Western Metropolitan Liberal MPs Bernie Finn and Andrew Elsbury have ruled out contesting the newly formed seat of Sunbury at next year’s state election.
Speaking to the Weekly, both denied rumours they were looking to make the switch to the lower house.
Mr Finn, who lives in Bulla, said people had been asking him for months whether he would stand for the new seat, which is similar to the old seat of Tullamarine that he represented as MP from 1992-1999. He lost to Labor’s Liz Beattie in 1999 and the seat was later abolished.
“If I’m elected again I will be delighted to represent Sunbury in the upper house,” Mr Finn said.
‘‘I used to live in Sunbury; my children go to school there and I do a lot of things there.
“But I will not be contesting the new [lower house] seat of Sunbury.”
The seat, created in a recent redistribution, includes Diggers Rest.
Mr Elsbury, who lives in Werribee, said he had heard the rumours that he was considering contesting the Sunbury seat.
“At my electoral conference I announced I would be running for Western Metropolitan region again.”
The Weekly believes Mr Finn’s wife Cathy is considering standing for the Liberal party. She stood as the Liberal candidate for the seat of Yuroke in 2006. “If she is to run, she would be a first-class candidate,” Mr Finn said.
Sunbury resident Ben Collier, who withdrew as the Liberal candidate for the federal seat of McEwen for family reasons in April, said that he was considering his options.
Sunbury ALP branch president and former Hume young citizen of the year, Jamie Byron has confirmed he will stand for Labor Party preselection.
“The Labor party is, however, yet to open nominations for state seats and determine a preselection timetable,” he said.
