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AAP
AAP
Politics
Maeve Bannister

Senator confirms run for re-election

South Australian senator Rex Patrick has confirmed he will contest the federal election.

The independent politician's announcement follows speculation he might switch to the lower house after his former colleague and leader Nick Xenophon's bid to return to the Senate.

Senator Patrick says Mr Xenophon's decision to get involved in the contest for an SA Senate seat has changed the political landscape.

"I have worked with Nick and I have a keen awareness of his political abilities," he said in a statement on Tuesday.

"That said, I'm not going to change my plans."

Almost five years after Mr Xenophon resigned from the Senate amid uncertainty over whether he was a dual citizen, he last week confirmed he would stand for the May federal election.

Senator Patrick said he was cut from a different cloth than other politicians.

"I'm no will-o'-the-wisp, looking for any available political berth," he said.

"Parliamentarians should stay the course once they have made a commitment and I've committed myself to run for the Senate."

Meanwhile, an outgoing Liberal senator has accused the party of using delay tactics when it comes to pre-selections for key NSW seats.

In an email to the party Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells criticised lower house MP Alex Hawke for his pre-selection tactics, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Senator Fierravanti-Wells was relegated to an unwinnable spot on the NSW Senate ticket after a vote at the weekend.

The Herald reported Senator Fierravanti-Wells considered a legal challenge to the result.

"However, I have neither the intent nor inclination at this stage to pursue the matter," she said.

The Liberal Party is yet to settle on lower house candidates for the NSW seats of Eden-Monaro, Fowler, Grayndler, Greenway, Hughes, McMahon, Newcastle, Parramatta and Warringah.

A committee comprising Prime Minister Scott Morrison, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and former federal Liberal president Christine McDiven have control over the NSW branch until Saturday.

They must select candidates for those seats by then in preparation for the election to be called.

The Labor Party on Monday afternoon finalised candidates for several crucial NSW and Victorian seats.

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