‘Get the ball rolling’: NSW Liberals told to avoid repeat of election mess

The Liberal party has kickstarted its race to the next federal election, however a question mark lingers over one key seat.

Liberal MP hopefuls vying to win a safe seat in the next federal election have been invited to nominate for pre-selection, with the party hoping to avoid 2022’s last-minute candidate chaos.

The bid to get the ball rolling to select candidates ahead of a potential 2025 federal election comes as the NSW division was blamed for contributing to the Coalition’s disastrous loss last year.

Just days before former prime minister Scott Morrison called the election, nine candidates had yet to be preselected.

Party members received an email on Monday, with nomination details for the eight NSW Liberal strongholds of Banks, Berowra, Bradfield, Farrer, Hughes, Hume, Lindsay, and Mitchell. Candidates have until July 17 to apply.

The email, seen by NCA NewsWire, said opening dates for nominations in other electorates “will be announced in due course”.

Notably absent from the list, however, was the blue banner electorate of Cook.

While it’s been under the Liberals since 1975, with former prime minister Scott Morrison retaining the seat for the past five elections, the party is understood to be holding off preselection due to rumours Mr Morrison could resign before his term is finished.

This would, in turn, trigger a by-election.

Eight NSW Liberal safe seats open for preselection

All of the seats currently open for preselection nominations have been won by Liberal MPs for at least the past two elections.

The bellwether seat of Lindsay, in outer western Sydney, was the most recent to come into the fold in 2019, with backbencher Melissa McIntosh winning it from Labor.

The very-safe Liberal seats of Bradfield (held by Paul Fletcher), Mitchell (held by Alex Hawke) and Berowra (held by former Attorney-General Julian Leeser), which have been held by the party for decades, were also included.

Banks, in Sydney’s southwest was a Labor safe seat until 2013, and is now held by former Liberal minister David Coleman.

Neighbouring Cook in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire, Hughes is currently held by Jenny Ware and has largely remained in the Liberal party since 1996, bar a brief period when Craig Kelly left the party and became an independent, then joined Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party in 2021.

The party’s deputy leader Sussan Ley has kept Farrer in the state’s west since 2001, while shadow treasurer Angus Taylor has held Hume since 2013.

‘Get the ball rolling’

Earlier this month, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton urged state officials to have a timetable for preselections drafted by June 30 and potential candidates flagged by the end of this year.

“Obviously Peter Dutton wants to have all the candidates selected by June 2024, and the administrative arm of the party wants to get the ball rolling,” a senior Liberal member told NCA NewsWire.

Another senior Liberal source said the state branch also wanted to avoid a repeat of the most recent NSW state election, where candidates weren’t confirmed in 36 seats just 60 days before voters hit the polls.

Mr Dutton is said to want to avoid the mess of the last election. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

This put those candidates at a disadvantage, giving them less time to campaign.

“The state executive want to work in good faith with the federal division and not have a repeat of the state election where preselection was left until late,” they said.

The rush to preselect existing MPs comes despite the Australian Electoral Commission deferring the process to draw up the new boundaries of federal electorates across NSW.

The AEC is currently awaiting population statistics from the Australian Statistician to consider whether there may need to be a change in the number of electorates in the state.

All eyes on Scott Morrison

With preselection for the Liberal stronghold of Cook nixed from the list, Mr Morrison’s future in politics remains a mystery.

The former Prime Minister has so far made no outright suggestion he will resign, despite being directly called on to do so by former Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews upon revelations he had assigned himself to multiple ministries, including hers, during his time in the top job.

It is rumoured the seat of Cook will not open for preselection with other safe seats, as the party waits for Scott Morrison to make a call on his next move. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Earlier this year, he accepted an advisory position at Washington-based think tank, the Center for a New American Security, but no further announcements on his future have been forthcoming.

Potential names suggested for the seat of Cook include Sutherland Shire Mayor Carmelo Pesce, who is also part of the NSW Liberal state executive.

Ex-Liberal Bennelong candidate Simon Kennedy was another name touted to win preselection. A senior source said his former role as a partner at consulting giant McKinsey was seen as “very attractive” in the party’s bid to add professional diversity to their candidate pool.