Dutton loses Liberal preselection

Federal opposition frontbencher Peter Dutton believes his gender and outsider status
contributed to his preselection defeat in the federal Gold Coast seat of McPherson.
Mr Dutton lost out to industrial engineer Karen Andrews on Saturday in what the
Queensland Liberal National Party called "a win for democracy".
But the result is a minor disaster for the federal Liberal Party, which had wanted
to parachute Mr Dutton into McPherson after a redistribution made his Brisbane
electorate of Dickson a notionally Labor seat.
The opposition's health spokesman is regarded as a rising start of the party and a
potential future leader.
Mr Dutton said he was disappointed at the result.
"I'll now look at my options in terms of what comes next," Mr Dutton said through a
spokesman.
Mr Dutton believes preselectors showed a "strong desire" to replace the outgoing
member, Margaret May, with a woman and to choose someone who'd lived on the Gold
Coast "for a long time".
Mr Dutton lives northwest of Brisbane, in his Dickson electorate.
Ms Andrews is the chairwoman of the LNP's McPherson division.
Mr Dutton congratulated Ms Andrews on her victory, saying she'd be a strong
candidate at the next federal election.
Queensland Liberal National Party president Bruce McIver said Mr Dutton lost a close
battle.
"I think it was a win for democracy," he told AAP.
"It's a been a very popular decision down here at the coast."
But it won't be in Canberra.
Opposition Leader Malcolm Turnbull wasn't commenting on Saturday night, however
before the vote he stressed Mr Dutton was an important part of the future of the
federal Liberal Party.
Earlier this week, senior Liberal Tony Abbott said it was crucial preselectors in
McPherson realised "just what an important member of our frontbench team Peter
Dutton is".
It would be a "tragedy" to lose the former policeman from parliament, he added.
Mr McIver says he understands the concerns in Canberra.
"We're all very disappointed that at this stage we haven't been able to find a seat
for Peter Dutton," he said.
"But I'm sure he'll rise up somewhere else.
"He's a quality man, a quality candidate and we need Peter Duttons in parliament."
Ms May held the seat of McPherson for the Liberal Party with a margin of 8.6 per
cent at the last federal election.
Conversely, Mr Dutton held Dickson by just 217 votes.
Under the Australian Electoral Commission redistribution, his seat has a notional
Labor margin of 1.3 per cent.