Eric Abetz to try to resolve Liberal rift over Brendan Blomeley expulsion

Liberal Party elder statesman Eric Abetz has been called on to resolve the rift over the expulsion of Clarence mayor Brendan Blomeley. Read the latest in the ongoing saga.

Minister Eric Abetz with his green card. He is tasked to try resolve the rift within the Liberal Party. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

A senior government minister will chair a committee aimed at ending an impasse over the expulsion of veteran Liberal and Clarence mayor Brendan Blomeley.

Eric Abetz, the Minister for Transport, Business, Industry and Resources and four other Franklin Liberal Party members, will try to resolve the ongoing rift over Mr Blomeley’s membership.

His membership was ceased because he did not immediately rule out running as an independent at the March state election when first asked.

A “peace plan” was negotiated by Premier Jeremy Rockliff, Deputy Premier Michael Ferguson, Minister Guy Barnett and Mr Abetz in which party president Michael McKenna would withdraw the letter and Mr Blomeley would apologise.

City of Clarence Mayor Brendan Blomeley. Picture: Chris Kidd

However, in a scathing email to Liberal members, Mr Blomeley claimed Mr McKenna reneged on the deal at the eleventh hour.

At a recent meeting, the Howrah branch of the party moved a motion that Mr McKenna be expelled from the party.

Former Liberal Franklin MP Dean Young, who was appointed by the party’s state executive to replace Mr Blomeley as chair of the Franklin Electorate Committee, did not attend a meeting he called this month.

Mr Blomeley held his own meeting a week later in which it was moved that the committee, to be chaired by Mr Abetz, be appointed to resolve disunity over the expulsion.

One senior member said in his years in many organisations, he had “never witnessed such a despicable manipulation of constitutional provisions to oust an opponent”.

“The principle here is very clear,” he said.

“If it can be done to our Chair it can happen to you and me.

“To ignore the will of the membership in a membership-based organisation is unheard of.

“To attempt to foist and keep an unwanted chair on to an electorate committee is the height of contempt and breach of meeting procedure”.

“This is how Russia, North Korea, China and locally Labor and the unions play their politics, not the Tasmanian Liberal Party.

“We need to stand firm to preserve and protect our party from a leadership group which actively ignores its membership … to oust an opponent.”

The Liberal Party declined to comment.

Originally published as Eric Abetz to try to resolve Liberal rift over Brendan Blomeley expulsion