Gerard Rennick remains rejected from LNP Senate ticket
Maverick Queensland Liberal National Party senator Gerard Rennick has failed in his last-ditch bid to be returned to the LNP’s Senate ticket, after being voted off by members last year.
Maverick Queensland Liberal National Party senator Gerard Rennick has failed in his last-ditch bid to be returned to the LNP’s Senate ticket, after being voted off by members last year.
Senator Rennick lost his third place on the Queensland Senate ticket to then party treasurer Stuart Fraser by just three votes at an LNP state council meeting in July last year.
Since then, the first-term senator has attempted to push for the party to hold the ballot again, alleging “irregularities” in how it was originally run, including that federal Liberal leader Peter Dutton was denied a proxy or representative vote.
Senator Rennick even took his own party to the Queensland Supreme Court, but judge Glenn Martin last month decided he had lodged his legal action too late and ordered him to pay the LNP’s costs.
Justice Martin did not make a decision on the facts of the case.
On Friday, the party’s state council reconvened behind closed doors in Brisbane, and about 300 council members were asked to ratify an LNP executive resolution that last year’s Senate ticket preselection result be upheld.
It was moved by former LNP candidate for the federal seat of Griffith, Bill Glasson, and seconded by former Nationals premier and registered lobbyist Rob Borbidge.
The party’s honorary legal adviser, former federal attorney-general George Brandis, spoke strongly in favour of the motion and the transparency of the way the party was run.
Senator Rennick’s sitting parliamentary colleagues, including Bowman MP Henry Pike, Hinkler MP Keith Pitt, Nationals senator and former resources minister Matt Canavan, all spoke against the motion, backing the former finance executive.
The motion was put to a vote and state councillors overwhelmingly agreed to uphold last year’s Senate preselection, despite Mr Dutton voting against it, and siding with Senator Rennick.
As The Weekend Australian reported last month, Mr Dutton had appealed to LNP headquarters in August last year to re-run the ballot, but was refused.
While Senator Rennick addressed the council meeting, he declined to comment afterwards.
In the wake of Justice Martin’s decision, LNP president Lawrence Springborg – a minister in the Newman government – wrote to members urging them to “now put our full focus and effort into being successful at the upcoming state election in 128 days and the federal election, which is also imminent”.
The LNP state convention continues on Saturday and Sunday, when Mr Dutton, Nationals leader David Littleproud and state LNP leader David Crisafulli will all deliver formal speeches to the party faithful.
There are 173 open-session resolutions on the agenda for the convention to debate. More controversial policy issues, such as Mr Dutton’s plan to build seven nuclear reactors across Australia including two in Queensland, are likely to be argued in closed sessions, from which journalists and observers are barred.
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