Former Liberal member for Wentworth Dave Sharma has won preselection for the New South Wales Liberal Senate spot made vacant by the resignation of former foreign affairs minister Marise Payne.
Mr Sharma defeated former Morrison government minister Zed Seselja who lost his ACT Senate seat at the 2022 federal election and former NSW transport minister Andrew Constance at a contest determined by senior party members on Sunday.
The final vote was between Mr Sharma and Mr Constance, who was defeated in the final ballot 251-206. Mr Seselja finished third.
Mr Constance was endorsed by opposition leader Peter Dutton, who welcomed Mr Sharma’s preselection in a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday.
The Liberal leader said Mr Sharma’s return to the senate came at “crucial time given events at home and abroad”.
“(Mr Sharma’s) diplomatic and foreign policy experience will lend considerable weight and wisdom to the public policy debate,” Mr Dutton said.
“Dave will speak with moral courage and provide moral clarity as we grapple with un-precedented levels of anti-Semitism on our shores.
“He will be a voice in the senate to help hold senators from the Greens and others to account for their rank anti-Semitism and shameful moral equivalence.
“I look forward to Dave joining the Liberal Party Senate team, and I thank our brilliant candidates who ran for pre-selection.”
After losing his seat at the 2022 election to teal independent Allegra Spender, Mr Sharma worked for SWG capital, a corporate advisory and principal investment firm, based in Sydney.
Prior to serving as a member of parliament, Mr Sharma was an Australian ambassador and diplomat, serving in Israel, Washington DC and Papua New Guinea.