Just who is the Liberal party's pick for the seat of Cunningham?
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Prime Minister Scott Morrison called the federal election more than a week ago, but at that time there was no Liberal candidate contesting the electorate of Cunningham.
Nominations for the federal election closed at noon on Thursday, with the Australian Electoral Commission to formally announce all candidates and assign the order of the ballot on Friday.
While the Whitlam and Throsby electorates have known their Liberal candidates for several weeks, those in Cunningham have yet to find out theirs.
A spokesman from the NSW Liberals told the Mercury on Tuesday that they had a candidate for Cunningham and that they were local rather than someone parachuted in, as has happened before in South Coast electorates.
But they declined to actually provide the candidate's name.
Leaving the candidate announcement until the close of nominations could be an indication of the Liberals' view that they're unlikely to win in Cunningham.
Labor has a 13.4 per cent margin in Cunningham, making it a tall order for anyone to take it off their hands.
Since the seat was established in 1949 it has been held by Labor, apart from the two years in 2002 when the Greens Michael Organ beat out Labor first-timer Sharon Bird in a by-election.
That by-election was also the only time in the seat's history that the Liberal Party did not put up a candidate.
Labor's candidate Alison Byrnes questioned why the main political rival party has not unveiled their candidate, noting there was only a month to go before election day on May 21.
"It is now time for Scott Morrison's mystery candidate for Cunningham to reveal him or herself", Ms Byrnes said.
"The people of Cunningham have a right to know who Scott Morrison's mystery candidate is.
"Liberal voters in Wollongong deserve the right to know who their candidate is.
"There are no more excuses for Scott Morrison to keep his Cunningham candidate a mystery - what has the Liberal Party got to hide?"
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Glen Humphries
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
