A long-serving Liberal MP has been shunned by party members and will be ousted from the NSW lower house after losing a preselection challenge.
Holsworthy MP and cabinet prospect Melanie Gibbons was defeated by Tina Ayyad who won the preselection 24 votes to 12.
Ms Ayyad, the wife of Liverpool Mayor Ned Mannoun, will now contest the marginal seat for the Liberals at the state election in March.
Ms Gibbons was encouraged to run for the federal seat of Hughes by the former prime minister Scott Morrison.
However, she was convinced by Premier Dominic Perrottet to give up her Canberra aspirations in order to recontest Holsworthy.
She had been promised a cabinet position in return.
When asked if Ms Gibbons had been treated badly by the party, Mr Perrottet said the Liberals would "work through" the issue.
"There's no doubt Melanie Gibbons is a great local member, she's a great member of our team and has a very bright future in the parliament serving the people of NSW," he said today.
"My expectation is that the NSW Liberal Party will resolve the matter."
The ABC understands one option could be for Ms Gibbons to move to the upper house.
Ms Gibbons has served in state parliament since 2011 and became the first member for Holsworthy in 2015, after a redistribution.
The ousting continues to highlight the battles the Liberals face in female representation as party leaders push for more women, particularly in senior positions.
Earlier this week, Treasurer Matt Kean urged party members to preselect more women.
There are three Liberal women in Mr Perrottet's cabinet, while 10 out of the 33 Liberals in the lower house are female.
