The Liberal party’s federal preselection woes in New South Wales have worsened, with action launched in the NSW supreme court on Monday and one preselection candidate at risk of withdrawing from politics altogether.
NSW state MP Melanie Gibbons has indicated she may quit politics if she’s unsuccessful in gaining preselection for the seat of Hughes, which could trigger a byelection and plunge the NSW government further into minority government.
Factional organisers were again discussing a way through the legal and constitutional crisis, with plans for a NSW state executive meeting on Friday.
If a solution cannot be found, the most likely result will be a federal takeover of the troubled branch. That decision will be made on 3 March.
In the meantime one member of the state executive, Matthew Camenzeuli, has taken his party to court, with a hearing before the duty judge scheduled for Tuesday.
Gibbons, the state MP for Holsworthy in Sydney’s south, has reportedly been approached about a number of jobs outside politics. She previously worked in the disability sector.
Her resignation would trigger a byelection which would put renewed pressure on the NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, and potentially plunge the NSW government further into minority government.
Gibbons declined to comment, but is understood to be frustrated with the party’s ongoing refusal to hold a branch preselection in the overlapping federal seat of Hughes. Gibbons has the backing of the prime minister, Scott Morrison, and believes she has the numbers to win.
Instead NSW party powerbrokers are intending to parachute in Alex Dore, a former Young Liberal president, who lives in Manly, as part of a complex deal to share the remaining winnable federal seats among the factions.
However to cement the deal, negotiators require a 90% vote of the 27- strong state executive, which has not been forthcoming.
Meanwhile The Australian reported on Monday that Camenzeuli had filed documents in the supreme court of NSW seeking to challenge advice about the state executive’s imminent demise and force the party to follow the constitution which calls for rank and file preselection ballots.
The summons is directed to the key office holders in the Liberal party: the immigration minister, Alex Hawke, who represents the prime minister on the NSW vetting committee for candidates; Phillip Ruddock, a former Howard government minister, who is now president of the NSW branch, and John Olsen, who is president of the national Liberal party.
The NSW state director, Chris Stone, last week presented the division with legal advice suggesting federal party intervention was required to reappoint members of the state executive until the party’s postponed annual general meeting was held in March.
The division eventually agreed on Thursday to request a limited federal intervention that would see the existing state executive reappointed.
But when the federal executive, led by Morrison, met on Thursday night, it instead issued a warning to the state executive to endorse three sitting MPs by 28 February or face a wider takeover.
Camenzeuli is one of a group of state executive members that strongly supports the Liberal party holding branch plebiscites as specified in the constitution, under what are known as the Warringah rules.
“Mr Camenzuli seeks declaratory relief confirming that the members of the State Executive will continue to hold office until the next AGM (annual general meeting) of the Division presently scheduled for 27 March 2022,” the affidavit said.
Camenzeuli claims Hawke’s failure to make himself available for vetting processes was in breach of his own obligations and responsibilities to the Liberal party’s constitution.
He has been widely blamed by members of state executive for holding up the NSW preselections. Hawke did not return calls.
The NSW Liberal party declined to comment, citing ongoing legal matters.
The Guardian understands the state and federal parties will not make substantive submissions against Camenzeuli’s interpretation of the constitution but it is unclear what Hawke will do.
Meanwhile state factional organisers are desperately trying to convene a meeting of state executive for this Friday, and assemble enough support for the factional deal to ward off federal intervention.
The federal executive deferred a decision on federal intervention to effectively take over the troubled NSW branch until 3 March.
The escalating crisis is now threatening to derail the Liberal party’s federal campaign in NSW, with several seats yet to have an endorsed Liberal candidate. They include North Sydney, Farrer, Mitchell, Dobell, Warringah, Hughes, Bennelong and Parramatta.
