A bid to overturn the endorsement of three federal Liberal MPs as candidates in the upcoming election has been dismissed by a NSW court, in a major win for Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
The NSW Court of Appeal on Tuesday rejected a legal challenge launched by Sydney businessman and NSW party executive Matthew Camenzuli, who sought to have the “purported” preselection of the MPs declared invalid.
If he succeeded, Mr Morrison faced the prospect of losing ministers Sussan Ley and Alex Hawke and backbencher Trent Zimmerman.
The trio were preselected in March after the federal party intervened, temporarily took over the NSW branch, and appointed a panel to finalise the last batch of NSW candidates ahead of the election, due in May.
That panel – consisting of Mr Morrison, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and former federal party president Chris McDiven – have since approved nine more candidates.
Mr Camenzuli’s barrister Scott Robertson had argued that the panel did not have the power to overrule the right of rank-and-file members – enshrined in the Liberal Party’s constitution – to preselect their candidates.
But on Tuesday, three judges ruled that the dispute over preselection processes was not something the court had the jurisdiction to intervene in.
“The nomination and endorsement provisions do not confer statutory rights upon candidates at the anterior stage of preselection,” Justice John Basten said.
“The dispute is not justiciable.”
Even if the court did have jurisdiction, the selection panel did not exceed the “broad power of intervention” conferred to it under the party’s federal constitution, and the challenge would have been rejected.
The decision comes after months of factional infighting, and could pave the way for similar interventions by the federal party executive in the future.
