Stoush breaks out within NSW Liberals over vacated upper house seat

A bitter conflict is unfolding within the NSW Liberal Party over a suddenly vacated upper house seat, with some members furious the favoured candidate worked for high-profile GP Kerryn Phelps when she was an independent Sydney councillor.

Liberal Women’s Council president Jacqui Munro was backed in by the moderate arm of the party on Sunday night to replace ousted MP Peter Poulos for a Legislative Council seat.

Liberal Women’s Council president Jacqui Munro was supported by the moderate arm of the party.Credit: Oscar Colman

The decision from the moderate leadership to back Munro at a looming state executive vote prompted immediate backlash from elements of the faction given her history working for Phelps in 2018 as a council staffer.

Some Liberal members have threatened to walk away from the party’s election campaign if Munro was selected to replace Poulos, who was disendorsed and temporarily booted from the party for forwarding an intimate photograph of a female colleague from a Penthouse magazine.

Phelps wrested the prized eastern suburbs seat of Wentworth from the Liberals as an independent candidate in a 2018 byelection. However, the man Phelps beat has described Munro as a loyal Liberal party member. Dave Sharma, who lost the tight 2018 by-election to Phelps before winning Wentworth back in 2019, said Munro supported him in both his campaigns.

“Obviously, she did work with Kerryn, and I don’t think she resiles from that. But when she was working for Kerryn she came down and supported me, campaigned for me. She wore the Dave Sharma Liberal shirt,” he told the Herald.

Dave Sharma and Kerryn Phelps on the campaign trail in 2018.Credit: Nick Moir

“She worked for Kerryn, and it was a job, and she did it professionally, but she didn’t support her for the federal seat against me or anything like that. There’s no doubt about her loyalty.”

Outgoing NSW Transport Minister David Elliott has also thrown his hat in the ring to replace Poulos, arguing that a senior cabinet minister should be prioritised over other candidates.

However, Treasurer Matt Kean, a key supporter of Munro, slapped down the idea of Elliott being parachuted into the upper house.

“What I’d like to see is a female fill that vacancy. That’s no secret, I’ve been campaigning on that front for a while and that’s what I think should happen,” he said.

Before joining Phelps, Munro briefly worked for then-premier Gladys Berejiklian but reportedly left the office after she was spotted donning a “Keep Sydney Open” shirt and protesting in a rally led by the group.

Phelps told the Herald Munro only worked for her at a council level, and not on her federal election campaigns.

While Munro was ratified by moderates as the best candidate for the upper house seat on Sunday, on the urging of Kean and former federal MP Trent Zimmerman, the move triggered a revolt among parts of the party base on Monday.

Senior Liberal sources unauthorised to speak publicly said Munro is considered to be a polarising figure who was unlikely to garner support from the right of the party or even among her own moderate faction.

Branch members on Monday were aggrieved they had not been consulted about Munro before she was anointed ahead of other possible candidates.

A party member warned they would walk away from the election campaign if Munro was preselected.

“If Jacqui Munro is preselected in this sordid, cloak and dagger move I will be downing tools and play no further part in campaigning to re-elect the Coalition in NSW,” the party member said in a Facebook post.

While members had been expecting to receive a ballot on Monday, nothing had been sent by early evening. Party members who spoke to the Herald said they could not see an outcome in which Munro secured the numbers needed and suggested further consultation.

Former Young Liberal president Deyi Wu and outgoing Holsworthy MP Melanie Gibbons have also been floated as potential replacements.

Some senior Liberals have pointed out that Kean had an opportunity to back a female candidate in 2021 when he used his numbers to support Poulos’ bid for the Legislative Council.

Munro was contacted for comment.

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