Conservative federal Liberal MP Craig Kelly has ruled out quitting his party and running as an independent if he loses preselection to recontest his Sydney seat.
Mr Kelly is facing a concerted push by moderate members of the Liberal Party who believe they have the numbers to blast him out of the seat of Hughes.
But he says he is "absolutely" confident of being re-endorsed as the Liberal candidate, and will stick with the Morrison government through to the next election.
"I certainly won't be defecting from the Liberal Party," Mr Kelly told ABC radio on Thursday.
John Ruddick, a former right-wing member of the NSW Liberal Party, believes Mr Kelly is guaranteed to lose the preselection battle.
Mr Ruddick is urging him to "bite the bullet" and sit as an independent.
But Mr Kelly says he has a contract with the people of Hughes.
"When I put my name on the ballot paper last year as a Liberal member, I entered into a contract to serve through this term as a Liberal member," he said.
"That is what I am proud to do, I will continue to do it."
Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke to Mr Kelly over the phone on Wednesday, who assured him he would not be moving to the cross bench.
"I wasn't considering the option that he was (moving) and that's never been the subject of our conversations," Mr Morrison told reporters when asked if he was relieved.
Julia Banks quit the Liberal Party earlier this week to sit as an independent, making the minority Morrison government's grip on power even more precarious.
Were Mr Kelly to defect to the crossbench, it would be a near-fatal body blow.
Labor frontbencher Chris Bowen said the coalition government had long-passed the tipping point of dysfunction and chaos.
"It's clear every day the lack of legislative agenda, the chaos, the lack of a clear plan for Australia, and they are just utterly and entirely focused on their own short-term survival," Mr Bowen said.
Meanwhile, Liberal Party federal president Nick Greiner has launched a "fighting fund" ahead of the election expected in May, which he described as a "tough contest".
"To prevail in our fight against the well-resourced Labor-union machine, I am asking you to become a founding donor to our 2019 Election Fighting Fund," he said in an email to supporters on Thursday.
