The Liberal Party has today selected Paul Fletcher as its endorsed candidate for the seat of Bradfield, in Sydney’s north.

Mr Fletcher was elected out of 17 candidates who nominated for pre-selection. The Selection Committee which made the decision, comprised a majority of local Liberal Party members.

The pre-selection follows the announcement by the Hon. Dr Brendan Nelson MP, that he will be retiring from parliament. A date for the by-election is yet to be set.

Mr Fletcher said, “I am honoured to have been selected to represent the Liberal Party as its candidate in Bradfield.”

“I respect the work Dr Brendan Nelson has done for this community and the country during his time in parliament. It will be an enormous task, but I hope I will have the opportunity to carry on that good work and be a strong Liberal voice for Bradfield.”

“The campaign begins immediately. I will be joining Dr Nelson and State Opposition Leader Barry O’Farrell in Sunday’s rally against over-development in Ku-ring-gai. This is an important issue where Labor has ignored the views of the community and is destroying our local heritage, character and natural beauty of the North Shore.”

Dr Nelson said, “The local Liberal Party branch members have chosen in Paul Fletcher, a person who will energetically and effectively stand up for our community with great commitment and enormous intellect. I look forward to supporting him through the campaign.”

NSW Liberal Party President, Nick Campbell, said “This has been an important day for the Liberal Party. We have shown how democracy works in the party and how branch members play an important role in choosing the candidate to represent them. We have had an outstanding and diverse range of candidates standing for the seat and this reflects the strong position of the Liberal Party in NSW.”

The seat of Bradfield includes the suburbs of Gordon, Killara, Lindfield, Pymble, St. Ives, Turramurra, Warrawee, West Pymble and parts of Asquith, Chatswood, Chatswood West, Hornsby, Middle Cove, Roseville and Wahroonga.

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