Federal Election 2025: Northern beaches’ Libs to be told nuclear power policy was ‘millstone around our neck’

Local Liberal bigwigs will be told that the party never had a chance of knocking off Zali Steggall in the federal election because Peter Dutton’s nuclear power station policy was a ‘millstone around our neck’.

Frustrated members of the Liberal Party on the northern beaches are set to rip into local party officials about its failure to make a dent on Zali Steggall’s hold on Warringah at the May 3 federal election.

The party bigwigs will be told, at a special election debrief meeting, that former leader Peter Dutton’s nuclear energy policy — described by some as a “millstone around our neck” — is mainly to blame.

Party insiders predict a “heated discussion” during the meeting called for Manly Leagues Club at Brookvale on Wednesday night to gather feedback on why the Liberal candidate, Jaimee Rogers, had a 2 per cent per cent swing against her on the first preference votes.

Latest figures from the Australian Electoral Commission reveal that, on a two-party preferred basis, there was a tiny swing of 0.09 per cent to the Liberals.

But Steggall, the sitting independent MP, cruised to another comfortable win in what was once a blue ribbon conservative seat, attracting a 7.45 per cent swing to her on first preference votes.

The Liberal candidate for Warringah, Jaimee Rogers (above) at the May 3 federal election did not make a dent on independent MP Zali Steggall’s hold on the seat. Picture: Justin Lloyd.

In a letter to Liberal Warringah Branch members penned by Rogers’ campaign manager Angus Mackie, who is also secretary of the Liberal’s Warringah Federal Electoral Conference, party faithfuls have been invited to have their say.

“As I am sure you are aware, our campaign over the last six months in Warringah has been active, but has not achieved the result we were hoping for,” Mackie stated.

Federal Opposition leader Peter Dutton (right) with the Liberal candidate for Warringah, Jaimee Rogers and Liberal candidate for Mackellar, James Brown, after a meet the voters pre-election roundtable held at the Stella Blu Italian restaurant in Dee Why on November 4. Picture: Rourke

While thanking Rogers for her commitment, Mackie, who has worked as a ministerial policy adviser in the former NSW Coalition Government, wrote that “as usual we will review our local efforts, to consider how we can improve for next time”.

Mr Mackie stated that as well as filling in an online survey, party members could attend the Wednesday night meeting “to voice your thoughts on the campaign, which will be noted down and considered in our review process”.

Former federal Liberal leader Peter Dutton wanted to build seven publicly-funded nuclear power plants: Picture: Lennart Preiss

But a local party insider told this masthead that the branch members were “going to pull on a major blue” about Dutton’s policy to spend public money to build seven nuclear power plants across Australia.

“The meeting will be told that it has to immediately dump that policy if it expects any chance of winning the next election,” the insider said.

Despite some high-powered help from former NSW premier Mike Baird and former Liberal Northern Beaches Council member Georgia Ryburns, the Warringah Liberal candidate Jaimee Rogers lost to Zali Steggall.

“It was seen as baggage for Jaimee Rogers to carry and a millstone around our neck.

“That policy needs to be dead, buried, cremated.”

The antinuclear push comes as the new federal Liberal Party leader, Sussan Ley, was asked on Tuesday about the future of the nuclear power policy.

Ms Ley said that she planned to “‘work through every single policy issue and canvas the different views and take the time to get it right”.

“I have supported nuclear in the past, but I do think that all options need to be on the table moving forward,” she said.

Originally published as Federal Election 2025: Northern beaches’ Libs to be told nuclear power policy was ‘millstone around our neck’