A power shift is underway inside the Canberra Liberals after Zed Seselja-aligned candidates were knocked off in contests for key positions on the branch's ruling committee.
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One of Liberal members behind a fresh push to renew the party following Mr Seselja's historic federal election loss heralded the dawn of a "new era" after two of their candidates won ballots in the past week.
Former MLA Candice Burch will be the Liberals' new vice-president after defeating the Seselja-backed Arthur Potter by a single vote at a branch meeting this week.
Ms Burch replaces the former senator's long-time ally Angela Inglis, who resigned from the position after moving interstate following the election in May.
Danielle Young last week defeated former Seselja staffer Lily Law to become the Canberra Liberals women's council president.
The results are being cast as the first signs of a power shift within the branch, which has long been controlled by the former senator and his conservative allies.
It follows a push from a group of disaffected Liberal members, led by former chief minister and senator Gary Humphries, to clean out the committee after Mr Seselja's election defeat left the party without a representative in the federal parliament for the first time since the mid-1970s.
The Canberra Times understands Mr Humphries, a moderate, and former Liberal deputy leader Giulia Jones, a conservative, were among the members supporting the "anti-Zed" candidates in both ballots.
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Ms Burch and Ms Young's victories are not being seen as a win for either the moderate or the conservative factions, but rather a win for those who are pushing to renew the branch.
One senior Liberal, who wanted to remain anonymous so they could discuss internal party matters, said the result represented a "move in the direction of modernity".
"This is a new era for the Canberra Liberals," the source said.
The upheaval is set to continue in the coming months, with five committee seats - including the president's role held by Seselja ally John Cziesla - up for grabs at the branch's annual general meeting.
The Canberra Times understands Ms Burch will have to re-contest the position at the AGM because she has only been elected to fill a casual vacancy.
Ms Burch was the target of internal sabotage during her failed 2020 ACT election campaign, with then Young Liberal president Ben Dennehy accused of destroying her corflutes.
Mr Dennehy, who reportedly worked for Seselja at the time, resigned from the party following a preliminary probe.
The handling of the investigation angered members of the Liberals' Kurragong branch, culminating in a Seselja-backed candidate losing a vote for the branch chair position.
Dan Jervis-Bardy
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
