LNP revolt against Dutton
Karen Andrews won her seat in parliament after a bitter battle against Peter Dutton
Karen Andrews’ decision to quit parliament came as a shock to many this week.
Her Canberra career will come to an end after more than 14 years once the next election rolls around in 2025, with the LNP now set to choose her successor.
The 62-year-old will remain on the backbench until the election.
In her retirement announcement, Ms Andrews paid tribute to family, friends and colleagues, including Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.
The relationship between the pair hasn’t always been so strong, with both facing off in one of the Gold Coast’s most bitter pre-selection battles.
Ms Andrews’ safe seat of Mcpherson covers the southern Gold Coast and has been held by the Coalition for virtually its entire existence.
In 2009, long-time incumbent Liberal Party MP Margaret May decided to retire after 11 years in power.
Enter Mr Dutton, who had represented the marginal Brisbane seat of Dickson since 2001.
The margins of Dickson were redrawn ahead of the 2010 election in a way which made it “unwinnable”.
Labor was in government at the time under the popular Kevin Rudd, whose poll numbers were at stratospheric proportions.
Fearing the loss of his seat, Mr Dutton announced he would attempt to parachute into Mcpherson to ensure he would remain in parliament.
However, the announcement sparked a furious reaction from Gold Coast conservatives, who were outraged a Brisbane MP would attempt to take over a local seat.
An LNP source told the Bulletin in August 2009: “There is that perception that Mr Dutton is walking away from a fight and in the same breath is telling the ALP that the next federal election is already lost.”
Several prominent members of the party rallied their forces to defeat Mr Dutton, with some even threatening to resign from the party if he was successful.
Former Burleigh MP Judy Gamin was among those who actively battled the move, writing LNP president Bruce Mciver a scathing letter.
“There is universal disapproval of Mr Dutton’s ‘ dumping’ of Dickson, and really strong antipathy to executive endorsement of Mcpherson rather than the standard selection committee process,’’ the late Mrs Gamin wrote.
“There is no indication to voters in general, or to party members in particular, that Peter Dutton has any special leadership attributes.”
Mr Dutton told The Bulletin at the time he would move to the Gold Coast if he won the nomination. “We would want to get settled before the school year so if I’m pre-selected we would buy or rent while we build a place so we will have a home in Mcpherson,’’ he said.
“It would be good for the Gold Coast to have a senior member of the shadow cabinet as their local representative and somebody who would be a minister if we are elected.”
The final candidates for the seat were Wayne Black, Minna Knight, Ms Andrews and Mr Dutton.
Mr Dutton was endorsed by both John Howard and Malcolm Turnbull, while Gold Coast LNP members, including then-currumbin MP Jann
Stuckey, manoeuvred to deny him the seat.
Ms Stuckey hatched a plan with Ms Andrews and Ms Knight to ensure that the
voting bloc behind the first candidate to be eliminated would swing to the last remaining woman.
Ms Andrews defeated Mr
Dutton, who initially planned to retire before returning to Dickson, which he won in 2010 after Labor dropped Mr Rudd as PM in favour of Julia Gillard.