High-flyers throw hats in Lib ring to try to win back Melbourne teal seats

Nominations have closed for Liberal preselection in the two previously blue ribbon Melbourne seats the party lost to teal independents in 2022.

Amelia Hamer is nominating for Liberal Party preselection in Kooyong.

An Oxford-educated finance professional, Australia’s first female vascular surgeon, the president of Transgender Victoria and a King’s Counsel will vie for Liberal Party candidacy in the seat former treasurer Josh Frydenberg lost to teal Monique Ryan.

And former assistant minister Tim Wilson must fend off preselection threats from a lawyer and an Institute of Public Affairs research fellow in his bid to win his old electorate back from fellow independent Zoe Daniel.

Nominations closed on Monday in the affluent previously blue-ribbon Liberal Melbourne seats of Kooyong and Goldstein, but party officials are waiting for federal Speaker Milton Dick to name a date for the crucial Dunkley by-election before determining the timing of the preselection conventions, which are likely to take place soon after the poll.

Liberal sources on Monday said a strong performance for the party in Dunkley could prompt second thoughts from Mr Frydenberg, but the former treasurer has not nominated, sticking with his decision in September to avoid a second showdown with Dr Ryan, having been promoted to become chair of the Australian division of investment bank Goldman Sachs.

While not formally backing any candidate, Mr Frydenberg rang Oxford-educated finance professional Amelia Hamer to wish her well, assuring her she would have his support should she be preselected.

Ms Hamer, 30, is the grand-niece of former Victorian premier Sir Rupert Hamer and granddaughter of Liberal senator David Hamer.

She studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford and worked in financial trading and venture capital roles in London and San Francisco, before returning home to Melbourne during the Covid pandemic and taking up a role as an adviser to then financial services minister Jane Hume. Most recently she was in charge of commercial operations and strategy for fintech startup Airwallex.

Former treasurer Josh Frydenberg has not nominated to contest Kooyong. He and wife Amie competed in the Lorne Pier to Pub swim last weekend. Picture: Mark Dadswell

Ms Hamer’s rivals in Kooyong include vascular surgeon Susan Morris, who runs a practice in Kew, barrister Michael Flynn KC, and Transgender Victoria president Rochelle Pattison, who runs financial services business Chimaera Capital, and has been a member of the Liberal Party since the mid 1990s.

While Ms Hamer appears to be the frontrunner, having worked the phones since announcing her intention to contest last year, many longstanding Kooyong party members appear reluctant to entertain the notion of a candidate other than Mr Frydenberg, having moved a motion at their most recent branch meeting expressing gratitude to the former treasurer.

In bayside Goldstein, Mr Wilson is being challenged by lawyer Stephanie Hunt and IPA research fellow Colleen Harkin.

As the local MP for two terms, Mr Wilson has strong support within the Goldstein branch, but his rivals are expected to argue that the man who lost the seat is not the right person to win it back.

Ms Hunt, 32, grew up in Brighton before moving to Canberra to study law at ANU. As well as practising as a disputes lawyer, she spent five years as a legal adviser to foreign ministers Julie Bishop and Marise Payne.

A longstanding local, Ms Harkin is likely to garner the votes of the most conservative Goldstein Liberals, but her performance as a candidate in the neighbouring seat of Macnamara may count against her, given she suffered a primary vote swing against her of 9.72 per cent – compared with the statewide swing against the Liberals of 5.18 per cent.

Dr Ryan won Kooyong on preferences with a 2.9 per cent two-candidate-preferred margin in 2022, after Mr Frydenberg suffered a 6.5 per cent fall in his primary vote, which was 42.7 per cent, compared with Dr Ryan’s 40.3 per cent. Ms Daniel won Goldstein by the same 2.9 per cent margin, following a 12.3 per cent swing against Mr Wilson’s primary vote, 40.4 per cent compared with Ms Daniel’s 34.5 per cent.