Liberals jostle for Molan’s Senate seat with call for Tony Abbott to fill spot

Factions have clashed following Jim Molan’s death, with some saying infighting is ‘disrespectful’

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The death of Jim Molan has sparked a round of Liberal infighting in New South Wales, including a call for Tony Abbott to fill his Senate seat and a push for senior moderate Marise Payne to quit parliament.

Molan died on Monday after a “sudden and rapid” decline in health after Christmas, vacating a Liberal Senate seat he was appointed to in 2019 when Arthur Sinodinos resigned, and which he was re-elected to in 2022 for a six-year term.

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