Moderate Liberals reject ‘voice critic’ Warren Mundine in key NSW seat of Bradfield

Running for Liberal preselection in the crucial Sydney seat of Bradfield, tech exec Gisele Kapterian has picked up some big name backers against arch rival Nyunggai Warren Mundine.

Bradfield Liberal hopefuls Gisele Kapterian, left and Warren Mundine.

Tech executive Gisele Kapterian, the Liberal frontrunner for the prized northern Sydney seat of Bradfield, is hoping to score a king hit against conservative rival Nyunggai Warren Mundine after securing the backing of a bevy of North Shore party heavyweights.

Ms Kapterian on Sunday will host an event in Lindfield expected to be attended by former federal treasurer Joe Hockey, and former NSW Liberal premiers Nick Greiner, Barry O’Farrell and Gladys Berejiklian.

Ms Kapterian, from the moderate wing of the party, faces an aggressive bid for preselection by Mr Mundine, who has won support from former prime minister Tony Abbott, Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and former deputy prime minister John Anderson.

While Mr Mundine comes with the backing of the party’s conservative establishment, after successfully leading opposition to the voice to parliament, Ms Kapterian is seen as having a better chance to defeat a teal candidate in the crucial seat.

Tony Abbott, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and John Anderson. Picture: Chris Pavlich

Mr Hockey told The Weekend Australian: “I’m supporting her because she is the best candidate and the most likely to win the seat.

“We will never hold government if we lose seats like Bradfield. And we need to have candidates that properly reflect the diversity of the seats, like the North Shore and northern suburbs, the seats that are both held by the teals and threatened by the teals.

“Warren Mundine is a fine man. I like him and I respect him, but I don’t think he is the best candidate for this seat. Both Bradfield and North Sydney voted in favour of the voice, whether you agree with it or not, so I don’t think being a harsh critic of the voice is going to help win the seat.”

At the last election, teal candidate Nicolette Boele won more than 20 per cent of the primary vote against retiring incumbent Paul Fletcher, while a recent redistribution has reduced the Liberal margin in Bradfield from just over 4 per cent to around 2.5 per cent.

Ms Boele has announced she will stand again in Bradfield.

In announcing his decision to leave parliament last year, Mr Fletcher said it would be “a smart move” for the party to pick a woman to stand in the seat.

Mr Hockey said it was clear the teals “are going to pour enormous resources into winning Bradfield and they already hold a chunk of it through the redistribution of my old seat in North Sydney”.

“When we preselected Gladys Berejiklian in Willoughby, people were sceptical about her ability to win the seat against very strong locals,” he said.

Former treasurer Joe Hockey backs Ms Kapterian. Picture: Getty Images

“She won it by 144 votes and went on to become arguably the most important and successful premier in New South Wales history. And Gisele reflects a lot of those qualities.”

Ms Kapterian, a Salesforce executive, former international trade lawyer and ministerial adviser, was the Liberal Party’s endorsed candidate for North Sydney until the seat was abolished in a redistribution last year and gained respect campaigning for six months and raising her profile.

“In North Sydney the conference was divided but Gisele united the factions. She is a conviction politician and she earnt preselectors trust, and then proved that on the campaign,” a Liberal source said.

“She is a young professional with international experience in trade, artificial intelligence and data; the industries where the jobs of tomorrow will be created.”

North Sydney was won by teal independent Kylea Tink but abolished in last year’s redistribution, much of it absorbed into Bradfield; around 30,000 voters from North Sydney are now in Bradfield.

Mr Hockey said he believed Ms Kapterian would be able to win strong support among the large Chinese, Armenian and Jewish communities in the seat.

“I think she has the capacity to build a significant, broad coalition of interests.

“We have to not only win Bradfield, but win it emphatically. And you know, the pushback on the teals starts in Bradfield.”.

Mr Mundine was a former Labor Party president who switched sides and ran unsuccessfully as the Liberal candidate for the NSW South Coast seat of Gilmore in 2019.