CEO of HammondCare, is still regarded as the “golden candidate” by Liberal colleagues, but isn’t a frontrunner as he has consistently said he doesn’t want the job.
To add to the intrigue, a market research company has started scoping out local views. Mosman resident Jim Slavin recently received a call from the company asking whether he had views on potential Liberal candidates and he recognised two names on the list: Mike Baird and Tim James. It is not clear who the company was working for but a Warringah Liberal source says their branch did not commission the research.
The decision on the candidate will ultimately be made by around 1000 Liberal Party members at a preselection event, which insiders say won’t happen until December.
“It does seem very late in the piece,” a Liberal source told the Mosman Daily.
“Everyone knows nothing happens in January and then the candidate will only have a couple of months to campaign before the election, which isn’t very long.
“Instead, we should have a candidate selected by mid this year. This would allow them to get their branding out there and start knocking on doors.
“I don’t know why the party is not choosing to do that.”
Steggall, a former barrister who shares five children with her second husband Tim Irving, will be in for a fight, whoever is chosen, with the Liberals desperate to win the seat back.
They say their supporter base has grown, with a new wave of younger members signing up.
One Liberal who can’t be named said: “We have 1000 party members locked and loaded.
“The fundraising committee is up and running, some of the campaign infrastructure is in place and we will be ready to go when a candidate is chosen.”
Another source is confident the Liberal party can turn Warringah blue again with Abbott out of the picture.
“It is achievable. What we observed last time was the ‘Vote Tony Out’ and ‘Anyone But Abbott’ campaigns. They achieved their goals,” the source says.
“The appetite exists in the party to bring forth a fresh and energetic candidate and win back lots of people who were not willing to vote for Tony Abbott.
“Warringah deserves a legislator not a commentator. We need someone sitting at the table and independents are on the sidelines yelling in.” Steggall disagrees with this view and branded it as the usual line from the Liberal Party about independents.
“It couldn’t be further from the truth,” she says.
“Party MPs are not consulted or included in decision making, and I don’t believe they are properly briefed on legislation or Government policy. I have had backbenchers ask me what the government response or position on an issue is.
“Additionally, I have put forward two pieces of legislation and five amendments to government bills, of which one just passed in the Senate.”
Steggall has a key advantage over the Liberal campaign: feedback from her constituents about their concerns.
Most of the correspondence she gets is about aged care and access to aged care plans; issues with the NDIS; COVID, travel and international border closures; the Beaches Link tunnel, whether it be getting it built or concerns about the environment and air quality if it is built; and then climate and the environment, including concerns around PEP 11.
Steggall is also worried about the government’s attitude to trade and investment, despite the healthy numbers revealed in the latest federal budget.
She described the economy as being on a “sugar high” with all the cash injected by the government to compensate for the COVID fallout.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg predicted in his budget that Australia’s borders will stay closed until mid-2022 but Steggall said she is “disappointed” there is no plan to open up sooner.
She wants to see the development of a national quarantine system which would demonstrate “a commitment to resuming trade, investment and tourism”.
“We are highly reliant on international tourism and immigration,” she says.
“We can’t have a permanent situation of closed borders.”
In terms of the Liberal line of attack, it is understood they will accuse the first-termer of being a lame duck, isolated and unable to achieve anything, and weak on policy.
Senator Andrew Bragg, the Liberal spokesman for Warringah, has led the charge on criticisms of her saying she has been “ineffective” in the job.
She robustly denies the accusation saying she can do more than any Liberal in the seat and also claiming she has helped make climate change part of the national conversation since being elected.
She has also received a lot of public support for her Climate Change Bill.
“I am not hamstrung by party politics,” she says.
“I don’t need to do any deals.”
Meanwhile, Steggall says she won’t be distracted by election talk or what the latest rumours are within the Liberal Party.
“I hear all the rumours and speculation,” she says.
“It brings me back to my ski racing days. I’d finish one event and speculation would begin about the next one.
“You can only control what you can control.
“I apply the rule to myself in this job.
“I am staying focused on what I am here to do.”
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