A FACTIONAL deal to cut Liberal members out of the Party’s pre-selection process has gone down in flames ensuring the rank and file has a say in candidate choice.
The Party’s NSW State Executive this week dismissed an attempt to have sitting MPs automatically endorsed.
- Factions left red-faced as deal to sideline members backfires.
- State Executive votes overwhelmingly to ensure members retain pre-selection rights.
- Hawke, Zimmerman & Ley to face vote for candidacy.
The decision will leave senior Liberal MPs, including Right factional boss Alex Hawke and the Left’s Sussan Ley, having to contest their selection.
With pre-selections seriously delayed while the factions fiddled, the Party is now scrambling to approve candidates for what is expected to be a May federal election.
CRUMBLING
With the deal crumbling, the Left-backed candidate for Warringah, Jane Buncle, has withdrawn her nomination – opening the way for conservative-backed Lincoln Parker to take on sitting MP Zali Steggall.
According to The Australian newspaper, Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s preferred candidate for Dobell, Pentecostal minister Jemima Gleeson, is also expected to withdraw.
The State Executive’s decision leaves the Left-aligned NSW President Philip Ruddock red-faced after he sought “special powers” to sidestep members and automatically endorse Mr Hawke, Ms Ley and North Sydney backbencher Trent Zimmerman.
All three will now need to seek member endorsement within their electorates.
With the election countdown ticking Mr Ruddock appealed to his State Executive to bypass member input.
“As established in previous ballots, the federal election is now imminent and there is very little time for normal pre-selection processes to occur and the ability of candidates to effectively campaign is severely impeded,” he wrote.
“With respect to the electoral divisions of Farrer, Mitchell and North Sydney, I am recommending that State Executive use its powers … to suspend the normal nomination selection processes.”
DEFEATED
His appeal, however, was defeated 16-7 with two abstentions.
While federal intervention to force through a factional deal remains a possibility, MPs have said such a move would be challenged in the courts and would cause “World War 3”.
NSW State Director Chris Stone – who is responsible for implementing pre-selection processes – was threatened with legal action last week after being accused “of pursuing an agenda ulterior to the Party’s interests”.
The threat was brought by Right faction organiser Matthew Camenzuli, who is also a member of the NSW Executive ~ as well as a representative promoting members’ interests.
There is widespread belief among grassroots members that Liberal factions would prefer to see the Party fail than to lose control of it.
CONTEMPTIBLE
Mosman branch vice-president David McLean said factional deal making was “contemptible” and had sparked wide-spread criticism among members.
“Media reports of cross-factional deals that cancel out democratic candidate selections by the membership are just horrifying,” he wrote in an email.
“It can’t be allowed. I’m sure all of you have been deluged with similar outrage.”PC
Not hard to see why the genuine conservatives are baling or have baled from the party. Sadly taken over by wets & moderates, not what has won them past elections.
If any Party can’t allow it’s Branch members their right to pre-select a candidate (otherwise, why be a paid-up Branch Member?), then what sort of a Party are you? A Party that is not democratic in its Branch structure can hardy appeal to voters to be democratic should it attain Government. The fact that the Libs have left things so late selecting sound candidates is an indictment of its Branch “leaders”, not the broader membership, which, by the way, is becoming narrower every year. Any change of an existing candidate for an electorate should be well advanced before any election, to get the new candidate’s name and identity out into the electorate. Parachuting a candidate into an electorate at the last minute seldom works..it needs time and shoe-leather for the candidate to impress him/herself onto the mind of voters well before Election Day. Maxine Mc Hugh did exactly this and toppled a sitting Prime Minister (Howard) in his own electorate. Has the Liberal Party learnt from this ? Obviously not.
get rid of the left leaning LINO’s NOW they are a scourge on liberal party – people like Zimmerman is an ordinary backbencher and should be replaced
“Untrue”
Not untrue. The Apostle Paul wrote: “I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet.”
“It’s almost unfair that you are so rigid […]”
Clearly you haven’t read what Jesus said: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household”.
Is the Son of the Living God also “too rigid” for you?
“[…] so critical of historical Christianity.”
Obviously you haven’t read the book of Hebrews, wherein it is written “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever”. So there is no such thing as “historical Christianity”; there are those who are in Christ, who are the sons and daughters of God, and there are those who are goats, who are going to spend eternity in the Lake of Fire. (Are you aware that Jesus excoriated the supposed religious leaders of his time for “nullifying the word of God by [their] traditions”?)
“Can I suggest you read the Church fathers?”
LOL; can I suggest that you read the Bible (you know, the inerrant word of God that was written as men were led by the Holy Spirit, and which serves as the only plumb line by which we must divide between truth and lies)?
Bonus fact: Jesus also commanded “And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.” (Perhaps you think that you can choose to ignore, when it suits you, the very words of the Lion of the Tribe of Judah – good luck with that).
Give me some time to digest what you have just written. All the best.
Hello Jason,
No worries; I’m always happy to discuss religion along with politics : -)
Cheers
“Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s preferred candidate for Dobell, Pentecostal minister Jemima Gleeson”.
LOL; “pentecostal minister” is an oxymoron (in any case, minister is not to which an office to which women are ever called).
We see, once again, exactly how much Scott Morrison knows about anything.
P.S. In this instance I would be putting inverted commas around the term “Prime Minister”.
Untrue. Anyone who provides a personal service to their faith has a ministry. I’m Catholic, we have many ministers who contribute – whether musicians, alter servers or collectors. Both men and women.
It’s almost unfair that you are so rigid and, also, so critical of historical Christianity.
Can I suggest you read the Church fathers?
See my reply above.