John Barilaro confirms Nationals will run a Port Macquarie candidate
John Barilaro has accused the Liberals of actively “poaching” and “wooing” Leslie Williams.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
John Barilaro has accused the Liberals of actively “poaching” and “wooing” turncoat MP Leslie Williams.
Coalition tensions are alive and well, with Mr Barilaro claiming senior party members had confirmed the allegations to him.
He made the comments today while confirming his intention to run a National in the seat of Port Macquarie.
It is the seat held by Ms Williams, a former Nationals Minister turned Liberal.
Mr Barilaro said he had advised Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Treasurer Dominic Perrottet of his plan, revealed in The Daily Telegraph today.
He said it was a “courtesy” which was not shown to the Nationals when Ms Williams defected.
“There is no doubt the Liberal party has questions to answer about poaching a candidate,” he said.
He said “some would argue” Liberals “actively” wooed Ms Williams to destabilise his own leadership.
He said the Nationals had every right to run for the seat when they had been “betrayed”.
Mr Barilaro said running did not break the Coalition Agreement which identified Port Macquarie as a National Party seat
The Nationals hope to oust Ms Williams from the seat after she abandoned the party following the war over koalas, claiming the party was not the one she joined.
“At the end of the day, if Leslie won the seat for the independent or Liberal Party so be it. But that hasn’t occurred and never in the history of the Coalition has this occurred,” Mr Barilaro said today.
“And if anything is to destabilise the Coalition in this state, it’s this very action. And for your actions there are consequences.
“It’s a tough decision to do this to the Coalition …. but as the Nationals we have to stand up for what is wrong. This was an error of judgment by Leslie.”
Traditionally, three cornered contests are barred under Coalition agreements where there is a sitting member. However, the seat has a long history as a Nationals seat and is identified as such in the coalition agreement.
The Nationals will hold a preselection for the seat next year, and will announce a candidate at the National Party Conference.
In 2018, there was internal coalition tension over the question of a three cornered contest in the seat of Wagga Wagga when Liberal MP Daryl Maguire resigned.
At the time Nationals members wanted Mr Barilaro to launch a three cornered contest, but he resisted in order to keep peace in the Coalition after Ms Berejiklian asked for a Liberal to run.
There is a sense of frustration in the Nationals who believe Ms Berejiklian did not return the same courtesy when she supported Ms Williams to defect, and declared publicly at the time “I think generally speaking she’d not been happy for a while”.
The Liberals sensationally lost the seat of Wagga Wagga, with Mr Barilaro determined not to make the same mistake again.
The seat of Port Macquarie has a history of turncoats and party treachery, with Rob Oakeshott defecting from the Nationals in 2002 as a state parliamentarian, citing concerns about ideology.
In 2011, when Mr Oakeshott as a Federal independent backed Julia Gillard to form government, Ms Williams told The Australian her conservative electorate would not trust another independent.
Threat left at Jewish bakery owned by celebrity chef
A Jewish bakery owned by TV chef Ed Halmagyi has been attacked with terrorism graffiti and a threatening note left under the door.
Exemptions for 11,000 students as HSC set to begin
70,000 students are set to begin their HSC exams, with an expected 11,000 of those to be given some kind of exemption by education authorities. Here’s why the number has increased in the last five years.