Liberal Epping by-election candidate Monica Tudehope ‘not taking seat for granted’ despite lack of Labor opposition

The Liberal candidate hoping to emulate her father and replace her old boss as Epping MP says she is not taking her changes for granted, despite Labor not fielding a candidate for the upcoming by-election.

Monica Tudehope says she is not taking her election chances for granted.

The Liberal Party candidate seeking to replace former NSW premier Dominic Perrottet as the state MP for Epping says she is not taking her changes for granted, despite Labor not fielding a candidate for the upcoming by-election.

Monica Tudehope will contest the October 19 by-election – triggered by Mr Perrottet’s decision to quit politics – in a battle against a field featuring five other candidates, including two independents, the Greens, and the Libertarian Party.

Epping is historically safe territory for the Liberals, and the party’s chances of retention improved after Labor confirmed it would not contest the by-election.

Ms Tudehope, who previously worked as a staffer for Mr Perrottet, follows in the political footsteps of her father Damien Tudehope, who once served as the state MP for Epping before switching to the upper house.

Speaking during the campaign this week, Ms Tudehope said she was seeking to forge her own path in politics.

Ms Tudehope, pictured with her family.

“It’s my first campaign and I’m very lucky to have my dad as a role model, he’s given me many of the values I’m taking into politics,” she said.

“I was also very fortunate to have worked with Dom, who was a visionary premier and treasurer.

The by-election will be held on October 19.

“I take a lot of examples from them but I’m also standing on my own merits. 

“I’m a professional working mum with my own family and I juggle a lot of things other people are juggling.

“In that regard, I come into this role with my own life experiences and goals.”

Ms Tudehope said key issues raised by residents during the campaign have included the NSW government’s contentious housing reforms, which have allowed for further increased density in parts of the electorate including Epping.

She believes more focus should be placed on services such as schools and roads to accommodate the expected population growth.

“Housing needs to be done really well and there has to be the infrastructure and amenities in place to support the increased density,” she said.

“The current approach of drawing a circle on a map and saying that ‘this is where housing is going’ and ‘lump it or leave it’ is an authoritarian approach.

“There needs to be far more planning in place because what might work for one community doesn’t work for another.”

Ms Tudehope said she was confident in the Liberal Party’s trajectory going into the next election, due by 2027, and backed a party pledge to reinstate the active kids vouchers that were wound back by Labor to rein in state government spending.

She has supported reinstating stamp duty reforms, which were developed by the former Coalition government.

“I think the honeymoon period is over for Labor, even though they’ve had the benefit of opening projects delivered and financed by the former government such as the Metro,” she said.

“Opposition is hard, but it’s a necessary part of our democracy and I’m very focused on the issues people are talking to me about including cost of living and housing affordability.”

The by-election will be held on October 19, along with by-elections in the Liberal-held state seats of Hornsby and Pittwater.