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PoliticsNow: Ann Sudmalis to quit at next election, in blow to Scott Morrison

Marginal seatholder Ann Sudmalis won’t contest the next election, citing bullying and intimidation within the party.

Rosie Lewis and Greg Brown
18 min read
4:11PMSeptember 17, 2018.
Updated 7:26PMSeptember 17, 2018
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Liberal Member for Gilmore Ann Sudmalis won’t contest the next federal election. Picture: AAP
Liberal Member for Gilmore Ann Sudmalis won’t contest the next federal election. Picture: AAP

Scott Morrison suffers another blow as marginal Liberal seatholder Ann Sudmalis announces she won’t contest the next election, citing bullying and intimidation within the Liberal Party.

Rosie Lewis 4.48pm: Rigorous complaints procedure needed

Scott Morrison says he had asked the Liberal Party’s federal executive, through federal director Andrew Hirst, to consider how they will “take steps to ensure there is a rigorous and confidential process to deal with concerns and complaints from party members, including members of parliament”.

The new arrangement would ensure the organisational wing – which is separate to the parliamentary wing – had the same processes and upheld the same values, the Prime Minister said.

“I want the federal executive to include in that report their concrete plans to ensure the party continues to attract and support outstanding men and women who want to represent their party in this parliament,” Mr Morrison said.

“I continue to make it clear that I want to see more women in the federal parliament. The federal and state branches of the Liberal party will work towards that outcome.”

Mr Morrison said Ms Sudmalis, who he considered a good friend, had been an “outstanding member for Gilmore” after she confirmed her intention to withdraw her nomination.

“Ann raised a number of genuine concerns with me regarding her treatment in her local federal electoral conference within the New South Wales division of the Liberal Party of Australia. This is in addition to complaints I have received from other colleagues about processes in the party’s organisational wing,” he said.

“I stress that these are complaints that do not relate to the parliamentary wing, but to the organisational wing of the party.

“As party leader, it is my job to set the standard. It is the party’s job to uphold and protect those standards from the grassroots up, to ensure that MPs and candidates are treated with respect and are well supported.”

Rosie Lewis 4pm: Liberal MP to quit at next election

Marginal Liberal seatholder Ann Sudmalis has announced she will not contest the next election, delivering yet another blow to Scott Morrison as he tries to encourage more women to join his party and enter federal parliament.

Ms Sudmalis, who holds the NSW seat of Gilmore on 0.73 per cent, has told the Prime Minister she would pull out of preselection amid claims of “bullying, intimidation, leaking and undermining” within the state party.

Ms Sudmalis said she had wanted to keep her decision private until after the Wentworth by-election but that was now “not possible”.

“I want to make it abundantly clear, my decision has nothing to do with the leadership of Scott Morrison nor my federal colleagues,” she said.

“However my decision has everything to do with the NSW state division and the actions of one of my state Liberal colleagues. Since the day of winning preselection in 2012, the local self-determined senior Liberal has been leaking damaging material to media, holding publicity stunts that are completely against federal policy initiatives, and has overall been unfair and unethical.

“The final straw came when my supportive FEC (federal electoral conference) committee at the AGM was completely rolled, installing people of inexperience and hostility.”

Ms Sudmalis said she had “little or no support” from the NSW party during the past six months while waiting for the preselection process to be finalised.

Her decision comes nearly three weeks after Victorian Liberal MP Julia Banks announced she would not contest the next election, citing the leadership turmoil that ousted Malcolm Turnbull as the “last straw” and bullying and intimidation from both sides of parliament.

“My decision has been made after six-and-a-half years of holding my pledge to be a team player in the face of NSW Liberal Party bullying, intimidation, leaking and undermining at a local level,” Ms Sudmalis said.

“I am concerned that the media will interpret my decision as a reflection on the leadership of Scott Morrison. If they do, they will be lying. Scott Morrison is a truly good man.”

Without Ms Sudmalis, Ms Banks, Queensland Liberal MP Jane Prentice – who lost her preselection battle - and possibly a Liberal member for Wentworth after the former prime minister quit politics, Mr Morrison could have just 72 sitting MPs contesting the next election.

3.45pm: Abbott preselection vote revealed

Greg Brown 3.13pm: ScoMo shouts out to Scoop

Scott Morrison wraps up QT by giving a shout out to Fatman Scoop, who invited him to be a guest at his concert after the Prime Minister took off one of his songs.

Labor MPs jeered and some shouted: “put your hands up”.

Greg Brown 3.10pm: ‘Why isn’t Turnbull the Prime Minister?’

Bill Shorten waits until QT is nearly over to ask the why question.

“Why isn’t Malcolm Turnbull the Prime Minister in Australia?”

The Prime Minister says he will only focus on delivering for the Australian people.

“The Labor Party can kick up as much mess as they want but it is my job as the Prime Minister to see through the dust and to see what matters to the Australian people,” he says.

Greg Brown 3:05pm: Dutton denies leak claims

Opposition legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus asks Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton about leaks that he was at every cabinet meeting of the Turnbull government.

This is despite Dutton saying he recused himself from “inappropriate” discussions, given his wife has an indirect stake in two childcare centres that receive government subsidies.

Dutton says he has always complied with ministerial standards.

“The Labor Party are determined to play politics on this issue. Nothing more, nothing less,” he says.

Greg Brown 3.00pm: Frydenberg quized on royal commission delay

Opposition treasury spokesman asks Treasurer Josh Frydenberg about his previous rejection of a royal commission because the regulators had “stronger powers”.

“Why two years after he said they have stronger powers, is the Treasurer now blaming the regulators and now only promising them more powers?”

Mr Frydenberg brings out old quotes from Bill Shorten lauding the regulatory system of the financial services sector.

He says the Coalition government has tackled bad behaviour in the sector.

“At the same time the royal commission has revealed appalling acts of misconduct, acts that have shocked everybody in this chamber,” Mr Frydenberg says.

“Fees for no service, fees for dead people, 300,000 allegations of providing insurance services on an unsolicited basis.

“This has been revealed by the royal commission and the royal commission is doing an outstanding job.”

Greg Brown 2.48pm: Morrison dodges dementia question

Bill Shorten asks Scott Morrison about cuts to dementia supplement.

The Prime Minister turns the question around and accuses Labor of cutting $1.6 billion out of the aged care sector in the 2012 budget.

“Labor accuses the government of something they themselves specifically engaged in when they were in government. That’s the sort of hypocrisy on aged care that the Australian people are sick of,” Mr Morrison says.

Greg Brown 2.40pm: Aged care reforms ‘absolutely necessary’

Labor’s Julie Collins asks Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt if he will apologise for savaging Bill Shorten’s description of the aged care sector as a “crisis”.

Wyatt says he does not reconcile from his criticism of the Opposition Leader, because he has a “total commitment” to improving the sector.

“What I’ve done and have continued to do is to act to put in place the reforms that are absolutely necessary,” Wyatt says.

“I know that at the time when I made that comment the Leader of the Opposition called me shortly after Question Time and he and I had a discussion. It doesn’t change my position.”

Greg Brown 2.20pm: Budget cuts ‘here in black and white’

Bill Shorten goes again on cuts to the aged care sector.

“How can the Prime Minister continue to deny a cut of $1.2 billion in aged care funding in his first budget, when it’s here in black and white?”

Scott Morrison says he wants to work together with Labor to solve the problem rather than get stuck in political stoushes.

“Funding increased by more than $1 billion every year under our government, in our services to aged care,” he says.

“The Australian people have had a gutful of that toing and froing and bickering about aged care, that is why there is a royal commission to look into all these issues.”

Greg Brown 2.15pm: ScoMo doubles-down on cuts denial

Deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek reads out from the 2016 budget papers to claim the government cut $1.2 billion from the aged care sector.

Scott Morrison says Labor does not tell the truth when it comes to the funding of essential services.

“Aged care funding has gone up $1 billion and more, every year under this government. This is the facts,” the Prime Minister says.

“This is why I want a royal commission into this area, because we should not be making decisions based on the political agendas of those opposite.”

Greg Brown 2.13pm: PM denies aged care funding cuts

Bill Shorten opens up question time on the aged care “crisis”.

The Opposition Leader asks Scott Morrison why he cut $1.2 billion from the aged care budget as treasurer.

The Prime Minister denies he cut funding.

“Only this could happen with Labor Party financial management. Where you increase the budget for aged care, by one billion dollars, every single year, can that, in their minds, be a cut to funding,” Mr Morrison says.

“One billion extra from the 2016-17 budget, every single year, and going out to the end of the forward estimates, we’re increasing the funding for aged care.

“Only under the Labor Party can one plus one equal zero.”

Greg Brown 1.45pm: Sportin Shorten backs Storm

Not content with giving the new Prime Minister an inch, Bill Shorten has tried to upstage Scott Morrison on rugby league.

The Opposition Leader has showcased his league talents by passing a Steeden with Melbourne Storm captain Cameron Smith.

“Go the Storm, go rugby league in Victoria, go Labor,” Mr Shorten said.

He talked up the Melbourne Storm, which is playing Mr Morrison’s team, the Cronulla Sharks, on Friday night’s grand final playoff.

“Without a doubt one of the great teams, one of the great sides in the NRL,” he said while donning a Storm scarf.

Mr Shorten announced today Labor would commit $1 million for a rugby league training centre in Melbourne’s Broadmeadows.

He even made a joke with Smith, one of the game’s best ever players.

“You’ve had your finals, mine’s not until May of next year but anyway,” he said.

Greg Brown 1.20pm: Tied vote on TPP amendment

The government’s dwindling numbers in the House of Representatives has been exposed today with a tied vote on a Labor amendment to the Trans Pacific Partnership.

Speaker Tony Smith was forced to give his casting vote when the numbers were locked at 71 MPs each way.

Labor’s amendment, pushed by opposition trade spokesman Jason Clare, would not have changed the legislation but would have had the house formally recognise the Coalition had waived labour market testing under the trade deal, which a future Shorten government would seek to change.

Rosie Lewis 1.00pm: Bishop ‘won’t support Labor on Dutton’

Julie Bishop won’t vote with Labor on Peter Dutton’s eligibility. Picture: AAP
Julie Bishop won’t vote with Labor on Peter Dutton’s eligibility. Picture: AAP

Julie Bishop says she won’t support a Labor motion to refer Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton to the High Court, days after leaving open the possibility.

The former foreign minister and staunch Turnbull ally told The Australian: “Based on current information, I would vote against such a motion.”

Labor has the support of four crossbenchers to test Mr Dutton’s eligibility under section 44 of the Constitution in the High Court but two Coalition MPs would need to abstain or cross the floor in order for the referral to be successful.

Ms Bishop said last Thursday she would “make (her) mind up” at the time of a vote and called for “clarity” around the standing of all MPs.

Malcolm Turnbull intervened in domestic politics last week — on the night of the press gallery’s annual Mid Winter Ball — revealing he had urged Scott Morrison and other colleagues to refer Mr Dutton to the High Court to “clarify the matter”.

Ms Bishop is not in federal Parliament today but has been granted a pair.

A majority of MPs must support a referral motion for a person’s election to be tested in court.

Greg Brown 12.40pm: Strawberry saboteurs ‘should be jailed’

A needle allegedly found in a strawberry purchased from Woolworths in Brisbane. Picture: Supplied.
A needle allegedly found in a strawberry purchased from Woolworths in Brisbane. Picture: Supplied.

Cabinet minister Christopher Pyne says he hopes people responsible for sabotaging punnets of strawberries “spend a long time behind bars” after major New Zealand food distributors banned imports of the fruits from Australia.

Mr Pyne said it was understandable New Zealand companies were baulking at Australian strawberries after needles were found in the fruits around the country.

“It is an enormous challenge and it is a real problem, the person who is responsible, or persons, for trying to destroy the Australian strawberry industry, I hope we catch them and prosecute them and they spend a long time behind bars because that is what they deserve,” Mr Pyne told Sky News.

“They behaved shockingly badly and they are affecting the strawberry industry in Australia but also the exports to New Zealand.

“I can understand why New Zealanders are baulking at the strawberry industry here in Australia because we need to get to the bottom of how widespread this problem is.”

Greg Brown 12.25pm: Labor ‘would close every coal-fired station

Scott Morrison has said Labor’s 45 per cent emissions reduction target would lead to the closure of every coal-fired power station in Australia.

The Prime Minister said electricity prices were starting to drop and would continue to do so under the government’s policies.

“The alternative is Labor will put into law 45 per cent emissions reduction target, the target we have that has been the commitment of the government for many years now of 26 per cent, that won’t have a material impact on electricity prices, that is my advice,” Mr Morrison told 5AA radio.

“But to take it to 45 per cent would pretty much shut down every coal fired power station in the country, it would increase people’s power bills by about $1400 on average for every single household.”

Greg Brown 12.20pm: Vote for Phelps ‘vote for Shorten’

Dr Kerryn Phelps. Picture: Hollie Adams.
Dr Kerryn Phelps. Picture: Hollie Adams.

Scott Morrison says a vote for Kerryn Phelps in the Wentworth by-election “is a vote for Bill Shorten.”

“From what I have seen, she is basically supporting the Labor Party so a vote for Phelps is a vote for Bill Shorten,” the Prime Minister told Adelaide radio station 5AA.

Defence Minister Christopher Pyne said the parliament would be disrupted with political games if Professor Phelps won the seat.

“I saw in the paper today Labor was saying how they welcomed Kerryn Phelps as the candidate for Wentworth because of course they see Kerryn Phelps as an advantage to Labor in Wentworth,” Mr Pyne told Sky News.

“If you vote for Kerryn Phelps you effectively get Labor being able to disrupt the parliament because they will make the place more unstable.”

Greg Brown 11.50am: Morrison confident over Dutton

Scott Morrison says he does not believe Liberal MPs will cross the floor and vote with Labor to refer Peter Dutton to the High Court.

“I don’t believe that is going to happen,” the Prime Minister told 5AA radio.

Mr Morrison would not say whether he had spoken to Julie Bishop after she left the door open to supporting a referral.

“I just don’t think that is going to happen, we considered this issue in the parliament just over three weeks ago and resolved not to do that as a parliament and there is nothing to change that view,” Mr Morrison said.

Scott Morrison at Parliament House this morning. Picture: Kym Smith.
Scott Morrison at Parliament House this morning. Picture: Kym Smith.

Greg Brown 11.25am: Phelps shakes up Wentworth odds

Kerryn Phelps has shaken up the betting odds for the Wentworth by-election with Sportsbet giving her odds of $2.20 to win.

Professor Phelps is a touch behind the favourite, Liberal candidate Dave Sharma, who is the favourite at odds of $1.70.

Labor’s Tim Murray is a $7 outsider.

“Kerryn Phelps is certainly a high profile candidate that could be a spanner in the works for what is usually a safe Liberal seat but the betting is still favouring Dave Sharma to win,” said sportsbet.com.au’s Will Byrne.

Market courtesy of sportsbet.com.au

Wentworth by-election winner

$1.70 Dave Sharma (Liberal)

$2.20 Kerryn Phelps (Independent)

$7.00 Tim Murray (Labor)

$12 Angela Vithoulkas (Independent)

$16 Dominic Wy Kanak (Greens)

$31 Licia Heath (Independent)

$71 David Barrow (Independent)

$81 Ben Forsyth (Derryn Hinch’s Justice)

$101 Andrea Leong (Science Party)

$251 Sam Gunning (Liberal Democratic Party)

$501 Shayne Higson (Voluntary Euthanasia)

11.15am: Sudmalis ‘to quit’

Liberal MP Ann Sudmalis is expected to announce her decision not to recontest her seat at the next election, dealing Prime Minister Scott Morrison another damaging blow.

Ms Sudmalis on Monday knocked back calls from Mr Morrison not to leave, the Nine Network reports.

She holds the southern NSW coastal seat of Gilmore with a margin of just 0.7 per cent and has faced a preselection challenge from local real estate agent Grant Schultz.

AAP

10.40am: Trump ‘practical’ — ScoMo

Scott Morrison says he and Donald Trump both understand that some voters feel they have been left behind by globalisation

In an interview with the New York Times, published over the weekend, the prime minister said some feel forgotten as the global economy grows. “And that’s what we get. The president gets that. I get it,” Mr Morrison told the newspaper.

Mr Morrison spoke with President Trump after taking over from Malcolm Turnbull and described him “very practical” and someone “who’s not going to waste a day”.

Despite worries about President Trump’s ability to keep his White House administration together, the newspaper said Mr Morrison was positive about the relationship between the two countries.

“We look through the dust,’‘ Mr Morrison said.

The newspaper also reported Mr Morrison has a model of a migrant boat in his office, with the caption “I stopped these” attached.

AAP

Greg Brown 9.55am: Dutton ‘confident’ on eligibility

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says he is not concerned disgruntled Liberal MPs will cross the floor and help Labor refer him to the High Court over his eligibility concerns.

Mr Dutton said he was confident no government MP would try and get him referred, despite Julie Bishop leaving the door open to the possibility last week.

“Labor first raised this section 44 issue in October, nothing was said about it until the week of the leadership issues in the Liberal party so I will let people draw their own conclusions as to why it resurfaced,” Mr Dutton said this morning.

“These issues are being raised for political purposes, it was raised as I say by the Labor Party in October of last year and they didn’t raise it again so I am very confident in my position.”

He urged his Liberal colleagues to get behind Scott Morrison as leader.

“My message to Liberal colleagues is to get behind Scott Morrison because as we have seen in the Ipsos poll today people have made up his mind about Bill Shorten, they don’t like him,” Mr Dutton said.

“He is dodgy, he is two faced, he is not credible.”

Greg Brown 9.10am: Bad poll ‘understandable’

Scott Morrison has played down another bad poll, declaring it was “understandable” the public marked the government down for the leadership chaos.

The Prime Minister said he was taking things “one step at a time” after a Fairfax/Ipsos published this morning showed Labor leading the government by 53 per cent to 47 per cent.

“My team is in the business of demonstrating to them that we’re back on the job, we’re focused 100 per cent on the needs of the Australian people,” Mr Morrison told Seven Network.

“I’m looking through the dust of all the things that get kicked up here in Canberra. This place can get very distracted by itself. I am not distracted by it.”

Greg Brown 9.00am: Shorten NEG politics ‘typical’

Josh Frydenberg near his political party office in Camberwell, Victoria. Picture: Nicole Cleary.
Josh Frydenberg near his political party office in Camberwell, Victoria. Picture: Nicole Cleary.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says Bill Shorten never attempted to reach across the political divide and help the Turnbull government secure the national energy guarantee.

The former energy minister said it was “typical” of the Opposition Leader to open the door to embrace the NEG after it was junked by the government.

“He never reached out to try to land the NEG in fact he called it the Frankenstein’s monster so it is pretty typical of him one minute to be calling it a Frankenstein’s monster and the next minute wanting to embrace it,” Mr Frydenberg told the ABC.

“He never made the attempt got reach across the political divide to try and land the policy, it does remind me of one of his famous zingers where he said ‘if you don’t know where you are going any road will get you there’ because he is only interested in the politics of this issue not actually about landing durable policy.”

Mr Frydenberg said the Emissions Reduction Fund was “very cost effective”, after The Australian revealed Environment Minister Melissa Price was urging Scott Morrison for more money for the program.

“That program, the Emissions Reduction Fund, has been very cost effective because it has seen over 190 million tonnes of abatement at an average cost of around $13 a tonne. Now one million tonnes of abatement is the equivalent to taking 300,000 cars off the road a year, so that is an important policy,” he said.

Greg Brown 8.30am: Abbott protest ‘no shock’

Liberal Party federal president Nick Greiner says it is “not a total shock” Tony Abbott suffered a significant protest vote against his preselection in the electorate of Warringah, given his behaviour since he lost the prime ministership.

“There are clearly very strong different views about Tony and his views, the way he’s behaved since he was defeated by Mr Turnbull,” Mr Greiner told the ABC last night.

“I think it’s not surprising that there are both passionate supporters and quite a few who apparently were against him. It’s sort of the nature of democracy; I don’t think we should get too excited about that.”

Mr Griener said there was no reason the results from the vote should not be released.

Greg Brown 7.45am: ‘No backflip on aged care inquiry’

Scott Morrison has denied the government has backflipped on a royal commission into the aged care sector, despite Aged Care Minister Ken Wyatt rejecting the need for one in an interview that will air tonight.

The Prime Minister said Mr Wyatt merely told ABC’s Four Corners he would rather see the money needed for a powerful inquiry spent on frontline services.

“He said he would rather see money in frontline services, that is what he actually said,” Mr Morrison told Nine Network.

“As a new Prime Minister I have the opportunity to make these decisions and get on with it. That’s what our government is doing. I think Australians care about what’s happening frankly not the toings and froings of politicians in Canberra.”

Mr Morrison declined to use Bill Shorten’s description of the sector as being in state of crisis.

“Whether there is a crisis or not, that will be determined by the royal commission,” he said.

Greg Brown 7.30am: ‘Intense lobbying’ before ballot

Scott Morrison says there was a “range of different views” as to whether bullying took place during last month’s leadership spill, which saw him emerge has Liberal leader.

The Prime Minister said “intense lobbying” usually happened in leadership ballots.

Lucy Gichuhi, Linda Reynolds and Julia Banks are among the female Liberal MPs who say they were bullied during the spill.

“There are a range of different views about what occurred several weeks ago. I mean it was a leadership ballot. (In) leadership ballots there is intense lobbying that takes place,” Mr Morrison told Nine Network.

“But since that time people have been getting back to work and getting around each other and supporting each other. I have been part of that process and I think that’s how it should be addressed.”

Mr Morrison said the female complainants attributed bullying to people who worked in the state divisions, rather that it coming from other MPs.

“It wasn’t about what was actually happening here in Canberra. And so I have been raising that with the party organisation itself and I think in the events of a few weeks ago there were some mixed messages about where things were occurring. So that was the result of my own direct personal discussions with people,” he said.

What’s making news:

The nation needs to brace itself for some “bruising” revelations of abuse in the $18 billion aged-care sector, Scott Morrison warned yesterday, as he launched a sweeping royal commission in a move to outflank Labor on the issue, head off more damaging reports and recapture the vote of older Australians.

Leaked messages from a WhatsApp group chat among female Liberal MPs have revealed a damaging split over whether some colleagues should have publicly aired claims of bullying and intimidation in the wake of last month’s bitter leadership spill.

The Coalition will refocus environment policies on the Abbott-era Direct Action plan, including a rebooted Green Army and a reverse auction scheme to improve land management and help communities, Environment Minister Melissa Price has declared.

The Morrison government will this week seek Senate support to legislate proposals to disqualify law-breaking union officials, backed by employers who accused some union members of conduct “akin to fascism”.

A shock protest vote against Tony Abbott’s endorsement in his longheld seat of Warringah is being used by local branch members as a signal that the former prime minister must make the next parliamentary term his last or risk being abandoned by the party.

Kerryn Phelps’s decision to run as an independent candidate in the upcoming Wentworth by-election has been described by Labor as a “gift”.

The architect of the national energy guarantee, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, has attacked Bill Shorten for considering adopting the Turnbull government’s signature energy policy declared “dead” by Scott Morrison in the first weeks of his prime ministership.

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/politicsnow-scott-morrison-has-union-officials-in-his-sights/news-story/0d585b0cb4cf10568b737115c49f9e20