Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been dealt a major blow after intervening in a factional stoush.
The NSW Liberal Party’s administrative wing has failed to pass crucial parts of a proposal to fix a preselection “mess” where winnable seats don’t yet have candidates, including allowing branch members to vote electronically to save time.
Just hours after Mr Morrison’s controversial takeover of the state executive expired at 5pm on Tuesday, members were sent an “urgent” electronic ballot that aimed to fix the debacle.
The deadline for voting was 12pm on Wednesday.
In one of the only steps forward, it can be revealed the state executive voted unanimously in favour of cardiologist Michael Feneley – who is backed by the right faction – becoming the candidate in the marginal seat of Dobell.
But that’s about as far as things got.
NCA NewsWire has confirmed that a motion which would have allowed branch members to vote for candidates “via virtual town hall meetings” in the winnable seats of Eden-Monaro, Parramatta and Hughes failed to pass.
There were 18 people who voted for it, four against and three non responses, meaning it didn’t reach the constitutionally required 90 per cent “special powers” threshold.
Another motion which would have automatically registered branch members to vote in the preselections – thereby speeding up the process and removing a step – also lost, with four people voting against it.
Four people also voted against allowing the plebiscites to be held on shorter notice and for the nomination review process to be eased.
In a major development for Tony Abbott’s former seat of Warringah, 18 members also voted against endorsing Manly branch member Lincoln Parker as the candidate.
Just four members voted in favour of him being installed.
It comes just a week after NSW Liberal president Philip Ruddock put forward a motion for disability campaigner David Brady to run in the seat, currently held by high-profile independent Zali Steggall.
This also failed because it needed a 90 per cent “special powers” majority as Mr Brady didn’t nominate for preselection.
Another motion setting out a timetable for preselections for the seats of Eden-Monaro, Parramatta and Hughes passed unanimously.
However, an email sent by deputy state director Simon McInnes had warned that it wouldn’t be achievable if the other parts of the proposal, like electronic voting and automatic registration didn’t get through.
“Essentially we are only one little step closer to having candidates in the field than we were five months ago,” a Liberal source said.
“It seems like we’re not getting any closer to a solution despite the deadline approaching.
“This is probably the most acceptable proposal we’ve had – with selections being done by tele town hall meetings, you’d think people can understand the situation where it is hard to find venues at short notice, there’s floods limiting where people can travel, I don’t think people would be demanding votes be held in-person.
“From a very logical perspective this is something I think people would naturally accept.
“To put it simply, it’s a mess.”
On Friday, Mr Morrison was given temporary control of the NSW executive, which operates like a company board for the Liberal Party, to resolve a situation where three sitting MPs had still not been endorsed.
He was part of a committee appointed by the federal executive so Environment Minister Sussan Ley, Immigration Minister Alex Hawke and North Sydney MP Trent Zimmerman could be installed without preselection challenges.
It was confirmed this had happened on Tuesday evening.
The NSW division has been given a looming deadline of March 25 to resolve the issues with the remaining seats.
There has been widespread fury within the party that Mr Morrison’s ally and representative on the state executive, Mr Hawke, was a major contributor to the delays by not attending meetings to clear candidates for preselection ballots.
Some have believed this was a tactic so he and Mr Morrison’s preferred picks could be installed.
Mr Hawke has never commented publicly on this.
Bennelong’s preselection vote has been locked in for March 23, but Warringah, Parramatta, Hughes and Eden-Monaro still need a resolution.
The ballot had noted that the seats of Fowler, Grayndler, Greenway, McMahon and Newcastle – which are also without Liberal candidates – were not winnable.
It had been proposed that they be “rationalised so that there is only one nominee remaining” within one of the motions which failed to pass.
