NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro announces he will not contest Eden-Monaro byelection
NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro has announced he will not contest the federal seat, ending days of Lib-Nats infighting.
NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro has announced that he will not contest the Eden-Monaro byelection, ending days of infighting between the Liberals and Nationals over which candidate will run for the seat.
Mr Barilaro had flagged last week that he was closely considering a tilt at the seat. But senior Coalition figures moved to block him from this attempt over the weekend in order to pave a clear run for a Liberal candidate, namely the NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance.
“After taking the weekend to contemplate a tilt for the seat of Eden Monaro, I have decided that I will not run as a candidate,” Mr Barilaro said in a statement.
“In politics, ego can quickly skew decisions, and sometime make you forget what is best for yourself, your family and what could be the best outcome for the people of Eden Monaro.”
Mr Constance had stated publicly that he would not contest the seat if Mr Barilaro was running, creating a staring contest between the two men. He is now likely to step in for preselection to run against Labor’s Kristy McBain.
Mr Barilaro also thanked NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian for her “gracious and gentle counsel”, along with his National Party colleagues.
“To the people of Eden Monaro, know that as the State Member I will continue to fight for you, regardless of boundaries.”
At a press conference alongside Ms Berejiklian on Monday morning, Mr Barilaro said he was pleased to be staying and that he held no grudge towards Mr Constance. But he conceded the last 24 hours had been “very tough”.
“Andrew and I have spoken right throughout this, we spoke last night, we touched base this morning. If anyone wants to try put a wedge between Andrew and I, good luck to them,” he said.
“The Liberals wanted to be vocal about it but they’re entitled to fight what they believe is right. I don’t hold any grudges against anyone for fighting for their community.”
Ms Berejiklian made brief remarks saying she was “very pleased” Mr Barilaro was staying “as part of our strong team in NSW”.
The Liberals and the Nationals had been using private polling and the potential threat of two by-elections destabilising the NSW Berejiklian government as arguments against both MPs standing.
The conflicts at the NSW and federal levels threaten to undermine the Coalition’s chances of winning the first opposition seat for a government in a century.
As Mr Barilaro spent the weekend deciding whether to formally announce his candidacy, Mr Constance privately began indicating to senior Liberals that he was inclined to contest the upcoming by-election, prompting a campaign from some Liberal Party and Nationals MPs to undermine Mr Barilaro’s efforts.
Mr Constance previously said he would not contest Eden-Monaro if Mr Barilaro threw in his hat, because the two men serve in the same government and are, ostensibly, friends. He also said he would not contest another election, and has made numerous references to retiring from politics once the bushfire recovery efforts in NSW were complete.
A scenario in which both men contest Eden-Monaro, which would prompt two further by-elections, would have had significant implications for Ms Berejiklian, who holds government with a two-seat majority in the NSW Legislative Assembly.
The Australian has learned Mr Constance lobbied a NSW Liberal Party state executive member to vote in favour of contesting the by-election while concurrently supporting Mr Barilaro’s candidacy, effectively promoting a three-cornered contest that would destabilise Mr Barilaro’s ambitions.
Mr Constance denied that he had lobbied a member of the state executive, but did not respond to a question asking whether he had privately indicated to federal Liberal Party members of his intention to run in Eden-Monaro.
Mr Constance is awaiting the results of additional local polling to establish what his chances are of defeating Labor candidate Kristy McBain, the Bega Valley Shire mayor.
On Sunday, federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese said retaining the seat would be a challenge. It was vacated a week ago when Labor MP Mike Kelly retired from politics, citing medical issues.
The Australian understands there were effectively three political camps attempting to influence the outcome of Mr Barilaro’s candidacy.
In one corner was the Nationals MPs loyal to Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack: they believed Mr Barilaro should not run because he would undermine their leader. Members of this camp say Liberal Party polling, conducted by Crosby Textor, suggests Mr Constance is likely to succeed if he stands.
An alternative group of Nationals, loyal to Mr Barilaro, have conducted their own polling, which revealed the NSW Deputy Premier would have comfortably won the seat with 52 per cent of the vote on a two-party-preferred basis.
The third camp comprises Liberal figures supportive of Mr Constance running, but only if Mr Barilaro did not contest the seat.
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