'People remember': Bradfield teal candidate bullish as Paul Fletcher steps aside
Coalition frontbencher Paul Fletcher is bowing out at the next election, three years after teal independent Nicolette Boele slashed 15% from his lead in Bradfield.
A teal candidate vying to claim another blue-ribbon Liberal seat says former prime minister Scott Morrison’s exit hasn’t quelled anti-major party anger, insisting that “people remember Peter Dutton as home affairs minister".
The Liberal Party’s moderate wing, which was decimated by the teal wave in 2022, suffered another blow on Tuesday with the announcement that frontbencher Paul Fletcher will not contest the next election.
Nicolette Boele, who could hold the balance of power immediately upon entering parliament, says she won’t commit to supporting a major party until after the election if she wins Fletcher’s seat of Bradfield.
In 2022, Fletcher suffered a massive 15.3% swing to Boele — the largest swing secured by any teal candidate — but managed to cling onto the northern Sydney seat with a 4.5% margin.
