‘Battle of the duds’: Liberal Party leader showdown kicks off

The vote to decide the next leader of the Liberal Party is moments away, with Treasurer Jim Chalmers cruelly declaring it a “battle of the duds”.

The Liberal Party showdown is moments away from kicking off with Sussan Ley and Angus Taylor asking MPs for their support.

The battle is set to be tight according to MPs on both sides of the leadership divide, with one supporter of Mr Taylor suggesting that anyone who said they knew the outcome was “lying.”

Speaking ahead of the meeting, challenger Mr Taylor pledged to ­reward talent over factional allegiances and elevate more women.

In a video statement, Ms Ley asked for MPs’ support in uniting the party and making history as the first female leader of the Liberals.

“My election as leader of the Liberal Party would send a very strong signal that we understand that things must be done ­differently,’’ she said.

Battle of the duds

Speaking on breakfast TV, Treasurer Jim Chalmers labelled the contest for one of the toughest jobs in Australian politics as “a battle of the duds.”

“I don’t think that would be an improvement. I think whoever wins this battle of the duds today,’’ Mr Chalmers said.

“The Liberal Party will still be the party of lower wages, higher income taxes and nuclear reactors, and that will show that whoever wins this ballot today, they haven’t learned the lesson of the last three years.”

Sussan Ley. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short

Angus Taylor. Picture: NewsWire / Nikki Short

Who’s in and who’s out

With a number of Liberal seats on a knife edge the Liberal Party director Andrew Hirst had to decide who can and can’t vote in Tuesday’s leadership showdown.

He’s confirmed Bradfield’s Gisele Kapterian who appears to have won with 0.01 per cent of the vote has a golden ticket.

But Liberal candidate Amelia Hamer who failed to unseat Monique Ryan in the Victorian seat of Kooyong did not.

The list provides a few more clues - the Liberals are including the candidate for Longman in the voting class.

There’s then a group of three-cornered contest votes in Flinders, the seat of Zoe McKenzie, Monash, Grey and Fischer they are all voting.

The Liberals will be left with 29 lower house seats and 25 senate seats, that’s a total of 54 people voting for the leadership.

That doesn’t include Nationals MPs naturally and once they are included the Coalitions numbers in the House of Representatives have still undergone a brutal cull but are over 40.

Jacinta Price. Picture: Gera Kazakov

Senator Jacinta Price will run for deputy

Ahead of the leadership vote, Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price announced she will run for the deputy Liberal Party leadership and is backing Mr Taylor for the top job just days after joining the Liberal Party room.

Liberal MP Ted O’Brien is also expected to throw his hat in the ring to become deputy.

Hugely popular with the membership base and political donors, Senator Price has the right as a Country Liberal Party MP to choose which party room she sits in.

Endorsing Mr Taylor’s bid for the leadership, Senator Price confirmed on Sunday morning that she would run as his deputy.

“As I’ve said with respect to my decision to change party rooms, these are not matters which I take lightly and this decision today brings with it a great deal of responsibility which I fully accept,’’ Senator Price said.

“There is no question that returning to our roots as a party is critical right now. If we want to inspire and empower Australians across our country, we must return to these roots.”

Senator Price said the party must stand for the “forgotten people” and “mainstream Australians”.

“I think of my grandparents who were by no means the elite, building their first home by hand with hessian bags and washing their clothes in the creek in Warners Bay, NSW,’’ she said.

“But they saw a spark, a vision of a brighter future for generations to come.”

But it’s her decision to run for a leadership position before she’s even sat in the party room that’s raised eyebrows given the deputy has an important pastoral care role.

“She’s perfectly entitled to put her hand up. The party room will decide that but people will have different ideas about that I think,’’ Liberal Senator Dave Sharma said.

Her big switch to the Liberal Party is being backed by former prime minister Tony Abbott and other conservatives.

Liberal MP Tim Wilson flirted with a leadership tilt before ruling himself out.