Liberal members choose Jason Falinski as candidate in safe federal seat, dumping former speaker who resigned over $5,500 helicopter ride
Bronwyn Bishop has lost the Liberal party endorsement for her northern Sydney seat of Mackellar after being ousted in a preselection vote.
Jason Falinski, a veteran Liberal, is the new candidate for the safe seat after Bishop, the former Speaker of the Australian parliament, failed to secure enough support to represent the party in the next election.
Bishop went down 39 votes to Falinski’s 51 in the fourth round of preselection voting on Saturday night.
It follows Bishop being forced to resign from her role as Speaker in 2015 as a result of an expenses scandal over her use of a $5,000 chartered helicopter flight to attend a party fundraiser.
Bishop failed to gain an endorsement from Tony Abbott in the preselection battle, with the former prime minister instead backing close friend and conservative option Walter Villatora.
Labor used the preselection battle to highlight what it says is internal disunity and personal ambition in the Liberal party.
“Wherever you look across the Liberal party, from Turnbull to Morrison to Mr Abbott to Mrs Bishop, the Liberal party is at war with itself,” Labor leader Bill Shorten told reporters in western Sydney on Saturday.
Preselection for retiring party stalwart Philip Ruddock’s seat of Berowra was decided earlier on Saturday. Julian Leeser, executive director of the Menzies Research Centre, won.
Read the full story, Guardian HERE
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MONDAY, April 18 …
• SkyNews: Poll shows government losing support As politicians prepare for a special sitting of Parliament that will likely trigger a double-dissolution election, the latest polling shows the government losing further ground to the opposition. The latest Fairfax-Ipsos poll shows support for Labor creeping up another two points to 33 percent, with the coalition slipping to 42 percent. When compared on a two-party basis the Opposition are now neck-and-neck with the government, with support after preferences at 50-50. Despite a 7 percent drop in personal support, the Prime Minister maintains a healthy lead over Opposition leader Bill Shorten, 54 percent to 27 percent. The poll also shows overwhelming support for Labor’s planned Royal Commission into the financial sector, with 65 per cent of voters in favour of the idea while 26 per cent are opposed. Treasurer Scott Morrison has told Sky News there is no need for the probe. Meanwhile a showdown over plans to restore the building and construction industry watchdog will resume in the Senate this week and it could potentially pave the way for an early election. Federal MPs and senators are heading back to Canberra for this week’s special sitting …
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