Nats dump candidate just four days after selecting him

A doctor preselected by NSW Nationals members on Sunday to contest the upcoming Port Macquarie by-election has mysteriously failed to gain party endorsement.

A doctor preselected by NSW Nationals members just four days ago to contest the upcoming Port Macquarie by-election has mysteriously failed to gain party endorsement.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal the party’s central executive met on Wednesday night, when it was decided Warwick Yonge would no longer be the Nationals candidate.

Dr Yonge had been preselected by branch members on Sunday, with party leader Dugald Saunders declaring how “fantastic” it was “to see a candidate of Dr Yonge’s calibre”.

“The Nationals have a proud history of representing this region and I know Dr Yonge will continue that legacy,” Mr Saunders said at the time.

Mr Saunders was among several MPs who posed with Dr Yonge in photographs on the day.

Speaking after the Wednesday night meeting, Mr Saunders said he would have “more updates” about a Port Macquarie candidate in the coming days.

Dumped Nationals candidate Dr Warwick Yonge.

“At a meeting of the NSW Nationals Central Executive tonight, Dr Warwick Yonge was not endorsed as the party’s candidate for the upcoming Port Macquarie by-election,” he said.

“The Nationals have a long, proud history in the region, representing the people of the electorate since its inception in 1988.

“We will continue to fight for their best interests and I will have more updates around a candidate in the coming days”

Dr Yonge has been a GP in Port Macquarie since 2014, having previously worked as an emergency retrieval doctor for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and in remote parts of Australia.

The by-election is being held following the resignation of Liberal MP Leslie Williams.

Originally published as Nats dump candidate just four days after selecting him