ACM reports:
"Andrew Constance has announced his intention to contest Liberal preselection for Gilmore again come the next Federal Election".
The reality is that Andrew Constance will need to get through pre-selection first which might be somewhat more difficult for him now that he doesn't have the nod of the ex-prime minister. Locals, on hearing the news that he plans to run again were surprised of his unfailing allegiance to the Liberal Party and the tatters that remain of their predominantly right wing cabal. "The bloke is more teal than that mob. Can't he afford his own campaign? Does he need the die hard Liberals to put out his signs and hand out how to vote cards" . Constance says he plans to put his efforts into the upcoming NSW State elections due in March 2023 and help the local south east Liberal candidates win. One wonders if they will roll out Fiona Kotvojs again as she appears to be the only candidate the Liberals have in the Bega seat. Meanwhile Linda Silmalis of the Sunday Telegraph reports “fresh gossip in Canberra this week” that Andrew Constance could be a nominee to fill the New South Wales Senate vacancy that will be created if rumours of Marise Payne’s imminent retirement come to pass. The Beagle had already raised the prospect that Jim Molan might retire once elected to the Senate as a NSW senator. That might still be on the cards. When a casual vacancy occurs in the Senate, on the resignation or death of a senator, a new senator is appointed by the parliament of the state which the former senator represented. If the state or territory parliament is not sitting, an appointment can be made by the Governor of the state ( or in the case of an Australian Capital Territory senator, the Governor-General, or the Administrator in the case of the Northern Territory) and the appointment is confirmed by the parliament when next it assembles.
In order that the Senate continue to preserve the representation of parties in the Senate as determined by the electors, the new senator must be of the same political party or group as the senator he is replacing. It is a matter of contention whether this means that the appointee must be the nominee of the political party or whether it suffices that he or she is a member of that party. source
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