High-profile members have attacked what they call the current culture of rorts and lobbyists in the New South Wales Liberal party, accusing MPs Alex Hawke and Julian Leeser of trying to protect factions to stop party reform.
An extraordinary email is a prelude to the NSW Liberal Futures Convention at the weekend, where ordinary members will vote on whether they will get a say on the preselection of MPs.
Five days out from the event, retired major general Jim Molan, the former Liberal preselection candidate and Operation Sovereign Borders architect, and Walter Villatora, a key campaigner for preselection reform, have sent a scathing assessment of attempts to water down reforms.
Their email launches an attack on some of their own party MPs and the state division’s ruling body, the NSW state executive.
It accuses the Liberal factions and the MPs of trying to orchestrate a fake compromise only because they are embarrassed by the “current culture of rorts and the stench of commercial conflicts by lobbyists”.
The email is part of an organised campaign in the NSW division, which is one of only two state Liberal divisions that does not have some form of plebiscite for preselection.
The core supporters of reform have long attacked the NSW state executive and its
On Monday, a key campaigner for reform, John Ruddick, predicted in Guardian Australia that the party could split over the issue if ordinary members were not given a say.
Ruddick was threatened with expulsion from the party over the issue and eventually resigned over the issue and the rules for selecting leaders.
While Tony Abbott has championed the cause of reforms since he left office, Villatora, as his federal electorate conference president, was behind the current “Warringah motion”, which will be the first item for debate at the weekend conference.
“The factional bosses are like the rich man who likes to sit in the front row at church but puts $5 in the plate – the lowest amount he can without the sound of coins,” the email says. “It is a variation on the theme of State Executive whose governance model is six words: ‘What can we get away with?’
“The faction holds power by a constant tactic of delay, distract, dissemble, dilute, demoralise – and expel those who dare speak up about this dreadful state of affairs.”
The Warringah motion calls for ordinary members to get a vote in all preselections and for party office bearers. Currently, preselections are decided by a vote by a small number of delegates.
Opponents of the Warringah motion argue it will encourage branch stacking so the Leeser and Hawke motions impose an activity test for members, a waiting period for voting and a grandfathering clause to ensure open voting would only apply to future members.
The offices of Leeser and Hawke have been contacted for comment.
