Liberal upset embarrasses rival faction’s leaders
McKinsey partner Simon Kennedy’s victory in the Bennelong preselection has sparked calls for change in the Liberal moderate faction’s leadership.
McKinsey partner Simon Kennedy’s victory in the Bennelong preselection has sparked calls for change in the Liberal moderate faction’s leadership, with faction members saying powerbrokers NSW Treasurer Matt Kean and North Sydney MP Trent Zimmerman are too transactional.
Mr Kennedy emerged victorious in a three-horse contest with Salesforce executive Gisele Kapterian and former City of Sydney councillor Craig Chung, defeating the more fancied Ms Kapterian in the final ballot on Wednesday.
The comprehensive victory – Mr Kennedy had 148 second-round ballot votes to Ms Kapterian’s 95 – represented the second upset in one of Sydney’s moderate heartlands, coming just months after conservative Tim James was selected as the state candidate for Willoughby ahead of moderate-backed Willoughby City Council mayor Gail Giles-Gidney.
Liberal moderates in the lead-up to the Bennelong preselection told The Australian it would “be a massive test for Mr Zimmerman’s leadership” after he and moderate powerbroker Michael Photios backed Ms Kapterian.
A senior Liberal source said Ms Kapterian’s loss needed to be the catalyst for a change in leadership in the moderate faction, saying it wasn’t sustainable having two people as disliked by the party’s membership as Mr Kean and Mr Zimmerman: “We (the moderates) are at our strongest when we have a purpose and are focused on winning elections. Trent and Matt are too concerned about doing deals with Alex Hawke and Dallas McInerney (Catholic Schools NSW chief executive).”
Another Liberal source played down the implications for Mr Zimmerman, saying he had hardly been involved in the campaign. Instead, he pointed to the efforts of Mr Kennedy in bringing out the entirety of the conference’s conservative vote, along with his strong performance responding to branch members’ questions on the night of the preselection vote.
Yet another source said blaming Mr Kean for the loss was “ridiculous”.
Multiple sources at the preselection said several of Mr Kennedy’s statements raised eyebrows, including his claim he had designed JobKeeper and had called Commonwealth Bank boss Matt Comyn to obtain the banking data that underpinned the $89bn wage subsidy program.
Mr Kennedy didn’t return calls.
China a key focus for Quad summit leaders
Chinese aggression and Taiwan’s future will take centre stage when Anthony Albanese meets with Quad leaders in the US.
Disability support outside the NDIS
With the government looking to take pressure off the National Disability Insurance Scheme, consultations are about to get under way about what broader disability support might look like.