Eric Abetz third in shock Libs Senate vote

Tasmanian Liberal Party members have attributed his demotion on the Senate ticket to geography, a desire for party renewal, retribution and gender.

Eric Abetz. Picture: AAP

Tasmanian Liberal Party members have attributed Eric Abetz’s shock demotion to third position on the party’s Senate ticket to geography, a desire for party renewal, retribution and gender.

A ballot of 67 Tasmanian Liberals on Saturday saw the 63-year-old Howard and Abbott minister dropped to a potentially risky spot, with his former staffer and fellow senator Jonathon Duniam, 38, winning top billing and Launceston-based senator Wendy Askew taking second position.

Senator Abetz received the most votes of the three in the initial ballot for the top spot, scoring 29 votes to Senator Duniam’s 26 and Senator Askew’s 12.

But he received just two of Senator Askew’s votes when she was taken out of contention for the first position, enabling Senator Duniam to leapfrog to the top.

Up against Senator Askew for second spot, Senator Abetz received 32 votes to her 35.

Liberals contacted by The Australian said lessons from the 2016 election — which saw the party lose the three northern Tasmanian seats of Bass, Braddon and Lyons — had weighed on the minds of preselectors.

Ahead of that contest, preselectors loyal to Hobart-based Senator Abetz had relegated Devonport-based minister Richard Colbeck to the unwinnable 5th position on the ballot paper.

While Senator Colbeck received 13.6 per cent of first preference Liberal votes compared with Senator Abetz’s 7.5 per cent, then-senator Stephen Parry’s 1.8 per cent, Senator Duniam’s 0.5 per cent and then-senator David Bushby’s 1.4 per cent, it was insufficient to surpass the 74.7 per cent of above-the-line votes which saw Abetz, Parry, Duniam and Bushby (who is Senator Askew’s brother) elected in 2016, with now Aged Care Minister Colbeck making a return in 2018 as a result of Parry being found to have dual citizenship. “Retribution almost certainly played a part (in Saturday’s ballot),” one Tasmanian Liberal told The Australian.

“Over the course of 27 years, people develop a collection of people with opposing views (to theirs), and there will have been people who supported Richard and people who’ve supported other former senators who’ve been ousted over the years.

“The geography thing, making sure we had a northerner (with Abetz and Duniam both based in Hobart), also played a big role.

“Certainly gender was also a consideration in electing Wendy, although I don’t think it was the driving factor, as well as looking to the future and to renewal.”

The contest was not seen as ideological, with all three senators regarded as conservatives.

On Saturday, Senator Duniam said he was “absolutely confident” all three senators would be returned to parliament at the federal election, which is due to be held by May next year.

“All three of us have been endorsed by the party to represent us at the next election, the three of us working together as a team will deliver three seats,” he said.

Senator Askew said she was “very happy” with the outcome. “I want to thank the Liberal Party for its continued support and I look forward to working with my fellow Tasmanian senators Jonno Duniam and Eric Abetz to retain three seats in the Senate at the next election,” she said.

Senator Abetz, who entered federal parliament in 1994, served as special minister of state and minister for fisheries, forestry and conservation in the Howard government.

He was employment minister in Tony Abbott’s cabinet. Senator Abetz did not respond to a request for comment.