This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Scott Morrison has rallied behind Ann Sudmalis, who is at risk of losing preselection for her seat, claiming she saved the Liberal party from losing government at the last election.

Sudmalis is facing a tough preselection challenge from a local businessman after she reportedly fell out with a key New South Wales Liberal power broker.

Morrison, standing in front of the Shoalhaven river bridge project in Sudmalis’s Gilmore south coast electorate – a spot nicknamed the “bridge over troubled waters” on social media – made a show of hugging Sudmalis and declaring her the government’s 2016 saviour.

“Ann has demonstrated she is the right candidate here,” he said, pulling her close.

“She has won this seat in a tough contest. If it wasn’t for Ann at the last election, Bill Shorten would now be prime minister. Let me say that again. If Ann Sudmalis had not been successful here as the Liberal party candidate, Bill Shorten would now be prime minister. Now if there’s any better reason that local Liberals need to understand why it’s important, then that’s one.”

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Jane Prentice’s preselection loss, as one of the few female representatives in the Liberal National party, as well as one of only 20% of women federal MPs within the wider Liberal party, opened up a gender gap Pandora’s box for the Turnbull government.

With crossbencher-turned-Liberal senator Lucy Gichuhi in danger of being relegated to the unwinnable fourth Senate ticket spot for South Australia, reports Victorian senator Jane Hume will also lose her spot, and now Sudmalis under threat, the Liberals have been forced to address questions about the ways the party encourages diversity.

The fallback line continues to be the party is a “democratic, grassroots, political organisation”, but talk of an intervention to save Western Australian lower house MP Ian Goodenough from a hostile dumping could undermine that.

Malcolm Turnbull, who backed Prentice in her unsuccessful bid to keep her candidacy, said Sudmalis was a “phenomenal” member who deserved to stay on.

Jane Prentice's dumping infuriates Liberal women: 'We need to do better' Read more

“She is an outstanding member, she has delivered and is continuing delivering for her community,” he said.

Sudmalis agreed. “I’ve been doing a damn good job and there shouldn’t be any reason to change the jockey on the horse,” she said as her message to preselectors.

The government preselections have turned focus away from the upcoming “super Saturday” byelections, which are still to be given a date.

The Liberal party won’t have a candidate in the Longman byelection until Tuesday night. The frontrunner, former Newman government MP Trevor Ruthenberg, is waiting on confirmation his birth in Papua New Guinea has not left him open to dual citizen concerns.

Of the three byelections the Liberals are contesting, just one woman, Georgina Downer, has been selected. Brett Whiteley, one of the Tasmanian Liberals’ “three amigos” to lose his seat at the last election, has been endorsed to run in Braddon.

The earliest the byelections can now be held is 23 June.