Josh Frydenberg rules out - again - fresh tilt at politics
Josh Frydenberg has knocked down speculation he is yet again considering re-entering politics after the shape of his old seat of Kooyong changed drastically.
The Australian Electoral Commission released draft boundaries for the electorates in Victoria and WA on Friday.
The Labor-held seat of Higgins in eastern Melbourne is set to be abolished with the neighbouring electorates of Kooyong and Chisholm absorbing most of its voters.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Mr Frydenberg lost Kooyong to independent Monique Ryan in 2022 after a multimillion-dollar campaign.
The Liberals have since chosen 31-year-old Oxford-educated lawyer Amelia Hamer to run against Ms Ryan in the next election.
However, the new boundaries prompted fresh speculation and calls from some of his former colleagues for Mr Frydenberg to eye the seat once again.
In a statement on X, Mr Frydenberg laid that to rest on Monday.
“I am not rushing back to politics, my position on contesting the next election remains unchanged,” he wrote.
“I will continue to support the Liberal Party and our local candidate Amelia Hamer.”
Earlier on Monday, opposition frontbencher Jane Hume talked down rumours of re-opening preselections based on draft boundary changes.
“It would be a crazy thing to do,” the Victorian senator said.
“I know that there’s lots of people out there that would love to see Josh’s return, but Josh is a great supporter of women in Parliament, always has been, and I know he’s doing right by Amelia Hamer.”
The WA Liberals chose not to hold preselections for the seats likely to be affected by the redistribution until they saw the draft boundaries.
The party’s state council will meet on June 15 to set closing dates for nominations in seats expected to include Swan, Hasluck, Pearce and the new seat of Bullwinkel.
