Kevin Andrews rejects Jeff Kennett’s call for him to quit to make way for fresh talent

Long-serving Liberal MP Kevin Andrews has rejected Jeff Kennett’s call for him to quit to make way for fresh talent.

Former Victorian Liberal premier Jeff Kennett. Picture: Michael Klein

Long-serving Liberal MP Kevin Andrews has rejected Jeff Kennett’s call for him to quit at the election, saying he was the endorsed candidate and is running for his blue-ribbon seat of Menzies.

There is speculation that if Mr Andrews, a former Howard and Abbott government minister, resigned from the Victorian seat then Tony Abbott’s former chief of staff Peta Credlin could run.

A spokeswoman for Mr Andrews this morning said: “Mr Andrews is the endorsed Liberal candidate and is running for Menzies.”

Liberal Party elder Mr Kennett has urged long-serving government MPs, including Julie Bishop and Mr Andrews, to follow Kelly O’Dwyer’s example and stand down at the next election to make way for fresh talent and help party renewal.

Liberal MP Kevin Andrews. Picture: Sean Davey

The former Victorian Liberal premier yesterday praised Ms O’Dywer for her decision to prioritise her young family amid criticism from detractors she was one of the first “Turnbull ­Coalition rats leaving the sinking ship” in 2019.

Scott Morrison also clashed with Bill Shorten, strongly denying suggestions his MPs were resigning because of fears the government would be wiped out at the next election and leave senior ministers with the prospect of a lengthy stint on the opposition benches.

Several Coalition MPs have ­already left the government, ­defected or announced plans to stand down at the next election.

The Victorian MP for the seat of Chisholm, Julia Banks, moved to the crossbench in November after having made claims of ­intimidation and bullying against her colleagues in the leadership coup against Malcolm Turnbull.

Former workplace minister and staunch Turnbull supporter Craig Laundy has kept his silence on whether he will recontest his seat of Reid in Sydney’s inner west.

The Prime Minister yesterday refused to close the door on further Liberal departures and said it was “not uncommon’’ for parliamentarians to make decisions on their futures early in the year.

“This is the time of the year when members consider,’’ he said.

“We had Jacinta Collins make her decision the other day. Other Labor members have made their decision in the lead-up to the next election. That is not uncommon.

“I think we should be careful about how we characterise these decisions.

“They are deeply personal decisions made by members. How about you just give them the benefit of the doubt, that they are actually doing it for the reasons they are saying?’’

Ms O’Dwyer, the Minister for Industrial Relations, announced on Saturday that she was quitting her job to spend more time with her young family.

The Opposition Leader said Ms O’Dwyer’s resignation showed the Morrison government was mired in “instability” and questioned how many more frontbenchers would quit politics before the election.

“Losing a cabinet minister, no matter what the reason — I think it’s very legitimate in this case — just heightens again, I think, the instability,” he said.

“The big point about her going is that she is the only Liberal woman, just about, in the Victorian Liberal Party in the House of Reps”.

Mr Kennett told The Australian he did not think Ms O’Dwyer’s decision was influenced by poor opinion polls and took “at face value” her reasons for leaving. He suggested Ms Bishop should also step down along with Mr Andrews, who holds the Melbourne-based seat of Menzies.

“Julie didn’t want to serve in the ministry,” Mr Kennett told The Australian.

“Kevin’s had his opportunity and been on the backbench for a period of time. They … stand out clearly as perhaps giving others an opportunity.”

“I’m at sixes and sevens about Tony Abbott. He’s still young enough to make a serious contribution in the parliament and a ­serious contribution outside”.

Ms Bishop yesterday re­affirmed plans to stay on in her West Australian seat of Curtin.

The Australian understands that at least half a dozen women are considering putting their hats in the ring for Ms O’Dwyer’s blue-ribbon Liberal seat of Higgins.

Paediatrician Katie Allen has confirmed she put her name forward before Ms O’Dwyer had formally announced her intention not to recontest.

Senator Jane Hume said she was considering whether to put her hand up as someone who had lived in Higgins all her life. “I haven’t made up my mind, but it’s something I’m going to consider,” she said.

Free-trade consultant and NBN board director Zoe McKenzie — a French-speaking lawyer who has previously worked as an adviser to former Victorian premier Ted Baillieu and chief of staff to former federal ministers Andrew Robb and George Brandis — is understood to be considering a run.

Former businesswoman Caroline Inge, who has worked for Josh Frydenberg and state opposition frontbencher Tim Smith, is being spoken of as a possible contender.

Fellow former Frydenberg staffer and Business Council of Australia director of energy and climate change Jess Wilson is said to be in the mix, as is businesswoman Caroline Elliott.

Ms Elliott is the daughter of former Liberal Party president John Elliott and late Victorian MP Lorraine Elliott.

Other Liberals were yesterday scathing of Ms O’Dwyer’s performance, saying her decision not to recontest her Victorian seat of Higgins was informed by the likelihood of a Liberal election loss.

“There was basically a party strike across the country against Kelly,” said one Liberal. “I’m sure she would have thought that six years in opposition is not her go. There are very few functions held in Higgins these days. She struggles to get donors.”

The government’s super reforms were cited as a key reason for antipathy within the party and Liberal support base towards Ms O’Dwyer after the government proposed a $1.6 million cap on tax-free superannuation balances.

Robert Kennedy, a former Liberal supporter who ran against Ms O’Dwyer for the Liberal Democrats at the 2016 election, yesterday said the super reforms and a failure to defend free speech had aggravated the party support base.

“These are the Turnbull/­Coalition rats leaving the sinking ship,” he said.

“I’ll be looking very closely at who the next candidate is.’’

Additional reporting: Rachel Baxendale, Chip Le Grand