Last modified on Fri 14 May 2021 16.02 EDT
Standing on a hill overlooking the sprawling maze of paddocks heâs worked all his 71 years, Ian Moore rattles off the names of Nationals MPs heâs supported in the Upper Hunter during his 50 years as a member of the party.
Col Fisher, the local MP for 18 years from 1970, lived just over the hill from Mooreâs farm in Jerrys Plains, a tiny village west of Singleton. Fisher was âan honourableâ man, he remembers. So too George Souris, who held the seat from 1988 until his retirement in 2015. âA gentleman,â Moore says.
More recently though? Of Michael Johnsen â who resigned in March in the wake of accusations he raped a sex worker in the Blue Mountains in 2019 â accusations he strenuously denies â the less said the better. And Dave Layzell, the candidate preselected to replace Johnsen at next Saturdayâs byelection? Well, heâs just not sure.
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On the fence of a hilltop home in the Upper Hunter, a local construction manager and father of four is smiling down reassuringly on the traffic below.
Itâs the cardboard face of Dave Layzell, the Nationals party candidate plucked to save the regional state electorate â and help manage the woes of Berejiklian minority government â in next weekâs make or break byelection.
Former Nationals candidate George Souris stands outside his home with poster for current candidate David Layzell.
Credit:Kate Geraghty
The fence line is prime real estate for Layzellâs campaign poster in the 13-horse race, bordering the federation home of the man who once held the seat for 27 years: George Souris.
Recent events must ‘raise questions’ about Turnbull’s status in the Liberal Party10/05/2021|3min
Sky News host Chris Kenny says a “remarkable turn of events” must “raise questions” about Malcolm Turnbull’s status in the Liberal Party.
It comes after the former prime minister faced criticism after he indorsed an independent candidate in the Upper Hunter by-election, as opposed to backing the Nationals Party for the seat.
The Berejiklian government would fall into minority if the Independent candidate Kirsty O Connell were to win the poll on May 22.
“That is about as obvious a case of being a political turncoat as you can get,” Mr Kenny said.
Malcolm Turnbull ‘wants to be expelled’ from the Liberal Party: John Barilaro10/05/2021|8min
NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro says Malcolm Turnbull “wants to be expelled” from the Liberal Party and he’s “looking for someone to blame”.
It comes after the former prime minister endorsed the independent candidate – Kirsty O’Connell – ahead of the Upper Hunter by-election rather than the Nationals, as well as taking aim at John Barilaro on Facebook.
On Mr Turnbull’s Facebook post, he said there is “not one person in New South Wales who has done more to destabilise and disrupt the Berejiklian government than Barilaro”.