Curtin Liberal hopeful Erin Watson-Lynn called Malcolm Turnbull ‘sexy’ and Tony Abbott ‘sexist’

A star Liberal preselection candidate for Julie Bishop’s seat of Curtin had previously told Tony Abbott to resign as prime minister, accused him of sexually harassing staff and criticised him for the party’s boats’ policy.

The West Australian can also reveal that Erin Watson-Lynn, 33, sent tweets describing Malcolm Turnbull as “sexy for a rich, old man” and criticised the Coalition’s 2014 Budget.

The West Australian revealed on Monday that Ms Watson-Lynn had said she was a “non-Liberal voter” in 2013 and said she “did not like” Ms Bishop.

Senior Liberal Party figures say Ms Watson-Lynn’s declaration that she was a “non-Liberal voter” could be grounds for the party’s State council to overrule her candidacy if she is chosen this weekend. Any member of State council can move to have a candidate overruled, with the motion then put to a vote.

Given the controversy surrounding Ms Watson-Lynn’s past as a Labor supporter, and remarks made by frontrunner Celia Hammond on feminism and same-sex marriage, there is speculation that resources executive Anna Dartnell could emerge as the preferred candidate.

It is understood Ms Watson-Lynn has told friends that she decided to join the Liberal Party because she believed it best aligned with her values. She has been described as Ms Bishop’s “pick”. Ms Bishop has said she is not backing any single candidate.

In 2013, Ms Watson-Lynn criticised Mr Abbott on Twitter for describing a female Liberal candidate as having “sex appeal”.

“If my boss called me young, feisty, with sex appeal, I’d lodge a complaint with my university,” Ms Watson-Lynn wrote. “Just goes to show what ppl will put up with to be in a position of ‘power’”.

In a tweet sent on August 13, 2013 she wrote: “Has @TonyAbbottMHR resigned yet? Sexual harassment of his employees whilst at work is not cool.”

She also penned a number of tweets appearing to criticise the Coalition’s boat turnback policy.

In response to a Q&A episode in 2013 where Indonesian experts expressed concern about the Coalition’s policy, Ms Watson-Lynn wrote: “Even Indonesia disagrees that the @TonyAbbottMHR policy of turning back boats won’t work.”

In 2015, the year Ms Watson-Lynn joined the Liberal Party, she tweeted that it was a “privilege” to shake Mr Abbott’s hand. In more recent years she has praised the Coalition’s boats policy during Sky News interviews.

Neither Mr Abbott nor Ms Watson-Lynn responded to requests for comment yesterday.