Small ‘l’ Kerryn Phelps takes major Left turn

Kerryn Phelps has sided with Labor in almost 70 per cent of recorded parliamentary votes.

Kerryn Phelps and supporters handing out election flyers at Bondi in Sydney’s east yesterday. Picture: Brett Costello

Kerryn Phelps’s decision to side with Labor in almost 70 per cent of recorded parliamentary votes since arriving in Canberra has ­fuelled Liberal campaign claims that she has not turned out to be the “safe pair of hands” or “moderating influence” she promised to be as an independent MP.

Dr Phelps, who won the Sydney seat of Wentworth at a by-election in October following Malcolm Turnbull’s sudden exit, voted with Labor in 28 of 41 divisions she attended between Nov­ember and this month.

The Sydney GP and City of Sydney councillor has repeatedly dismissed Liberal claims she is “Labor in disguise”. She told Wentworth voters last October that if elected, she would be “moderating” and “stabilising”, and would not vote against the government on budget supply or no-­confidence motions.

Senior Liberals said yesterday that Dr Phelps’s “stellar voting rec­ord” of mainly supporting Labor undermined her public stance.

“There were a lot of things she said she could agree with the Liberals about, but that’s contradicted by her voting pattern,” a senior Liberal campaign source said.

The Liberals are running Dave Sharma against Dr Phelps in Wentworth for a second time after he lost in October. Dr Phelps has the advantage of incumbency this time, and possible goodwill.

Dr Phelps yesterday dismissed the Liberals’ attack, saying she was elected on a platform of being “an economic conservative while ­socially progressive”. She had not threatened budget supply or confidence in the government on the floor of parliament, she said.

“I am proud of my record as a small ‘l’ liberal in a complex parliament,” she said. “For example, I was not prepared to back the government’s ‘big stick’ (compulsory acquisition of underutilised energy assets) legislation, not just because it was poor policy but because I was expected to vote on it sight unseen.”

Liberals are hopeful Mr Sharma, a former career diplomat, can prevail this time considering the October result was very close. They also hope local resentment over Mr Turnbull’s treatment by his own party has eased.

Dr Phelps’s record in parliament shows she was present for just under 90 per cent of divisions — or 41 out of 46 when a marking of the roll was required for votes between November and April rather than a show of voices.

She voted with Labor on 68.2 per cent of occasions, compared with the Coalition (26.8 per cent). Her tally of voting neither with Labor nor the Coalition was just under 5 per cent.

Dr Phelps voted with Labor on amendments to home affairs legislation in February, the first time in almost 80 years a government lost a vote on its own legislation in the House of Representatives.

While indicating she would stick with the government in no-confidence motions, Dr Phelps was absent for a division in ­November when Labor tried un­successfully to pass a resolution following the departure of Mr Turnbull.