“The backlash from the moderates and the message that demoting her[Ruston] sends is greater than the benefit of appealing to conservative voters,” they said.
Antic’s preselection victory on the weekend means Ruston,a former cabinet minister and current spokeswoman for health,aged care and sport,has been relegated to second place on the ticket,with veteran senator David Fawcett punted down to third. It also raises questions,once again,about how serious the Liberal Party is about attracting more female candidates to the party.
There’s no chance Opposition Leader Peter Dutton will intervene. He doesn’t need to.
Ruston is almost certain to win another term in 2025 from the number two spot,but the move has still sparked deep anger in some quarters of the party.
“He has embarrassed a member of Dutton’s leadership team but not affected any real change other than to push Ruston down to two on the ticket,” the same SA Liberal said.
Coalition finance spokesperson Jane Hume,a Ruston ally,was one of the few Liberals to speak out on the preselection on Monday,describing the demotion of the “exceptionally good shadow minister” as a mistake.
Another Liberal colleague of Antic who also asked not to be named described the senator’s years of work to secure the top spot on the ticket as a “vanity project” and said,“people are furious with him,no one is talking to him”.
Liberal senators Anne Ruston (left) and Jane Hume.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
But a SA Liberal who is an Antic supporter said the backbench senator’s elevation showed “the Liberal Party[in the state] wants to see a more conservative,forward-facing approach”.
“The moderates whinge about getting more women into politics. They had a perfect chance,they could have backed[Antic ally] Leah Blyth rather than David Fawcett,but they didn’t.”
Antic’s move has some parallels with Labor powerbrokerDon Farrell claiming first place on the party’s SA Senate ticket at the expense of then-finance minister Penny Wong in 2012. But on that occasion,Anthony Albanese and other members of the party complained loudly and publicly,as the move was likely to cost Wong her seat,andFarrell stepped aside for Wong.
Loading
Antic and his key SA ally,MP Tony Pasin,are the leaders of a new generation of conservatives in the state and their influence has grown significantly in the division,as evidenced by Antic’s victory over Ruston,who is not a factional player.
Liberal moderateChristopher Pyne’s exit from politics,thedefeat of moderate premier Steven Marshall in the 2022 state election and moderate senator Simon Birmingham’s more hands-off approach to factional politics have helped create the space for Antic and Pasin’s influence to grow.
But while Antic’s elevation has created divisions in the Liberal Party,the first SA Liberal said it had not all gone the way of the conservatives.