Phelps spruiks for patients as Sharma starts counting

Kerryn Phelps spruiks for patients amid Liberal optimism over Dave Sharma wrestling back Wentworth.

‘It’s not about who’s not modern’: Liberal candidate Dave Sharma says he needs to win back only 1000 votes to wrest Wentworth off Kerryn Phelps. Picture: Adam Yip

• Federal Election 2019 Full Coverage

Independent MP Kerryn Phelps has sent emails seeking new patient­s for her medical practice, as the Liberal Party expresses some optimism about wresting back her Sydney eastern suburbs seat of Wentworth.

Dr Phelps, who narrowly won the seat in October at a by-election created by Malcolm Turnbull’s resignation from parliament, runs a general practice clinic on Thursday mornings in Double Bay.

In an email dated January 25, her practice says it is “excited to announce that Prof Kerryn Phelps has reopened her books with some availability for new clients” and invite­s new patients to book.

There had been some debate at the time Dr Phelps made her run for the seat last year as to whether — since she was and remains a councillor on Sydney City Council­, and receives Medicare payments as a GP — she was eligibl­e to sit in federal parliament.

Section 44 of the Constitution bans individuals from sitting in parliament if they earn money from taxpayer funds.

Kerryn Phelps. Picture: Kym Smith

“I satisfied myself by doing my homework before I nominated that I didn’t have section 44 issues and that’s my position today,” Dr Phelps said at the time. Her office said yesterday she was unavailable for interview.

Dave Sharma, who as the Liberal candidate lost to Dr Phelps at the by-election by 1850 votes, ­declined to comment­ on the matter directly, but said: “I am putting myself forward­ as someone who would be a full-time representative committed to the role, somebody who can actually deliver for the people of Wentworth.”

Since the by-election, Mr Sharma has bought a house in the electorate where he lives with his wife Rachel and three daughters, and has been active in a variety of local campaigns, including environmental causes. “I basically need to win back 1000 votes,” he said yesterday­, which constitutes one in 22 of the primary votes Dr Phelps won at the by-election.

Yesterday Mr Sharma did standard hand-shaking campaigning at Bondi Beach, and came across retired teacher Miriam Chelmer, and general practitioner, Anna Vass, and their respective grandchildren, Alexis Chelmer, 2, and Hugo Ward, 4, who were out on an joint excursion.

Mr Sharma, a former Australian ambassador to Israel, spoke to Ms Chelmer, who is a 40-year constituent of Wentworth but Israeli-born, in Hebrew. Ms Chelmer said she had voted for Mr Sharma at the by-election, and will do so again. “I am very much a Liberal, very much,” she said.

Liberal strategists are hoping that a fair bit of the 19 per cent swing at the by-election return to the fold at a general­ election as anger over Mr Turnbull’s dumping eases. “A lot of people tell me: ‘I normally vote Liberal, but I didn’t last time because I was angry,’ ” Mr Sharma said. He speaks with Mr Turnbull regularly, and is grateful for his advice and any support he would give, but accepts the former prime minister does not want to retake the public political stage.

Mr Sharma trained as a lawyer but now works as a businessman and consultant.

The T-shirts his campaigners wear, in a softer blue than trad­itional Liberal blue, read “Dave Sharma, A Modern­ Liberal”.

A Liberal strategist said while there is some hope the seat can be retaken, it is regarded as a tough contest. “It’s hard to blast out an independent who has not been there that long, it’s really­ going to be a referendum on her.”

In her election material, Dr Phelps promotes leftist social and environmental policies such as medevac legislation for asylum-seekers and “real action” on climate­ change, while rejecting Labor’s taxation policies including changes to franking credits, negative gearing and capital gains tax.