Sarah Henderson wins Victorian Senate seat

Former assistant housing minister Sarah Henderson has won a hard-fought Liberal Party preselection battle in Victoria.

Sarah Henderson has won a hard-fought Liberal Party preselection battle for a Victorian Senate seat. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Former assistant housing minister Sarah Henderson has won a hard-fought Liberal Party preselection battle for a Victorian Senate seat, beating farmer former and Liberal Party country Vice President Greg Mirabella by 37 votes, 234 votes to 197.

Ms Henderson was chosen by preselectors after a vote in Melbourne, the party’s Victorian branch tweeted on Sunday.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and various other Liberal heavyweights threw their support behind Ms Henderson, who narrowly lost her seat of Corangamite at the federal election in May.

The victory will be seen as a vindication for Mr Morrison, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and a swathe of Victorian frontbenchers who publicly supported Ms Henderson.

More than 400 Liberal Party delegates converged on the Caulfield Racecourse for the preselection convention, with former Dunkley MP Chris Crewther and mental health advocate John MacIsaac eliminated in the first round of voting, followed by academic Mimmie Watts in the second round.

Former Victorian upper house MP Inga Peulich and senate candidate Kyle Hoppitt were then knocked out having won approximately 100 votes between them, leaving Ms Henderson and Mr Mirabella to go head-to-head in the final round.

Ms Henderson made a brief statement but refused to take questions as she is yet have her new position ratified by the Victorian Parliament.

“I just would like to say that I am deeply honoured and humbled to have been selected by the over 400 delegates here today at Caulfield,” Ms Henderson said.

“I’m part of a great party and this is a great honour. I would like to particularly thank the Prime Minister and the Deputy Leader Josh Frydenberg for their support, but most of all I want to thank the hundreds of delegates who gathered today, who participated in this very important democratic process in our great party.

“My intention is to hit the ground running, to work incredibly hard for the Liberal Party members who have selected me today, and for the people of Victoria. I will be working around the clock, right across this great state, representing the people of Victoria.”

It is understood Mr Frydenberg in particular worked very hard behind the scenes to ensure Ms Henderson was not defeated.

Ms Henderson’s win comes after she narrowly lost her south west Victorian seat of Corangamite at the May election.

Mr Mirabella ran with the support of moderates previously aligned with Senate president Scott Ryan, former minister Kelly O’Dwyer and numbers man Frank Greenstein, who worked the party’s branches to persuade a bloc of delegates to support the former army officer and Victorian Farmers Federation delegate.

Both leading candidates faced significant public scrutiny in the lead-up to Sunday’s preselection convention.

Ms Henderson faced criticism from socially conservative Liberals and others, including Australian Christian Lobby spokesman Lyle Shelton, who highlighted her record of having voted in favour of same-sex marriage, her pro-choice position on abortion, and her support for Malcolm Turnbull against Tony Abbott in the 2015 leadership spill.

Articles she wrote as a journalist more than a decade ago, in which she criticised the Howard government and the Catholic Church, were circulated to Liberal Party members.

In response, Ms Henderson’s supporters circulated a letter of support from socially conservative Liberal MP Kevin Andrews.

Opponents also sought to bring attention to Ms Henderson’s call last year for the live export of livestock to be phased out, given she campaigned on being a strong representative for regional Victoria and vowed to set up her office in Geelong.

Mr Mirabella, who campaigned on his regional credentials as a resident of his wife Sophie’s former seat of Indi, in north east Victoria, was questioned over his time spent in Melbourne, where his children attend school.

He also faced questions about a shell company of which he is director and a shareholder, which the Australian Securities and Investments Commission had threatened to deregister over an overdue fee which has since been paid.