Josh Frydenberg chooses new job over challenging Monique Ryan at next election
The former treasurer’s appointment as chair of Goldman Sachs means he will avoid a second showdown with teal independent Monique Ryan in Kooyong.
Josh Frydenberg’s decision to forego an attempt to take back his old seat of Kooyong has left Liberals questioning who would take over if Peter Dutton lost the next election.
Close friends of the former treasurer said they were unsurprised on Thursday when he announced he would avoid a second showdown with teal independent Monique Ryan, and instead to take up a promotion as chair of the Australian division of investment bank Goldman Sachs.
While The Australian understands Mr Frydenberg has not ruled out a return to politics in the medium term, his absence for the foreseeable future has left party insiders reconsidering the options if Mr Dutton loses the next election.
Many Liberal figures had hoped Mr Frydenberg would one day make a comeback in Liberal founder Robert Menzies’s electorate and lead the party.
Mr Frydenberg said on Thursday that his decision not to return to politics was “a difficult decision and one I have been weighing up for some time.”
“It was an enormous privilege to serve our local community for nearly 12 years and be the Liberal Party’s candidate at the last five federal elections.”
The former treasurer said he was proud of the party’s values and its achievements both locally and on a national level under the Abbott, Turnbull and Morrison governments, but that he had enjoyed spending more time with wife Amie and their children Gemma and Blake.
“In the almost 18 months since the last election, I have spent more precious time with Amie and our young family and have enjoyed returning to the private sector,” he said.
Sources close to Mr Frydenberg argued the former treasurer could have won Kooyong back at the next election, pointing to a poll of 600 voters conducted in Kooyong in August which showed the Liberals ahead of Dr Ryan 53.5 to 46.5 two-party-preferred when Mr Frydenberg was mentioned, and 51-49 when he was not. Dr Ryan won 52.94 to 47.06 in 2022.
The poll also indicated that climate change remains Kooyong voters’ most-cited concern, at 26 per cent, followed by health and aged care at 24 per cent, cost of living at 18 per cent, and job security and managing the economy at 16 per cent.
Party insiders on Thursday were disappointed that Mr Frydenberg would not attempt a return to Canberra, with senior Liberal figures telling The Australian he would have been a stronger candidate than many on the current opposition frontbench to be a future prime minister.
“There’s no one of Josh’s calibre. It’s very sad,” said one senior Liberal.
“I don’t rate Angus Taylor. He’s made too many mistakes and doesn’t cut through.”
Others were critical of deputy leader Sussan Ley, with West Australian Andrew Hastie described by several as the party’s best hope, despite his relative inexperience, given the defence spokesman has only been on the front bench since 2020, when he became an assistant minister.
Despite Peter Dutton gaining ground as preferred prime minister to still trail Anthony Albanese 31 votes to 50 in the most recent Newspoll — which has Labor leading 53-47 two-party-preferred — multiple Liberal sources said the opposition leader was a drag on the party’s vote in Victoria, particularly in affluent seats like Kooyong.
Close friends said it had been clear for some time that Mr Frydenberg had given up on recontesting Kooyong.
“People around Josh knew he wasn’t going to run for months. The majority of it is that he’s nestled into a very comfortable lifestyle at work, and for the first time in many, many years, he’s got a good balance between work and family. He doesn’t want to disturb that,” said a senior Liberal friend.
Another close friend said Mr Frydenberg had been “very torn” about the decision.
“He’s been appointed to a very well-paid, prestigious position,” the Liberal said.
“The alternative was to walk up and down the streets of Hawthorn knocking on apartment doors for the next two years, in what’s a winnable but very challenging seat.”
Amelia Hamer — the grand-niece of former Victorian premier Sir Rupert “Dick” Hamer — has indicated to local party members that she is considering contesting Liberal preselection for Kooyong.
Ms Hamer, 30, is director of strategy at Melbourne-founded tech start-up, Airwallex, and worked for Liberal senator Jane Hume after beginning her career at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and studying philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford.
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