They seek to insert race into the heart of our most important democratic document, the Constitution,” he said. Keith Wolahan, 43, defeated Andrews, 65, who held a number of portfolios in the Howard and Abbott governments, by 181 to 111 for the blue ribbon Victorian seat of Menzies, which Andrews has occupied since he won it at a byelection in 1991. Andrews lost the local party ballot by a 181-111 margin to Keith Wolahan, a barrister and former army officer. And how could that possibly occur? Mr Andrews, 65, is being strongly backed by Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar’s conservative faction, which includes Victoria’s most senior Liberal – the Treasurer. He has also endorsed Mr Andrews and is a key member of his support team. This was the first time in decades that a federal member has lost a preselection ballot in Victoria. He is a star in the making." The former chief-of-staff to Tony Abbott has emerged as a popular figure in Victorian conservative politics after she used her media platform to go toe-to-toe with Premier Daniel Andrews in press conferences viewed by large numbers of Victorians during the state’s second wave of COVID-19 infections. “Today the Liberal Party in the seat of Menzies has started a new chapter, and selected a new candidate in Keith Wolahan,” Mr Frydenberg said. It is the right of members to obviously challenge a sitting member, it was something I did myself, and Keith Wolahan, his opponent, is respected as a lawyer, a soldier and as a party member. Keith Wolahan, the ex-commando who unseated Liberal Party stalwart Kevin Andrews, insists he's 'not a moderate' No regrets for Australian investor who missed $1b GameStop windfall. Katharine Murphy talks with former special forces captain and barrister Keith Wolahan after he unseated veteran Liberal MP Kevin Andrews in a party preselection Former cabinet minister Kevin Andrews will on Sunday be challenged by army veteran and barrister Keith Wolahan for the prized Liberal seat of Menzies in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. Party operatives with knowledge of the group of voters predict a tight race that could be determined by non-rusted on voters who make up their mind on the day. OPINION: A video recording of a talk given to the Samuel Griffith Society in 2017 shows Wolahan lay out his opposition for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. “He will be picking the Dorothy Dixers for Kevin and the attacking questions against Keith. “Identity politics is more than just unfair and counter to our Western values and traditions of liberty and individualism,” he said. The operator of California's electric grid is asking residents whose health permits to conserve energy Monday evening to ease stress on the grid in other parts of the West. The factional wheeling and dealing continues in the Victorian Liberal Party, with tonight's annual general meeting of the Menzies branch set to go off. Mr Andrews and Mr Sukkar were cleared of wrongdoing by a departmental review. Changing the guard? Former Defence Minister Kevin Andrews (L), with then-prime minister Tony Abbott in 2015 announcing preparation for a troop deployment to Iraq. Both camps are expressing confidence ahead of the ballot of 300 local members in Ivanhoe. And it is capable of being shockingly destructive to our democracy and to our society.”. The new Liberal candidate for the blue ribbon seat of Menzies insists he is not a moderate after dethroning a conservative colleague. Former Special Forces captain and Cambridge-trained attorney Keith Wolahan overthrew the 65-year-old Social Conservative in a vote to vote on the party’s candidate for Menzies’ blue ribbon seat in Melbourne on Sunday After the preselection decision, Mr. Wolahan stood next to Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and said it was a vote “for the future” He also praised Mr Andrews’s service. It is why the Treasurer and Mr Sukkar have rallied support for Mr Andrews, who is backed by a host of federal MPs including Greg Hunt and Peter Dutton and influential columnists Peta Credlin and Andrew Bolt. And where would the boundary be drawn?,” Wolahan said. Former SAS commando and barrister Keith Wolahan … Keith Wolahan (centre) in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in February 2010. He denied any suggestions of branch stacking, but said around 20 former ADF colleagues were waiting outside the party room as he emerged as the victor. Mr Wolahan won Sunday's vote of Liberal Party members by a clear margin of 181 to 111, including a "handful" of votes cast by Australian Defence Force (ADF) veterans. "Kevin can leave parliament at the next election with his head held high for everything that he's achieved, but I do welcome Keith Wolahan," Mr O'Brien told reporters in Melbourne. Former operative Marcus Bastiaan, who resigned after The Age’s report, allegedly directed Mr Andrews’ staff to carry out party political work, which is not allowed in work time under federal laws. Nominations for preselections closed on Wednesday afternoon. In a video recording of a talk given to the Samuel Griffith Society in 2017, Wolahan lays out his opposition to calls for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament and calls instead for “minimalist” reforms that “removes race from the Constitution”. He arrived in Australian as a youngster, studied hard to become a barrister and works in Victoria. Keith Wolahan (centre) in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in February 2010. Keith Wolahan is the endorsed Liberal Party candidate for Menzies at the next federal election. The challenger, Keith Wolahan is a young barrister of Irish background born in Dublin. The colossal challenges of this year have strengthened my resolve,” wrote Mr Wolahan, who has not sought high-profile endorsements and has relied on the support of local community members. Ms Credlin headlined an event with Mr Andrews on Sunday and some local members believe her support could prove significant. When he told a story he traced the fold in a tablecloth with his forefinger just like you. “I put my hand up to serve because I felt we needed to renew. The vote, first scheduled in March last year but postponed due to pandemic restrictions, takes place under the pall of months of internal feuding over an audit into branch stacking in the Victorian Liberal Party. “Kevin Andrews is an enthusiastic, hard working and dedicated member of the government. https://t.co/Bv59bJPkTv. (Facebook), other issues relating to and affecting First Nations' people. The video also reveals how Wolahan’s run for pre-selection had been in the works since 2017 with the support of the Samuel Griffith Society, a group that has fiercely opposed Aboriginal Land Rights and other issues relating to and affecting First Nations' people. “I do support the establishment of local and regional bodies to enable Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to have a genuine say in the design and delivery of policies, programs and services that affect them.”. In a sign of potential nastiness during the preselection event, where candidates give speeches and take questions, a senior party operative questioned whether the person chairing the event would act impartially. ", "I saw an old man, Mother. Kevin Andrews will have to defend his seat from a challenge by a former soldier. “The form of identity politics being practised in the United States is not reducing racism. Inside the battle for prize Liberal seat of Menzies. The speech begins with Wolahan recounting his time at Melbourne University when he experienced “abuse” for arguing that John Howard should not apologise to Indigenous Australians. “The video makes very clear there were people working away for a long time to get someone into Menzies who had a view on this issue,” Dr Kelly says. The timing of the Menzies preselection has itself been the cause of infighting and there is anger among Mr Sukkar’s conservative group about the current leadership of the organisational wing of the party and its president, Mr Clark. Long-time politician and outright opponent of the rights of LGBTQI communities, Victorian Liberal MP Kevin Andrews has lost his bid for preselection in the Federal seat of Menzies in Melbourne’s north east to opponent Keith Wolahan.. A member of the Australian Parliament since 1991, Andrews was defeated by Wolahan 181 votes to 111, despite a number of Liberal party insiders expecting a … Wolahan, a Cambridge graduate who saw service with the ADF in Afghanistan as a special forces officer, defeated Kevin Andrews, who has held the seat since replacing our very own Neil Brown in a by-election back in May 1991. After quoting an article describing the violence in Charlottesville as “the logical consequence of the politics of identity”, Wolahan delivers a stark warning. How did Keith Wolahan defeat Kevin Andrews in the battle for Menzies? “The time to make a difference is finally upon us. “I am making a difference for the people of Menzies and Australia,” Mr Andrews wrote in a campaign flyer, which included endorsements from John Howard, Tony Abbott and Mathias Cormann. "Keith is going to be part of the regeneration of the Victorian Liberal Party. Melbourne barrister Keith Wolahan has submitted his nomination for the Menzies electorate in an attempt to overthrow Mr Andrews, as internal tensions reverberate throughout the Victorian Liberal Party. ", Former soldier turned barrister Keith Wolahan, defeated veteran Victorian Liberal MP Kevin Andrews in a preselection ballot of members. This was a party insider describing Keith Wolahan, who recently wiped the floor with Kevin Andrews in preselection for the federal seat of Menzies. Yes it does,” acknowledged one senior party figure. Credit: Penny Stephens Quizzed on a range of subjects on Melbourne radio on Monday, he revealed he believed the invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition in 2003, which included Australia, was a “mistake”. Dr Dominic Kelly, an honorary research fellow in politics from Latrobe University says this is significant as the group has sought to emulate the influence of organisations like The Federalist Society in US politics, an American organisation who advocates conservative legal issues and has become powerful by supplying the Republican Party with names of candidates it endorses to be appointed to US courts. OPINION: For racism to have consequences, people need to rise up, OPINION - "We, the people, will have to lead the way, governments will not, and as they are failing to address racism in this country, we cannot, and will not, stand for it any longer. OPINION - "We, the people, will have to lead the way, governments will not, and as they are failing to address racism in this country, we cannot, and will not, stand for it any longer.". This is an indicator that Australians should look to different approaches to talking about and eliminating racism,” he said. How is that fair?“. In 1990 future ministers Peter Costello and David Kemp won preselection battles against sitting members in the safe Liberal seats of Higgins and Goldstein. Here in Australia, the Samuel Griffith Society is not as influential, but has long been aggressively opposed to meaningful reform in Indigenous rights issues. Liberals close to Mr Andrews labelled the concerns as “ridiculous” and insisted the preselection would be run by the book but tempers are flaring and the stakes are high. Conservative Liberal stalwart Kevin Andrews has been ousted by local party members after nearly 30 years in federal parliament, losing preselection for his Victorian seat of Menzies in a landslide to former special forces captain and barrister Keith ­Wolahan. Mr Andrews, 65, is being strongly backed by Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar’s conservative faction, which includes Victoria’s most senior Liberal – the Treasurer. Party rules mean any member who speaks to the media could face expulsion. From that point, Dr Kelly says, Indigenous rights — especially demands for constitutional reform — has been a “bugbear” for the group. In a letter to members he said he was “shattered” by the findings of the inquiry and said it highlighted the need for politicians to engage in wars judiciously. One of those staffers, who helped recruit Mormons in a period when many were joining the party, is facing expulsion from the party. The Brereton report contains no allegations or adverse findings against Mr Wolahan or the platoon he commanded. Party sources said only a handful of members deemed illegitimate were eligible to vote in Menzies, meaning the audit is unlikely to have a practical effect on the outcome. Keith Wolahan, 43, defeated Andrews, 65, who held a number of portfolios in the Howard and Abbott governments, by 181 to 111 for the blue ribbon Victorian seat of … Although Keith Wolahan comes across as a nice guy, he has not been seen to kick goals with the leadership roles he’s held in the party. Those members will be weighing up Mr Andrews’ three decades of work in Parliament – where he has championed conservative causes by opposing abortion medication and voluntary euthanasia laws – against the military and legal career of Mr Wolahan, a Cambridge-educated young father. Mr Wolahan moved to address his association with the special forces following the war crimes inquiry that last year uncovered almost 40 alleged murders by Australians in Afghanistan. Paul is a Victorian political reporter for The Age. He said Mr Wolahan had served Australia “with distinction”, having completed three tours of Afghanistan in the Defence Force. A group of 40 Indigenous leaders have come together to discuss their "disappointment" in how the government has handled the Indigenous voice to parliament and offer a way forward. He then briefly refers to the white supremacist rally that took place in August 2017 in the US city of Charlottesville, which saw a white nationalist deliberately drive his car into counter-protesters, injuring 19 and tragically killing a 32-year-old paralegal. “As a first-year university student, I thought that it was wrong to demand that John Howard apologise when he did not believe in it,” Wolahan said. Labor probably has a similar number. The Liberal Party currently holds the seat by a seven-point margin, making it a stronghold for the Coalition and a sure thing at the next election. In 2006 Mr Frydenberg challenged the incumbent Petro Georgiou for Kooyong but lost. Keith Wolahan (centre) in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in February 2010. Mr Frydenberg, who was the last person to challenge a sitting federal Liberal MP, spoke in support of Mr Andrews at an event this month and Mr Sukkar has been lobbying strongly, according to several party sources. Is a court to define that? Andrew Asten, the chair of the Menzies branch, will run the Sunday ballot. Calls for a body similar to The Voice at state or federal level are not new. Mr Wolahan, 43, is supported by the moderate group in the party that counts state Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien among its cohort. Wolahan did not directly respond to NITV’s question about what he meant when he said identity politics would open a “Pandora’s box”, but did say he was concerned about events in the US. “The substantive radical reforms proposed by the Recognition Council in effect seek to give identity politics a dangerous shot of status and legitimacy. “I thought the ultimate apology given by Prime Minister Rudd was sincere and a historic moment to celebrate.”. More than a dozen Liberals spoken to for this story did so on the condition of anonymity. A review, which last month found evidence of 170 illegitimate members, was launched after The Age reported Mr Andrews’ office was the operational hub of the faction run by Mr Sukkar. – Australian politics podcast In the first episode of the Australian politics podcast for 2021, Katharine Murphy talks with former special forces captain and barrister Keith Wolahan after he unseated veteran Liberal MP Kevin Andrews in a party preselection. He was the candidate of the faction associated with president Robert … Credit:Andrew Meares. California Department of Parks and Recreation manages more than 280 park units, which contain the finest and most diverse collection of natural, cultural, and recreational resources to … The longest currently serving MP in the federal parliament has been overlooked by Liberal colleagues in a preselection battle. One Liberal source said losing Mr Andrews, who is well-known in the religious community, would diminish the party’s support among Catholic voters. If successful, the Afghanistan veteran will be the first person to oust a sitting federal Liberal in Victoria since 1990. Former Defence Minister Kevin Andrews (L), with then-prime minister Tony Abbott in 2015 announcing preparation for a troop deployment to Iraq. Kevin Andrews and Keith Wolahan (Images: AAP, YouTube) After almost 30 years in parliament, capital-C Catholic conservative Kevin Andrews … “It opens a Pandora’s box. His win has huge significance within the Victorian Liberals. Former Nationals Senator John Stone founded the organisation in 1992 to promote a states’ rights agenda, but within four months of starting up, the Mabo decision was handed down, upending the constitutional basis of the Australian legal system. Prime Minister Scott Morrison wrote a letter to local members urging a vote for Mr Andrews, who he said brought “unrivalled expertise” to Canberra. And on the subject of constitutional recognition of Indigenous people at least, Wolahan certainly is no moderate. He was defeated by commando-turned-barrister Keith Wolahan at a preselection ballot of members. The ousting of Andrews makes him the first Victorian Liberal party candidate to be turfed by party members in over two decades. Later he adds, “The Recognition Council’s decision was wrong and should be rejected for several reasons.”, Elsewhere, Wolahan describes calls to establish The Voice — a constitutionally-protected representative body for Indigenous people in federal parliament — as “a sharp departure from the trajectory of Indigenous Constitutional recognition”, warning that it “enables future activism.”. An Indigenous Voice to Parliament would ensure Indigenous people have a say on issues that affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. "I was the only one in the class with that view.". “It shows how the organisation is intent on ensuring that the Liberal Party holds the line on conservative issues.”, “But these guys are not just interested in parliament, they’re interested in the courts as well.”, - Royce Kurmelovs is an Australian freelance journalist and author of works such as The Death of Holden (2016) and Just Money (2020), OPINION: For racism to have consequences, people need to rise up The MP, who has indicated to local members he will retire in the next term of Parliament, has outlined a fresh five-year plan. “I’ve never seen a chair also be a person who supports one of the candidates,” said the source. During the rest of the talk, Wolahan goes on to rubbish the official endorsement given to the Uluru Statement From The Heart as “wrong” and an extension of divisive identity politics. Former special forces captain and Cambridge-educated barrister Keith Wolahan toppled the 65-year-old parliamentarian in a vote to decide the party’s candidate for the sought-after Melbourne seat of Menzies on Sunday afternoon. The saga is unlikely to weigh heavily on voters’ decision-making, either, because Mr Wolahan has refrained from using the issue as a political weapon. “I do not support inserting into the Constitution provisions for the establishment of an Indigenous representative body,” he said. When contacted for comment, Wolahan told NITV he “abhors racism in all its forms” and that he only supported changes to the Constitution that would “remove race”. A former special forces captain’s bid to unseat one of the Liberal Party’s longest-serving federal MPs is on a knife-edge in a contest that will test Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s authority. An ally of Mr Andrews, who predicted a win for the incumbent, said a win for Mr Wolahan would reflect what he said was Mr Andrews’ lack of work in recruiting members to shore up his local support. “He’s simply not good at internal politics and everyone else, including Keith since 2008, has been signing up members,” the source said. If the party has only about 300 members (0.3 per cent of voters) in a stronghold seat it means nationwide the party has only 35,000 to 40,000 members. There have only been nine Indigenous MP’s elected to federal office since Federation, the first being Neville Bonner in 1972. “I had just left a politics tutorial at Melbourne University and was feeling bruised at the abuse hurled at me because I dared not agree with the proposal for the Prime Minister to say 'sorry' to Indigenous Australians," he said. “This body would form a representative function to parliament based on the sole criteria; criteria of Indigeneity — whatever that means — and the corollary issue of how that is to be defined. “Does it look weak for Josh if Kevin loses? After defeating Liberal MP Kevin Andrews in the preselection contest for Menzies, Keith Wolahan has dismissed "inaccurate" factional labelling of himself and the Victorian Liberal Party. The Menzies vote is the first test of the two factions’ power and sway in the party as members have been unable to meet since before the pandemic and will give an indication of whether the Sukkar forces can topple the party’s president, former state MP Robert Clark, in internal elections later this year. Former SAS commando Keith Wolahan has ousted sitting member Kevin Andrews in the Liberal preselection in the seat of Menzies. His loss to barrister and armed forces veteran Keith Wolahan by 181 votes to 111 votes in Sunday’s contest was an embarrassment for the party’s conservative faction … Keith Wolahan, the ex-commando who unseated Liberal Party stalwart Kevin Andrews, insists he's 'not a moderate' Why Grant Denyer decided to try I'm A Celeb … Wolahan’s victory is a defining event for the Victorian Liberal Party. Last week it was announced the 43-year-old former SAS soldier and barrister, Keith Wolahan, will replace conservative Liberal party stalwart Kevin Andrews after winning a long-running preselection battle to represent the Victorian electorate of Menzies, which covers the north-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. “This is important because it divides Australians into categories, into identities.”. The tone of those supporting the incumbent is contrasted with that of Mr Wolahan, who – without overtly critiquing Mr Andrews – is urging a vote for the future. Michael Sukkar and Kevin Andrews.Credit:Jesse Marlow, Alex Ellinghausen. He also said he did not oppose an apology to Indigenous Australians. While party leadership has framed the coup as a “changing of the guard”, conservatives have been left wondering what their new representative stands for.
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