A staff member in the office of the New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, sought to block the state treasurer’s handpicked candidate for a vacant Liberal party upper house seat during a fiercely contested nomination process that reignited the factional war games seen in the lead up to the last federal election.
Late on Wednesday night the party’s powerful state executive voted to endorse Jacqui Munro, a Liberal moderate and president of the party’s women’s council, to fill the spot vacated by upper house MP Peter Poulos, who was disendorsed by the party.
The vote to secure Munro’s spot on the Liberal party’s ticket was delayed for two days as power brokers aligned to the treasurer, Matt Kean, worked frantically to shore up the support.
It came amid resistance from the centre-right and rightwing factions concerned about Munro’s progressive past, including her previous work as a staffer for city of Sydney independent councillor Kerryn Phelps.
Some moderates were concerned Munro was not from the region to which the upper house spot covers – from Sydney’s southern suburbs to Kiama on the south coast. The outgoing Holsworthy MP, Melanie Gibbons, and the Sutherland shire mayor, Carmelo Pesce, had also been floated as potential compromise candidates.
Munro prevailed by one vote. Of the 27-member state executive, 13 people voted for her nomination, nine opposed her, three recorded “non-votes” and two members abstained.
But the behind-the-scenes fracas re-ignited memories of the preselection headaches that plagued the Liberals during the lead up to the federal election in May, when it was unable to nominate candidates in a number of key seats until weeks out from the poll due to a toxic factional standoff, which ended up in the high court.
Multiple sources told Guardian Australia that a staff member inside the premier’s office became involved in the process on Wednesday, and was seeking to push votes away from Munro.
On Thursday Perrottet said he was “not aware” of any involvement by his office in the nomination. His office said any involvement by members of his staff had not been on behalf of the premier.
“I welcome the fact the organisation has finalised that … I welcome the decision of the Liberal party organisation yesterday,” he said.
Munro’s endorsement likely spells the end of David Elliott’s career in Macquarie Street after the controversial transport minister had publicly stated his desire to fill the spot.
In an interview earlier this week, Elliot confirmed he had “told the premier I would like to be considered” for the position.
However he was unable to secure support for the spot, with Kean saying he “would like to see a female fill that vacancy”.
The decision means Gibbons will also leave parliament.
Gibbons had previously announced her intention to quit state parliament last year to run for the federal seat of Hughes but remained in NSW only after Perrottet promised her a spot in cabinet.
She then lost a preselection contest against Tina Ayyad.
