The NSW Liberal Party has endorsed Hunter nurse and City of Newcastle councillor Katrina Wark as their candidate in Newcastle, after almost a week's wait following their federal executive's appointment of Scott Morrison, Dominic Perrottet and former party president Christine McDiven to take charge of outstanding preselections.
As the Newcastle Herald reported Saturday, Brooke Vitnell and Nell McGill were preselected unopposed last year in Paterson and Shortland and both have been campaigning for months with high-profile help from cabinet ministers and the Prime Minister himself.
A decision on the party's Newcastle candidate, facing the unenviable task of ousting incumbent Newcastle MP Sharon Claydon from an historically safe Labor seat, was expected Friday night and eventually arrived Saturday.
In a statement, the Liberals said Cr Wark "will help to ensure a prosperous future for Newcastle by helping the Morrison Government to deliver a stronger economy and a more secure Australia in these uncertain times."
"I have always sought to give back to this community, and be a strong voice for the infrastructure, amenities and services that we need and deserve," Cr Wark said, "By running for the federal seat of Newcastle I will help to make sure that we secure investment in our future under the Government's economic recovery plan."
Cr Wark, a registered nurse for Hunter New England Health, was born at Waratah and with her husband Professor Peter Wark - a respiratory specialist - has raised seven children in Newcastle.
In 2017, she established the Newcastle Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to raise funds for local patients, and since 2019 has also been helping cystic fibrosis patients in the Hunter New England area to participate in Grant-a-Wish activities.
Cr Wark was last endorsed in 2019 to contest the seat of Newcastle and took 29.21 per cent of the vote ahead of third-placed Greens candidate and fellow City of Newcastle councillor John Mackenzie (15.56 per cent). Cr Wark took 36.17 per cent of the two-party-preferred poll in the same year, a slight swing away from Labor (0.01 percent).
"I am an incredibly proud Novocastrian, having watched this place grow from smelter and wool sheds to a bright modern metropolis," Cr Wark said.
"I have seen the impact that COVID has had on the local community and businesses, and I know that we need someone who can be a passionate advocate for our economic recovery."
