This morning, Prime Minister Scott Morrison cancelled a Sydney press conference after it was gatecrashed by independent Kerryn Phelps.
The independent candidate for the highly contested seat of Wentworth showed up at a café where the Prime Minister and Wenworth’s Liberal candidate Dace Sharma were set to address reporters before the vote on October 20.
Reporters told Dr Phelps that they were “expecting the Prime Minister” and that “we didn’t realise you were popping in”.
Dr Phelps was recently criticised by Liberals after hiring Darrin Barnett, a Labor campaigner, to assist with her election campaign.
Dr Phleps told voters on Sunday to “Put the Liberals last” but revealed that she had changed her mind during today’s gatecrashing, saying that she would preference the Liberals before Labor.
She said that if she had any intentions to support Labor she “would have stood for pre-selection”.
While Dr Phelps spoke to reporters, Mr Sharma stood awkwardly inside the cafe, and then promptly left. Scott Morrison never showed up.
The seat is held by the Liberals on a 17.7% margin; however, the Government is predicted to face a severe backlash at the voting booth.
Primarily, analysts believe Australian voters are disillusioned with the Liberal/National Coalition Government after last month’s leadership crisis where Malcolm Turnbull was replaced by Scott Morrison as Prime Minister.
Malcolm Turnbull’s ousting and subsequent resignation from Parliament triggered the Wentworth by-election.
Samantha Rigby