Gladys Berejiklian says she is bound for the private sector and will not contest the federal seat of Warringah at the coming election, despite the urgings of Scott Morrison.
She resigned as premier in September after the Independent Commission Against Corruption revealed it was investigating whether or not she broke the law by failing to report a reasonable suspicion of corruption on the part of her ex-lover, the former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire.
Despite being caught up in an Icac investigation, federal Liberals were of the view Berejiklian would have a chance of unseating Steggall, the high-profile independent who defeated the former prime minister Tony Abbott in 2019.
A Guardian Essential poll published on Tuesday found NSW voters remained sympathetic to the former premier.
Berejiklian faced an Icac grilling in November. She has denied any wrongdoing. People close to the former premier say she never had any real interest in running in Warringah. Berejiklian and Morrison are not close.
The Liberal party is worried about a voter backlash in its metropolitan heartland. Independent candidates focused on achieving climate action and establishing a federal integrity commission will run against Liberal moderates in Wentworth, as well as in North Sydney, Mackellar, Goldstein and Flinders.
The independents contesting metropolitan Liberal-held seats are all professional women. Liberal believe it will be difficult to unseat Steggall in Warringah in the absence of a high-profile candidate.
