news, act-politics

A leadership ticket of Alistair Coe and Andrew Wall is being pushed to head the shell-shocked Canberra Liberals after their election loss. Internal wrangling over the post-election leadership team is continuing within the party, although current leader Jeremy Hanson is yet to publicly state whether he will stand in a spill next week. Three sources have confirmed that the main ticket on offer is Mr Coe as leader and Mr Wall as deputy. That has prompted some consternation within the party, who fear it would be far too conservative for Canberra, and would place two men as leaders at a time of record female representation in the Legislative Assembly. "It is clear that the only ticket seems to be Coe and Wall, and there is dismay," one source said. Senator Zed Seselja publicly backed Mr Coe as the best standout alternative for leader this week, and the pair met at Parliament House on Tuesday, purportedly for a campaign debrief. Senator Seselja did not respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. Mr Wall was the shadow minister for industrial relations, corrections, disability, youth, and business and economic development in the last term. He was elected in 2012, and has been notable for his vigorous anti-union stance, repeatedly attacking the government over the existence of a memorandum of understanding with UnionsACT on procurement. The Liberal leadership is expected to be finalised at a party room meeting next week, once the final outcome of the election is known. The all-male leadership team has raised concern, particularly when as many as five women could be coming to the Assembly for the Liberals, accounting for about half its team. One senior Liberal source said it was a "ridiculous" proposition. "Not an ideal arrangement at all, there's always been a strong representation by women," he said. "To have two men is just ridiculous. I think it's quite unacceptable." Some Liberal members, including Brindabella's Nicole Lawder, are still locked in tight re-election battles, which may not be decided until Saturday morning. On Tuesday, former Liberals president Gary Kent criticised the performance of a number of Liberal members on ABC radio. Mr Kent singled out Vicki Dunne, saying she did not attract enough votes and should be axed. The party has appeared largely unified in opposition since early 2013, when a damaging split was caused by the preselection battle involving then-Senator Gary Humphries and Mr Seselja. There were disputed allegations that the preselection process was unfairly manipulated to favour Mr Seselja. That was eventually settled by a Divisional Council meeting of the party, which voted not to overturn Mr Seselja's preselection win. The in-fighting played out through the media, causing the party significant damage.

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