Liberal Party executive sacks Richard Shields over council nominations debacle

In a statement released on Friday afternoon, the Liberal Party declared a review would investigate what went wrong and to ensure “this never happens again”.

• Opinion: Libs must sack ‘Teflon’ Don

The NSW Liberal Party has launched an immediate review into the council nominations fiasco.

In a statement released on Friday afternoon, the party declared the review would investigate what went wrong and to ensure “this never happens again”.

“What occurred this week is simply not good enough,” it said.

“We recognise the frustration and disappointment this has caused to our candidates,

members and the broader community, and we are moving forward with a comprehensive

plan to ensure this never happens again.

“To prevent this from ever happening again, we are reviewing our process to thoroughly

investigate what went wrong.

“We are fully committed to implementing all necessary changes to strengthen our processes. This situation has underscored the need for us to do better, and we are determined to do so.”

“While what happened is a setback, it will not define us.”

“The NSW Liberal Party remains focused on serving the people of New South Wales by

contesting the upcoming elections and working to get New South Wales and Australia back

on track.”

It said all nomination fees will be refunded in full to those Liberal-endorsed

candidates impacted by this failure “effective immediately”.,

Party Affairs Manager Wilson Chessell has been appointed as the interim acting

State Director in order to conduct Saturday’s Epping-by-election preselection as a recruitment process takes place to fill the role of sacked state director Richard Shields, who was dismissed on Thursday.

Party officials have been reaching out to former state director Chris Stone.

CALLS FOR ANOTHER TOP LIB’S HEAD

Almost 100 Liberal Party members are expected to gather on Sydney’s northern beaches next week to vote on whether party president Don Harwin should keep his job and if an administrator needed to take over the party.

It comes after Richard Shields was sacked as the Liberal Party State Director over the debacle which led to 140 council candidates not being nominated for local government elections.

The meeting of Northern Beaches members was convened on Thursday night after it emerged the nomination fiasco had cost four incumbent Liberal councillors their jobs, including deputy mayor Georgia Ryburn.

A copy of the meeting agenda obtained by The Daily Telegraph revealed Ms Ryburn and her party colleagues on council would be submitting a report on the bungle before members would vote on a motion for an “independent investigation” to occur into the events leading up the missed deadline. Should the investigation find Mr Harwin “failed in his responsibilities”, members have been asked to vote on whether he should also resign.

Mr Shields’ position was terminated during late-night crisis meetings on Thursday.

Multiple sources said former state director Chris Stone was being courted to fill the gap left by Mr Shields’ sacking.

Another name mentioned was corporate communications operative Nigel Blunden.

In a statement released late last night, Don Harwin said Mr Shields had been given the opportunity to explain the circumstances to the state executive, but had failed to do so.

“This failure to meet such a fundamental responsibility has rendered his position untenable,” Mr Harwin said.

“As a result, the State Executive has unanimously resolved to terminate the State Director’s employment with immediate effect.”

Mr Shields brought his lawyer to the Liberals’ state executive meeting on Thursday night, and was said to have refused to answer questions.

Earlier, he refused to resign, instead calling for a “proper review” into how the party had failed to nominate candidates by deadline.

Under pressure.... party president Don Harwin. Picture: James O'Doherty

Mr Shields also blamed state president Don Harwin for the catastrophic failure to nominate local council candidates.

“Don Harwin … volunteered to run the local government nomination process. I had full trust that this would be delivered successfully,” he said.

Mr Harwin, a former Coalition minister, has also broken his silence on the candidate catastrophe, declaring the party would “take decisive action” following the historic blunder.

Mr Harwin convened the State Executive meeting on Thursday night to dissect what Opposition Leader Mark Speakman described as a “monumental debacle”.

“I have called for a State Executive meeting this evening with the State Director tonight to review the situation surrounding the local government nominations,” he said.

“It’s crucial we understand what occurred and take decisive action to maintain the trust of our members and the public as we prepare for the future.”

As one Liberal executive member said: “Harwin and Richard can go quietly, or we’ll blow them out of the water.”

‘THEY WERE WARNED’

A member of the NSW Liberal Party State Executive has unleashed after the party forfeited up to 140 candidates in the local government elections, calling for both Don Harwin and Richard Shields to resign.

In a strongly-worded three page email, Blake Keating described the candidate blunder as an “unmitigated disaster.”

“Let me be absolutely clear that the responsibility for how this process has been organised … lays squarely at the feet of the State President, Don Harwin” Mr Keating wrote.

“The administration of that process and how it is led with the staff … lays squarely at the feet of Richard Shields, our State Director.”

“I call on State President, Don Harwin and State Director, Richard Shields to immediately resign.”

The explosive comments from Mr Keating follow revelations the Liberal Party had forfeited as many as 48 council spots and failed to nominate up to 140 candidates due to election nomination “debacle” slammed as the worst blunder in the party’s history.

The party’s incompetence is set to cost more than 40 sitting councillors their jobs, after Liberal HQ failed to meet nomination deadlines on Wednesday.

The numbers, crunched by election analyst Ben Raue, will heap pressure on embattled state director Richard Shields to quit — as it emerged that Mr Shields was warned weeks ago of the looming disaster.

Mr Raue said the blunder will “significantly” change the upcoming elections and leave conservative voters in some areas with “very few options”.

Liberal Leader Mark Speakman demanded Mr Shields “fall on his sword” on Thursday, after the state director refused to front up to parliament for a please explain.

NSW Liberal Party president Don Harwin, left, NSW Liberals leader Mark Speakman, centre, and state director Richard Shields, right. Pictures: News Corp

QUESTION TIME JIBES

During federal parliament Question Time on Thursday several senior Labor MPs made light of the Liberal’s woes, with Local Government Minister Kristy McBain describing the saga as “unfathomable”.

“The NSW Liberal Party (failed) to do the one job they have, which was lodge a form on time,” she said.

Ms McBain then quoted Lane Cove Mayor Scott Bennison who on Thursday sensationally quit the Liberal Party live on radio and announced he would run as an independent.

“(Mr Bennison) said (the Liberals) probably shouldn’t be in government if they can’t get their forms in, they shouldn’t manage anything,” Ms McBain said.

“If I could just make a suggestion, make sure you get your federal nominations in soon.”

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen later said the opposition party “couldn’t organise a barbecue at Bunnings”.

“They say they’re going to roll out (nuclear) reactors, they can’t even roll out candidates for local government.”

WHITE HOT ANGER

Mr Speakman said the “monumental debacle” was an embarrassment for the party which will spill over into upcoming federal election.

“There’s no doubt that’s a setback, and it is frustrating,” he said.

“The state director has to fall on his sword, he is the CEO who runs the organisation,” he said.

There was white hot anger among Liberals on Thursday, with the party in meltdown.

Politicians and party sources are furious at Mr Shields, who went into hiding on Thursday morning.

Mr Shields did not return calls.

Meanwhile, a factional split is emerging in the party over who is ultimately to blame.

Mark Speakman’s letter to State Liberal MP colleagues

Mr Speakman would not blame party president Don Harwin, but many other Liberals did.

Multiple Liberals have said that the president, akin to the “chairman of the board,” needs to go.

Amid the chaos, the Liberal Party’s regional vice-president Geoff Pearson and urban vice-president Peter O’Hanlon both demanded both Mr Shields and party president Don Harwin resign.

“The simple fact is that either through gross incompetence, simple neglect, or something else all together, many Liberals endorsed as candidates in the upcoming council elections have had their democratic rights stripped away from them, and will now not be able to stand,” the joint statement said.

“The State President and the State Director must both accept full responsibility for such a massive failure. We now call on President Don Harwin and State Director Richard Shields to resign from their positions immediately.

WARNED A FORTNIGHT AGO

The party was first warned two weeks ago about the council candidate fiasco, during a fiery meeting of the State Executive.

Several sources say the meeting ended with State Director Richard Shields ordering an Executive member to “get out” after the person repeatedly raised concerns.

It’s understood Mr Shields made the remark after a “fiery” and “volatile” meeting, where claims of candidate favouritism were raised, and one of his female staff was facing criticism. Others present have pointed the finger at Party President, Don Harwin, a former Coalition Minister.

“Don became very annoyed whenever the candidate issue was raised” said one senior Party figure. “He saw it as a personal attack on the staff who were in charge of sorting the paperwork.”

Sitting councillors across Sydney who were seeking re-election will now lose their jobs due to the party’s failure to nominate.

Campbelltown councillor Riley Munro.

Penrith Deputy mayor Mark Davies. Picture: Supplied

They include Campbelltown Councillor Riley Munro, who declared the party “left us out to dry”.

“If it had just been a resource issue, we would have done it ourselves.” he said.

Mr Munro said all of his calls and emails to the Liberals after the incident have been ignored.

Wollongong councillor John Dorahy, who will also not appear on the ballot, said he was “furious”.

“Around 50 per cent of the population won’t be able to vote for who they want to vote for,” he said.

Northern Beaches Liberal councillor David Walton said that all current Liberal councillors have now lost their jobs.

“There will be no conservative and rational decision making on the Northern Beaches council now,” he said.

Penrith Deputy Mayor Mark Davies is another who has been put into forced retirement by the bungle. In Penrith only Liberal councillors from the North Ward were nominated.

Mr Davies warned the mistake would cause an “influx of inexperienced councillors” being elected.

Sally Halliday, who is the only one of four Liberal councillors currently on Maitland City Council who got her nomination in, said the mistake was devastating and had “cataclysmic” ramifications for local government politics across the state.

“I’m the only one in Maitland and I am so distressed for everybody else who wanted to help their communities,” Ms Halliday said.

Originally published as Liberal Party executive sacks Richard Shields over council nominations debacle