‘It’s a grey wash’: Liberals frustrated over preselections in NSW and Victoria

Natalie Ward, the most senior woman in the NSW Liberals, lost a preselection battle under the so-called Warringah rules. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

Senior figures in the New South Wales Liberal party are increasingly frustrated that its own membership may hobble its chances of re-election, after another woman lost a preselection contest under rules introduced with the backing of the former prime minister Tony Abbott.

On Monday night the state’s roads minister, Natalie Ward, lost a preselection battle for the ultra-safe seat of Davidson to a former Mike Baird staffer, Matt Cross, by 85 votes to 95, under NSW’s one-member-one-vote rules.