Liberal Bradfield MP Paul Fletcher confirms he won’t run for re-election

Outgoing Liberal MP Paul Fletcher says the Coalition will hold onto his blue-ribbon North Sydney seat, doubling down on his criticisms that the independent Teals are a “Green-left con job”.

The former minister said his decision to not recontest the seat of Bradfield was “not in the slightest” influenced by a Teal challenge from candidate Nicolette Boele who stood against him at the 2022 election.

Instead, Mr Fletcher said he was “very confident” the Liberal Party would retain Bradfield and lashed the Teals for their voting record which often aligned with the Greens.

“(The Teals were) something that was crafted so that the people who been Liberal voters, who were unhappy with us after the pressures of Covid and all the difficulties of that period, were looking around for somebody else to vote for,” he told reporters on Tuesday.

“The last election, the Teals were an unknown quantity, now they are a known quantity and we will be making sure that people understand that the Teals have consistently voted with the radical extremist groups.”

On Tuesday, Mr Fletcher announced he would be leaving the parliament following the next election, marking the second exit of a high-profile moderate following the resignation of the Coalition’s foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham.

Mr Fletcher, who served as the former communications minister and is currently the Coalition’s spokesman for government services and manager of business, said it was time for change.

However, he promised to be a visible presence at the next election, praising Peter Dutton for increasing the Coalition’s chances of being returned to government.

“Last week I marked 15 years as Member for Bradfield. Renewal is healthy, for people and institutions, and now is the right time to hand over the baton,” he said.

“I expect some outstanding people will put themselves forward to be the next Liberal candidate for Bradfield, and to serve the people of Bradfield with energy and commitment.

“That Liberal candidate, once chosen through our party processes, will have my full support.”

The Liberal stalwart said he had plans to return to the private sector after taking “time for travel and rest” following the election.

“Once my term ends and I have taken some time for travel and rest, I plan to return to the private sector,” he said.

“My focus will be in the communications, digital technology, infrastructure and transport sectors where I have worked extensively in both public and private sector roles.”

The Opposition Leader praised Mr Fletcher as a loyal colleague and “trusted minister”.

“As manager of Opposition Business in the House, Paul has been the source of wise counsel,” Mr Dutton said.

“His shrewd political instinct saw him master the role and hold the government to account in question time.

“A man who believes in accountability and transparency, Paul’s recent speech at The Sydney Institute was a tour de force in exposing the true colour of the Teals and their track record.”