Lawyer, Mayor, Ex-wife: Who Will Win Epping Seat?

Sun Herald

Sunday May 28, 2006

By ALEX MITCHELL STATE POLITICAL EDITOR

A POLICE commissioner's ex-wife, a leading member of the Catholic sect Opus Dei, a top barrister specialising in industrial relations, a mayor and a deputy mayor are just some of the candidates competing to win Liberal preselection for the blue-ribbon seat of Epping.

A Liberal Party official said 10 contenders had offered to succeed Andrew Tink, the former shadow attorney-general, who shocked the party when he announced last month he would not contest the next election.

Liberal Party leader Peter Debnam said yesterday: "I'm happy there is a Melbourne Cup field of very talented people. It means that we will end up with a quality candidate at the next election."

Adrienne Ryan, a councillor on Ku-ring-gai Council and ex-wife of the former police commissioner Peter Ryan, has submitted a nomination form backed by strong supporters in the Liberal hierarchy on the North Shore.

The flag-bearer for the party's hard right is likely to be solicitor Damien Tudehope, a morals campaigner, NSW spokesman for the Australian Family Association and NSW president of the National Civic Council, the body founded by the late Bob Santamaria.

A devotee of Opus Dei who attended Pope John Paul's funeral in Rome last year, Mr Tudehope's candidacy is being backed by the right's strongman, David Clarke, an Upper House MP.

The centre candidate will be barrister Arthur Moses, one of the city's leading industrial advocates who would give the Coalition front bench an authoritative voice on legal and constitutional issues.

Hornsby mayor Nick Berman and deputy mayor Felicity Findlay have also thrown their hats into the ring along with a local party activist and businessman, Andrew Isaac.

Pru Goward, the federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner, has ruled out nominating after her backers failed to receive the top-level encouragement they had hoped she would receive. She is now casting her eyes over possible federal seats.

© 2006 Sun Herald

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