Warren Mundine will not nominate for the Liberal Senate seat vacated after late NSW senator Jim Molan’s death, he told Crikey.
Nominations for the seat close on Thursday, and Mundine’s name had been thrown around amid speculation about who the Liberal Senate hopefuls might be.
“I’m not running because I’ve got a commitment to my family and to my business partners,” Mundine said.
The Indigenous former Labor president, who ran as a Liberal for the seat of Gilmore in 2019, has launched a campaign against the First Nations Voice to Parliament, which began running ads in regional media this week.
“I’ve made a personal decision not to run, due to my family and businesses. In the next 18 months I will try and dance through this No campaign,” he said.
Andrew Constance, another Liberal who has also had a go at Gilmore in the past, is understood to be a likely candidate who would have a good chance of winning the Senate spot.
The former NSW transport minister is being sold to other Liberals as a regionally based option with cross-factional support and a strong track record in government, sources said.
He declined to comment when contacted by Crikey.
Constance came within a few hundred votes of taking Gilmore from Labor at the last election, and won more primary votes than his incumbent opponent.
Former Warringah candidate Katherine Deves has confirmed her intention to nominate.
“I’m disappointed that Warren Mundine has declined to nominate, as he is a necessary and integral participant in the Voice debate,” she told Crikey.
“I have been repeatedly encouraged to nominate by senior members of the Liberal Party and at this stage, I am intending to nominate.”
Liberal Party rules prevent candidates from speaking publicly. It’s not clear if Deves’ choice to comment would impact her bid for the Senate spot.
The next Liberal senator will be chosen by hundreds of party delegates from across the state at a preselection that’s likely to take place next month.
Molan was reelected in 2022 to a six-year term and died in January.
