Mr Valder is not standing himself, but is urging voters in the Liberal Party's heartland to support other Bennelong candidates.

ECONOMIST: John Howard is facing attacks from unexpected corners

It broke several of the rules laid down for the competition to design a new opera house (in fact, two performance halls) on Bennelong Point, in Sydney.

ECONOMIST: Jorn Utzon

To Sydneysiders, its site is no less cherished: it occupies Bennelong Point, named after an aborigine who lived in the first European dwelling built after the British dropped anchor in 1788.

ECONOMIST: A fright at the opera

Little Bennelong Island, a tiny hummock of land, was appropriated by the mainland in the 1820s and now makes up the tip of Bennelong Point, home to the Sydney Opera House.

BBC: The islands of Sydney Harbour