Liberal MP Ann Sudmalis will reportedly face a Liberal preselection battle in her seat of Gilmore in New South Wales, despite public support from high-profile ministers in the Turnbull government.
The MP’s position was considered relatively safe after cabinet ministers publically backed their colleague earlier in the month, amid mounting criticism over the number of women in government ranks.
Prime minister Malcolm Turnbull called his colleague “persistent” and “persuasive”, while the treasurer Scott Morrison said Ms Sudmalis was in the “warm embrace” of the government.
But Ms Sudmalis’ local rival, real estate agent Grant Schultz, is reportedly pressing ahead with his plan to nominate.
Weeks earlier, the preselection dumping of Jane Prentice from a Queensland seat reignited debate over female representation.
Fellow Coalition Queenslander, Michelle Landry, said she was "totally appalled" at Ms Prentice's dumping.
"We've hardly got any federal females in Queensland in the government and one has been pushed aside by a young male," she told the ABC at the time.
Senator Lucy Gichuhi could also lose her seat in the Senate.
The senator, who only recently joined the Liberals, may be placed in the unwinnable fourth position on the party’s South Australian ticket below an Adelaide City councillor.
It is understood the Liberal party is vetting written applications before formalising a list of nominees for preselection in its NSW seats.
