Dr Kerryn Phelps to run in Wentworth

A HIGH-profile doctor has sent shockwaves through Malcolm Turnbull’s vacated seat — and now presents a huge threat to the government.

SHOCKWAVES rippled through the seat of Wentworth this past weekend at the news that high profile doctor Kerryn Phelps will run as an independent in the October 20 by-election, promising to bring integrity and common sense back into politics.

Dr Phelps, a local GP who once served as head of the Australian Medical Association and is currently a Sydney City councillor, presents a plausible threat to the government in Malcolm Turnbull’s vacated seat.

But she’s not counting her chickens before they hatch.

“I don’t presume I can win this seat at all. It’s going to be a very tough battle,” Dr Phelps told ABC radio this morning. “We expected the local member for Wentworth Malcolm Turnbull would still be there as we speak, and it’s only been three weeks since he was ousted as leader of the parliamentary Liberal Party. That’s why we’re in this situation of having a by-election. When people talk about this opportunity, this is a situation that has been created by Liberals because of their shenanigans in Canberra.”

However, she believes there is a growing movement towards voting for independent parties. “There will be some rusted-on Liberals (in Wentworth), but there are also some very angry, frustrated despairing Liberals, and people from other parties looking at the revolving door of leadership in Canberra saying this just isn’t good enough.

“We’ve seen a trend towards independent voices in federal Parliament of late — it’s an expression of the frustration people have with the major parties.

“That’s the reason I’m an independent — it’s because you can speak your mind, so that issues of importance to the people of Wentworth can be voted on behalf of those people. That’s the whole point of the House of Representatives — they’re supposed to represent the people.”

Shockwaves rippled through the seat of Wentworth this past weekend at the news that high profile doctor Kerryn Phelps will run as an independent in the October 20 by-election.

Dr Phelps dismissed suggestions that the people of Wentworth — an electorate described as “white, wealthy and privileged” — don’t care about issues that affect people around the nation.

“The bread-and-butter issues are very important to the people of Wentworth. We talk about harbourside mansions, but Wentworth has a more eclectic mix. 65 per cent of them live in strata apartments. A lot of people are struggling to make payments and rent to live in the area. Even though they have higher incomes, they have a lower disposable income, so a lot of the pressures they face are quite similar.”
On policy, Dr Phelps indicated she would be socially progressive. She flagged asylum seekers and climate change as two issues she cared strongly about.

“I think Australian people want to see a government with heart — people who actually speak from the heart on issues like asylum seeker treatment. The way they’re being treated on Manus Island and Nauru is a disgrace. It’s not a difficult ask to have humane treatment of people seeking asylum.

“I think the people of Wentworth are interested in climate change. They want to be able to hand over a healthy planet to the next generation. It’s not good enough to say Australia can just step back because other countries have it worse. We need to provide certainty and security on renewable energy investment so we can bring power prices down in future, and have that certainty and clarity.”

Dr Kerryn Phelps. Pic: The Australian

Defeat in Wentworth would rob the government of its majority, though at a press conference in Sydney yesterday morning, Dr Phelps said she would not try to bring it down.

“My intention is not to block supply,” she said.

“I’m not here as a destabilising influence, I’m here to bring integrity and stability.”

Other candidates include the Liberal Party’s Dave Sharma, who is a former Australian ambassador to Israel, and Labor’s Tim Murray.

Dr Phelps took a pre-emptive shot at Mr Sharma yesterday.

“It beggars belief that the Liberal Party was not able to find a suitable candidate from within the electorate of Wentworth,” she said.

“I’ve been a member of this local community for almost 20 years.

“This is going to be grassroots campaign. This is not a billionaires’ club. This is about the people of Wentworth.”

Strikingly, given the current debate about gender inside the Liberal Party, Dr Phelps appeared at her press conference flanked by a large group of female supporters.

She said “there is something wrong with the Liberal Party” when only a fifth of its parliamentarians are women.

“They need to address that.”

Dr Kerryn Phelps and her partner Jackie Stricker-Phelps. Pic: Kym Smith

She cited the removal of Malcolm Turnbull as the latest example of a “revolving door of leadership in Canberra” which has angered Australians.

“The current prime minister has given us no explanation as to why the previous local member, Malcolm Turnbull, is no longer the local member,” Dr Phelps said.

“Many Australians have been frustrated and angry about what happens in federal Parliament, about what happened to Malcolm Turnbull.”

She said she would try to block “the hard right of the Liberal Party and the Coalition”.

“We need to see action on climate change. We need to see a strong economy, but we must have a heart.

“We need to see a fast-tracking to renewables.

“We need to see more humane treatment of asylum seekers.”

She also has a cute dog. Pic: AAP

“I’ve had hundreds of people in Wentworth contact me in the past few weeks to express their anger and frustration over the sacking of Malcolm Turnbull and the new prime minister Scott Morrison either cannot or will not explain why Malcolm Turnbull has been replaced,” Dr Phelps said.

She says her track record as a doctor, health communicator and advocate, one of the leaders in the marriage equality campaign, author, and working mother of three, gives her the skills to be an effective member.

Dr Phelps is a former recipient of the Centenary Medal for her services to health and medicine, and was appointed a member of the Order of Australia in 2011.

She was briefly deputy lord mayor of Sydney before a falling out with Clover Moore led her to quit and become an independent on the council.

Dr Phelps claimed Ms Moore had given her the impression she was being lined up as heir to the top job, before crushing those hopes after she was elected.

If elected to the federal Parliament, she promises to treat every vote like a conscience vote.

“For too long we have seen politicians who we know are voting against their own conscience and their own beliefs because of the party line.”