Archer said she remained “a Liberal Party member and will be hopefully seeking re-election”,noting her preselection was “for our grassroots members to decide”.
“Gavin’s preselection is a matter for Gavin and his preselectors,” she said.
A group of mostly conservative-aligned MPs is backing Pearce’s stance,one MP said,because they had grown increasingly frustrated with Archer’s repeated breaks with party policy that were not communicated to colleagues in advance.
A source close to Pearce,who also requested anonymity,said the Braddon MP was tired of campaigning to retain his seat – which he won off Labor in 2019 – while fielding questions from local media about Archer’s statements and policy positions that contradicted Pearce and Dutton’s.
One of the other three MPs who spoke to this masthead stressed Pearce would not back down and there was a chance party officials would side with him,but this would “probably result in[Archer] going to the crossbench and winning her seat” as an independent,causing the Coalition to lose a seat.
“He has told people he won’t be the candidate for Braddon until he knows Bridget won’t be the candidate for Bass,” the MP said.
Preselection nominations have already closed for Pearce’s seat of Braddon,while in Bass,they close on Friday. However,as the sitting members,party rules allow Pearce and Archer to nominate after those dates.
A senior party source firmly rejected the prospect of Archer winning the seat as an independent,saying she stood little chance in what was a traditional Labor-Liberal contest.
Archer holds Bass on a tight 1.43 per cent margin,but received a 1.02 per cent swing toward her last election. Pearce holds his seat on an 8.03 per cent margin after a 4.94 per cent swing toward .
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A second Liberal MP said Pearce’s attempt to force out Archer – who has built a profile that rivals teal and other crossbench MPs – could backfire.
“I don’t think she should go. We are trying to win seats,not lose them. From what I have seen there isn’t anyone who would beat her at preselection,let alone at a poll. I suspect if we spit her out we lose the seat,” they said.
A third MP said while Archer sometimes irritated her colleagues with her independent-minded stances,she remained welcome in the party.
“Bridget has come unstuck a couple of times in terms of how she has handled things. Unlike Warren Entsch or Russell Broadbent,she hasn’t always handled things internally,” the MP said.
The stand-off over Archer’s seat and Pearce’s withholding of his nomination represents the latest intra-party conundrum for Dutton,who is weighing upcompeting interests in a frontbench reshuffle.
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