Tim Wilson upsets Libs over fellow MP Sarah Henderson, RBA comments

Tim Wilson is refusing to back Sarah Henderson filling a vacant Senate spot.

Sarah Henderson, right, who narrowly lost Corangamite, has the support of Josh Frydenberg, Greg Hunt, Alan Tudge and Michael Sukkar but not Tim Wilson, left.

Cabinet ministers have swung behind fallen MP Sarah Henderson to fill an upcoming vacant Victorian Senate spot after rebel backbencher Tim Wilson is understood to have refused to back her.

Mr Wilson, chairman of the parliament’s economics committee, has further angered colleagues by publicly verballing the Reserve Bank over interest rates.

The Australian understands Ms Henderson, who narrowly lost the seat of Corangamite, southwest of Melbourne, has the support of the majority of the Victorian federal parliamentary team, including Josh Frydenberg, Health Minister Greg Hunt, Population Minister Alan Tudge and Housing Minister Michael Sukkar.

The Victorian spot will become vacant when former com­munications minister Mitch ­Fifield takes up his post as the next ­Australian ­ambassador to the United Nations.

Colleagues are understood to be angry at Mr Wilson’s alleged refusal to support Ms Henderson.

Mr Wilson said he had not spoken out against Ms Henderson’s Senate bid but would not say whether he endorsed the former Corangamite MP to succeed Senator Fifield.

“No, no that’s not true. No. Why would I say that? It’s a lie,” Mr Wilson told The Australian.

“I support a democratic pre­selection process of party ­members.”

Sarah Henderson. Picture: AAP

Ms Henderson is likely to leapfrog Mr Wilson as next in line for a frontbench position if she wins the Senate spot.

A decision on the process to ­decide the spot has yet to be determined. Some Liberal power­brokers are pushing for a quick endorsement through the party’s State Assembly and heads of the Federal Electoral Councils.

One supporter of Ms Henderson said: “Clearly the most obvious move is a regional person who can hit the ground running from day one. The government is pouring billions into that region over the next few years.

“She has the support of almost the entire frontbench from Victoria including cabinet ministers.”

Mr Wilson’s criticism of the RBA yesterday angered colleagues who said it was not the backbencher’s place to be dictating monetary policy to the independent central bank.

Mr Wilson yesterday was quoted in The Australian Financial Review as saying the “merit of continuing to lower interest rates as a stimulus is specious” because it would hurt people’s savings and not help people get into the property market.

Mr Wilson, whom colleagues have privately accused of “verballing” the RBA ahead of a rates decision next Tuesday, refused to retract his statements and denied he was unhappy not to receive a frontbench spot in Mr Morrison’s ministry reshuffle.

“I’m standing by my comments (on interest rates). I support the Morrison government,” he said.

One Liberal colleague said the bank was independent and there had been a long-held tradition of politicians not telling it what it should do on ­monetary policy.