A member of the NSW Liberal state executive is taking Scott Morrison to court over what has been described in a senator’s email to branch members as a “captain’s pick”.
In what will be a major headache for the Prime Minister so close to the election, it has been confirmed Matthew Camenzuli, from the NSW division’s hard right faction, has initiated legal action in the NSW Supreme Court.
The matter, which lists Mr Morrison as the defendant, is first set to be heard on April 12.
NSW Liberal Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells wrote to branch members on Tuesday telling them the court action centred around Mr Morrison’s temporary intervention in the NSW state executive earlier this month to install three sitting MPs as candidates.
After months of infighting halted preselections in winnable seats, the federal executive voted on Friday, March 4, to appoint a committee – made up of the Prime Minister, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and former federal Liberal president Christine McDiven – to take control of the NSW Liberal Party for four days.
During that time it was confirmed the committee selected and endorsed Environment Minister Sussan Ley, Immigration Minister Alex Hawke and North Sydney MP Trent Zimmerman.
The NSW division was given until March 25 to resolve the preselection impasse in a number of other winnable seats.
But Mr Camenzuli, who is an advocate of plebiscites, is now challenging the legality of the Prime Minister’s intervention, Senator Fierravanti-Wells wrote.
“What is the precedent that is being set when a “captain’s pick” can be foisted on our division by the federal executive?” her email said.
She then took a clear swipe at the Prime Minister’s right-hand man, Mr Hawke.
He is Mr Morrison’s representative on the state executive and has long been accused of not turning up to meetings for certain seats – including his own – so candidates could be cleared for preselection ballots.
“I believe that the “manufactured” delay in selecting candidates was deliberately designed to avoid plebiscites and trample on the rights of members,” she wrote.
“What is the point of our NSW Liberal Party constitution if it can be trodden on and overridden in such a callous manner?
“I appreciate some may argue ‘what’s done is done’ and ‘best get on with it’ but this is not a precedent we can tolerate and let stand!”
She then advised them of Mr Camenzuli’s court action.
“There is now a serious question as to the legality of the processes that the federal executive has ‘imposed’ on our division,” she said.
“Mr Matthew Camenzuli, member of the NSWxjmtzyw state executive, has therefore commenced a set of proceedings in the Supreme Court to uphold your rights and challenge the validity of the committee’s decision to impose candidates in NSW.”
Senator Fierravanti-Wells said she believed the intervention hadn’t been fair to the other candidates who had nominated in the party’s “safest” electorates held by Mr Hawke, Ms Ley and Mr Zimmerman.
“I understand that the other candidates who had nominated in these three electorates were sent a message from the state director advising of the resolution and thanking them for their ‘participation’,” she wrote.
“Other than lodging their nomination forms, these candidates were not afforded any opportunity for ‘participation’ at all!”
Mr Camenzuli is no stranger to legal challenges, last month taking Mr Hawke to court.
His lawyer successfully argued in the Sydney Supreme Court that the state executive’s term did not expire for failing to hold an annual general meeting within the time frame specified in the party’s constitution.
Legal advice had been presented to the party advising otherwise after an AGM wasn’t held due to Covid-19 and floods – which would have made the eventual federal intervention less complicated.
