Prime Minister Scott Morrison has slammed “childish games” being played in the NSW branch of the Liberal Party.
Internal disputes over candidate selection have caused potentially damaging delays and may spark a federal intervention.
“Those playing games … need to ensure they focus on winning this election … and forget this factional rubbish,” Mr Morrison told 2GB on Wednesday.
A motion put before the NSW Liberal Party executive to bypass the preselection process for the seats of Mitchell, Farrer and North Sydney was recently shot down.
The seats are held by Immigration Minister Alex Hawke, Environment Minister Sussan Ley and backbencher Trent Zimmerman.
It is understood the dispute is between conservative and moderate factions who cannot agree on which candidates to put forward.
Putting the choice of candidates to unelected members of the Liberal Party was a change made four years ago by former Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
While some candidates from other parties have already begun campaigning ahead of a federal election due this year, the inability of the Liberal Party to settle on who will run may put them at a disadvantage.xjmtzyw
Morrison said if the issue was unable to be solved, state decision-makers should move out of the way and let the federal executive take control.
“I think it’s very important for all Liberals out there, particularly NSW, to ensure we’re all very focused on the job we have,” Mr Morrison said.
“People who play games in politics can often forget what it is all about.”
Building the economy and defending Australia were some of the more pressing reasons the Prime Minister cited for working together.
He added that NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet was supportive of the government’s objectives.
Just months from a federal election, the Prime Minister is facing his own challenges with winning over voters amid a barrage of criticism and embarrassing revelations.
On Tuesday, he was faced at a National Press Club address with scathing texts about him reportedly sent between former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and an unnamed minister.
The messages labelled him a “horrible, horrible person” and a ”complete psycho”.
He also faced criticism for being unable to name the price of milk, bread and rapid antigen tests.
“It was pretty brutal yesterday but I thought it would be quite frankly,” Mr Morrison said.
