Simon Kennedy set to succeed Scott Morrison in Shire-based seat

Former Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it had been a pleasure to serve the voters of his electorate and urged them to back Simon Kennedy as his successor in the Cook byelection on Saturday.

Kennedy, a management consultant, won Liberal preselection in March and is expected to claim the prized southern Sydney seat on Saturday evening.

Handing out how to vote cards with Kennedy in Lilli Pilli on Saturday morning, Morrison said it was an exciting day and that Kennedy would do a “terrific job” in federal parliament.

“It’s been a great pleasure to serve the Shire and southern Sydney for so long. But I can tell you, if you support Simon today, you’re putting our electorate of Cook in very, very safe hands,” Morrison said in a video posted to social media.

Kennedy said he was feeling good ahead of polls closing later in the day.

Loading

“It’s been a very warm reception. It’s great out here,” he said.

At the 2022 election Morrison suffered a 6.6 per cent swing against him, but held the seat with a safe 12.5 per cent margin.

In January, Morrison announced he would leave politics for corporate work, and used his final speech in parliament in February to extol Western values and religion and warn of the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party.