Meanwhile,several senior Liberals said they feared the party would now lose Holsworthy at the March state election.
The premier on Friday said Gibbons was a “great local member” and a “very strong member of our parliamentary party”.
“She has a strong future,and I’m sure the party will work out a pathway for her to stay,and she should,” he said.
Asked on Friday whether Gibbons had been treated badly by the Liberals,Perrottet said:“These are matters for the Liberal Party,and they work through those matters ... my expectation is the NSW Liberal Party will resolve the matter.”
The premier’s office was also asked whether Perrottet would honour his promise to elevate Gibbons to cabinet,but declined to comment further.
The clearest path for Gibbons to move to the upper house would be if the NSW Liberals’ most senior woman in government,upper house MP Natalie Ward,wins pre-selection on Monday night in the ultra-safe northern Sydney seat of Davidson,which is being vacated by retiring Speaker Jonathan O’Dea,and creates a casual vacancy in the legislative council.
Ward’s move to join the lower house would bolster the number of Liberal women in the legislative assembly,which has slipped to just 10,and Wardhas herself said one of her “bugbears” with the Liberal Party was not ensuring women run in safe seats.
But there could be another showdown,with Matt Cross,a staffer to former premier Mike Baird,also a contender for Davidson. Cross has been working on winning preselection for the blue-ribbon seat for several years.
Retiring Liberal MPs
- Pittwater MP Rob Stokes:Rory Amon is the frontrunner for replacement
- Davidson MP Jonathan O’Dea:Preselection contest between Natalie Ward and Matt Cross
- Ryde MP Victor Dominello:To be replaced by Jordan Lane
- Parramatta MP Geoff Lee:Preselection contest includes Gabriel Harb,Tanya Raffoul and Katie Mullens
- Vaucluse MP Gabrielle Upton:To be replaced by Kellie Sloane
- South Coast MP Shelley Hancock:To be replaced by Luke Sikora
- Baulkham Hills MP David Elliott:Seat is being abolished
- Wakehurst MP Brad Hazzard:Preselection not finalised
- Riverstone MP Kevin Conolly:Five have nominated for preselection;four men and one woman
In the neighbouring seat of Pittwater,which is being vacated by senior minister Rob Stokes,Northern Beaches Liberal councillor Rory Amon is the frontrunner after Families and Communities Minister Natasha Maclaren-Jones,who sits in the upper house,withdrew from the race.
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Lawyer Claire Longley,whose father Jim Longley is a former Pittwater MP,was also considered an option and Stokes’ preferred replacement but has been unable to nominate due to issues with her membership.
In Parramatta,the contest to replace retiring minister Geoff Lee includes Transport Minister David Elliott’s chief of staff Tanya Raffoul,who is vying for pre-selection but does not look to have the numbers against Gabriel Harb,who is secretary of the Parramatta federal electoral conference.
A former electorate officer to Lee,Katie Mullins,has also nominated for the western Sydney seat but there are fears the matter will not be finalised until next year.
The nearby seat of Drummoyne is being vacated by former Liberal MP John Sidoti,who has announced he is quitting politics,which gives the Liberals another opportunity to install a woman in a seat that has been reliably blue since 2011.
A candidate has not been finalised but former premier Gladys Berejiklian’s policy adviser Berge Okosdinossian has nominated.
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