A former Penthouse Pet is a shoo-in for the NSW state parliament after winning Liberal pre-selection for a safe seat.
Robyn Preston, 61, the deputy mayor of the Hills Shire, defeated three other candidates at a meeting of more than 200 local members on Saturday morning.
The staunch religious conservative was able to convince the room despite Daily Mail Australia’s revelations of a past many members felt was ‘hypocritical’.
Robyn Preston was the centrefold model in Penthouse magazine when she was aged 22
Ms Preston, 61, who hails from the ‘religious right’ of the Liberal party and holds socially conservative, family-values views, won pre-selection for the NSW safe seat of Hawkesbury on Saturday morning
Ms Preston admitted appearing in the pornographic magazine with a quip early in her speech, which was met with rancorous laughter.
‘A lot of you know a lot about me, and in the past 24 hours you’ve seen a lot more of me than I thought you ever would,’ she said.
Ms Preston, who hails from the ‘religious right’ of the party and talks up her family-values views, posed nude in the January 1980 edition of Penthouse when she was aged 22.
Going by the alias of Kelly Russell in the magazine, she was quoted as saying that posing for the series of suggestive photos helped her ‘discover an inner freedom’.
She also spoke of her night-owl tendencies, but added that she liked to sleep in on weekends: ‘It makes me feel deliciously lazy, a little devilish, and who said that one has to sleep in alone, anyway?’
Ms Preston easily carried the day, getting a majority in the second round of voting, and will now try to fill the seat of Hawkesbury at the March state election, which has a margin of 35.6 per cent.
She appeared in the January 1980 edition of pornographic magazine (a different model pictured on the cover)
Ms Preston, who is now deputy mayor of the Hills Shire in Sydney’s northwest, is hoping to fill the seat of Hawkesbury at the March state election, which has a margin of 35.6 per cent
Going by the alias of Kelly Russell in the magazine, she was quoted as saying that posing for the series of suggestive photos helped her ‘discover an inner freedom’
The 18-year party member has worked as a senior electorate officer for NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet for two years.
A former Catholic schoolgirl, the social conservative is understood to be opposed to gay marriage and holds other religiously-influenced views.
Members of Ms Preston’s own faction were ‘outraged’ when shown the Penthouse spread and slammed her views as ‘hypocritical’.
A pamphlet spruiking her candidacy shows her wearing a prominent silver crucifix around her neck, as does her official Hills Shire photograph.
Mr Perrottet, the current Member for Hawkesbury who is moving to a different seat at the election, wrote Ms Preston a strong endorsement for her nomination that praised her ‘political intelligence’.
‘We need talented women like Robyn in parliament,’ he wrote.
When contacted by Daily Mail Australia, Mr Perrottet declined to comment on the Penthouse photos, and gave another ringing endorsement of Ms Preston.
‘I’ve known Robyn for many years, she has a strong character and high integrity, and has served her community… with incredible diligence,’ he said.
‘They are attributes which put you in very good stead to make a contribution to broader public life.’
Members of Ms Preston’s own faction were ‘outraged’ when shown the Penthouse spread and slammed her views as ‘hypocritical’
Ms Preston declined to comment when asked if the photos were her, because the pre-selection is still upcoming
Ms Preston declined to comment when asked if the photos were her, because the pre-selection is still upcoming.
Members of the NSW religious right faction said Ms Preston was informally called the ‘Treasurer’s pet’ but were dismayed to learn was was also a Penthouse Pet.
‘I am disgusted by these pornographic images. Robyn has always called herself a religious conservative,’ a senior Liberal source told Daily Mail Australia.
‘We must reconsider our candidate if we are to win the family-oriented electorate of Hawkesbury.’
Another source from a different faction said: ‘If this is Dominic’s pick to replace him in his seat, that says a lot about his judgement.’
Mr Perrottet also wrote endorsements for the other three candidates.
Ms Preston defeated Hawkesbury councillors Sarah Richards and Nathan Zamprogno, and Riverstone Liberal Party branch president Danica Zegarac.
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet, the current Member for Hawkesbury who is moving to a different seat at the election, wrote Ms Preston a strong endorsement for her nomination that praised her ‘political intelligence’