Former Wentworth MP Dave Sharma pulls off surprise victory for Liberal Senate vacancy
- Written by Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
The former member for Wentworth, Dave Sharma, has won the Liberal Senate spot left by the retirement of the former Foreign Minister Maris Payne.
He beat former NSW minister Andrew Constance 251 to 206 in the final ballot on Sunday. His selection was a surprise, with Constance earlier tipped the likely winner. Both Sharma and Constance are moderates, as was Payne.
Sharma (who is not Jewish) is a one-time Australian ambassador to Israel, and his selection will be particularly welcomed by many in the Jewish community. He has been strongly supportive of Israel in his many media appearances since the October 7 Hamas attack.
Liberal MP Julian Leeser, who is Jewish, said: “Dave Sharma has a strong understanding of the need for Australia to stand with like-minded liberal democracies around the world.
"He has been a strong voice against antisemitism and I believe he will be extremely effective in exposing the extremist-Greens and the antisemitism they are feeding across Australia. He will be a welcome addition to Peter Dutton’s team.”
Opposition leader Dutton said: “His diplomatic and foreign policy expertise and experience will lend considerable weight and wisdom to the public policy debate given the precarious circumstances in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific.
"Dave will speak with moral courage and provide moral clarity as we grapple with unprecedented levels of antisemitism on our own shores.”
Sharma held the seat of Wentworth from 2019 to 2022, when he was defeated by teal independent Allegra Spender.
Sunday’s 10-candidate field included former ACT senator Zed Seselja, a hard-line conservative, who was defeated by independent David Pocock at the last election.
Liberal deputy leader Sussan Ley said Sharma’s “keen foreign policy intellect will be particularly welcome given we are in the most dangerous set of geopolitical circumstances since the second world war.
"Over the past 20 years, Dave has sat in the Oval Office with American presidents, helped to broker international peace agreements and has first-hand experience on-the-ground in Israel as a former ambassador – all vital experiences which put him in good stead to make a lofty contribution as a senator for New South Wales.”
Authors: Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra