A Liberal senator has sent an email to members singling out Scott Morrison’s right-hand man for the preselection mess the party has found itself in so close to the election.
It was sent after the Prime Minister took over the management of the NSW state executive on Friday so three sitting MPs could be endorsed to recontest their seats after months of infighting stalled the process.
Following the development, NSW Liberal Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells wrote to party members about the intervention in “three of the safest electorates in Australia”.
She pointed to frustration that Mr Morrison’s ally Immigration Minister Alex Hawke had stalled the process in a number of seats, including his own, by not attending meetings to clear candidates for preselection ballots.
Some have believed this was a tactic to justify federal intervention.
“The reason for this intervention is, I am advised primarily, that for months and months the Prime Minister’s representative on state executive Alex Hawke has failed/refused to carry out his responsibilities as a member of the nomination review committee in a timely manner,” Senator Fierravanti-Wells wrote.
“I am also axjmtzywdvised that some candidates have been waiting for almost 10 months for their nomination review committee meeting to be held.”
Mr Hawke has never responded publicly about this matter.
The Prime Minister’s intervention occurred after a federal executive meeting was held on Friday to deal with the preselection debacle.
Those in attendance unanimously resolved to appoint a committee – made up of Mr Morrison, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and former federal president Christine McDiven – to control the party’s state executive until Tuesday.
Mr Perrottet is busy with the floods so has delegated this responsibility to NSW Multiculturalism Minister Mark Coure.
That committee will have the power to endorse Mr Hawke, Environment Minister Sussan Ley and North Sydney MP Trent Zimmerman, thereby cancelling the challenges each were facing from members in their electorate.
“Given that the members in Farrer, Mitchell and North Sydney will be denied the opportunity to have their say, I would encourage you all to write to the members of the committee and raise any matter that you believe may be pertinent to the endorsement of candidates within these three electorates,” Senator Fierravanti-Wells wrote.
There still remains a situation where several lower house seats don’t yet have candidates so close to the election.
They include Bennelong, Hughes, Greenway, Parramatta, Eden Monaro, Warringah and Dobell – some of which have been singled out as crucial to the Coalition being able to win the election.
The federal executive resolved on Friday to give the NSW division until March 25 to endorse candidates in these seats.
“It is hoped that state executive will agree to allow the remaining lower house seats to still have plebiscites,” Senator Fierravanti-Wells wrote.
A “one member, one vote” rule was introduced a number of years ago after being championed by Tony Abbott.
It means local plebiscites have to be carried out in preselection ballots.
The aim of the rule was to make parties more democratic.
The 26-person state executive – which includes people elected by the state council – needs to reach a 90 per cent majority in order to enact special powers to skip this process and install candidates.
