Former tennis star’s dig as Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg launches election campaign

A former top tennis player has thrown his support behind Josh Frydenberg at his campaign launch in what the treasurer called “the fight of his political life”.

Former tennis ace turned state Liberal candidate Sam Groth has officially launched Josh Frydenberg’s Kooyong campaign by taking a dig at the independent challenger considered to be his biggest threat.

Mr Groth, who is the Victorian Liberals candidate for Nepean on the Mornington Peninsula, was the MC at the event and opened proceedings by welcoming the room of “real Liberals” – a swipe at former paediatric neurologist Monique Ryan.

Mr Frydenberg and his supporters have repeatedly accused Dr Ryan, who was a Labor Party member between 2007 and 2010, of being a “fake independent” given she has financial backing of the Climate 200 group and is running on a similar platform as other “teal” challengers.

“There’s been a lot of talk about the so-called independents in Kooyong, but for me I want to talk about the more than one thousand real Liberals here today,” Mr Goth said at Hawthorn’s Leonda By The Yarra on Sunday.

“In my opinion, one real Liberal is worth more than a truckload of those so-called independents.”

It came after the federal Treasurer declared to the Sunday Herald Sun that he was facing “the fight of my political life” to hold onto his seat in the electorate in Melbourne’s inner east.

Sam Groth with Australian Federal Treasurer and Member for Kooyong, Josh Frydenberg at the launch of Frydenberg’s campaign for the upcoming 21 May election. Picture: Ian Currie

Dr Monique Ryan is running as an independent for the seat of Kooyong. Picture: Ian Currie

Speaking at the event, Mr Frydenberg – who has held the seat of Kooyong for 12 years – argued Dr Ryan would deliver a Labor government in the event of a hung parliament. He claimed that outcome would be against the interests of Kooyong voters, who have never elected a Labor MP.

“I’m not up against a true independent. I’m up against a political party. You can barely find a Greens or a Labor sign across our electorate,” he told the crowd.

“Why? Because they’re running dead. And they’re now in bed with these so-called independents.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is what’s at stake in the upcoming election. A vote for a so-called independent here in Kooyong is a vote for a hung parliament, and a vote for Anthony Albanese.

“I need your help, every day between now and Election Day, to convey that message to our fellow members of the community.”

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg at his Kooyong campaign launch. Picture: Ian Currie

Dr Ryan is a paediatric neurologist at Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital who is running largely on a platform of climate change action. She was briefly a member of the Labor Party about the time Kevin Rudd was prime minister.

Asked about her Labor membership on Thursday, Dr Ryan noted former Liberal Party leader Brendan Nelson, “another doctor of conscience”, was also a Labor Party member.

“But this is the distant past,” she said.

Dr Ryan has amassed more than 2000 volunteers who are residents of the once blue-ribbon Liberal electorate.

“(They) are frustrated and disaffected with the Liberal-National Party government. They want this campaign because they want change,” she said.

Incredible sea of Liberal blue at our Kooyong Campaign Launch, with more than 1,000 people present.

So much energy in the room. I deeply appreciate the support from my local community & small business leaders.

Together, we will continue to deliver for the people of Kooyong. pic.twitter.com/OcQ3XfYOe8

— Josh Frydenberg (@JoshFrydenberg) May 1, 2022

On Wednesday, Mr Frydenberg called Dr Ryan’s transparency into question, cautioning Kooyong voters not to vote for her.

“They (independent candidates) are running as a political party, they have no policy details, they have no costings. It’s the vibe of the thing,” Mr Frydenberg said.

Dr Ryan on Thursday declined to say who she would support in the event of her being elected to a hung parliament, but insisted neither major party had satisfactory policies.

“You’re comparing a bad apple with a bad orange. Neither of them are good enough,” she said.

“The power of the independents is that we can bring the major parties to the table and compel them to act on the things that matter to the electorate.”

I had a busy day yesterday listening to the concerns of our community on the streets of Balwyn, Camberwell and Kew.

Kooyong residents want real action on climate change and they want a strong Federal ICAC to restore integrity to politics.#auspol#Mon4Kooyong#KooyongVotespic.twitter.com/7y1HSZefbp

— Dr Monique Ryan (@Mon4Kooyong) April 30, 2022

Dr Ryan had previously indicated she would lend her support to whichever party had a more ambitious emissions reduction target.

Both major parties are aiming for net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

Labor has a more ambitious short term goal of a 43 per cent reduction on 2005 levels by 2030, compared with the Coalition’s 26 to 28 per cent target.

Originally published as Former tennis star’s dig as Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg launches election campaign