NSW Liberal state executive to blacklist activist group GetUp at State Council AGM
NSW Liberal members could soon be banned from joining and being part of GetUp with the party’s state executive pushing to blacklist the activist group.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
NSW Liberal members could soon be banned from joining and being part of GetUp with the party’s state executive pushing to blacklist the activist group.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal state executive will move a motion to change the Constitution at the NSW Liberal State Council AGM this Saturday to give the party the power to add GetUp to its exclusion list.
The list is currently only limited to political parties and not third-party campaigners.
GetUp played a key role in unravelling the traditional Liberal blue-ribbon seats of Warringah and Wentworth and there concerns among the party’s right faction that some members are aiding and abetting the organisation.
“We are now more at risk from GetUp than ever before, especially in our once safe seats,” a member of the state executive said.
“Adding GetUp to the blacklist sends the right public signal and is supported by all factions in the Party.”
A Liberal member from the right agreed, slamming GetUp as a “scourge on political parties” pushing “ultra left-wing views which do not represent the majority of Australians”.
It’s understood the proposed reforms would change the definition of a “prescribed organisation” within the party’s Constitution to include any political activist group, including third-party campaigners.
The motion – which needs a 60 per cent majority to pass – is expected to be widely supported.
GetUp National Director Paul Oosting said the group’s members are “teachers and nurses, mums and dads, students and pensioners who want action on climate change and fair economy”.
“It says a lot about the NSW Liberal party that this is who they want to exclude,” he said.
“We love to work alongside people from all sides of politics, whether it’s with Liberal MP’s campaigning for marriage equality or Liberal voters who care deeply about climate change, there’s plenty of people who want to be involved in our campaigns.”
“GetUp’s focus is not the party or the labels – it’s the issues, the values and the outcomes – and our members come from all political stripes, including people who vote for the Liberal party but care about issues like climate change.”
GetUp ran a targeted campaign to unseat conservative heavyweights within the Liberal Party during this year’s federal election after success in helping independent Kerryn Phelps win the by-election in Wentworth, previously held by the Liberals for decades.
The left-wing group then put its efforts towards booting Tony Abbott from the once-safe seat of Warringah by depicting the former prime minister as out of touch on climate change.
The issue was a key plank in the campaign of independent challenger Zali Stegall, who ousted Mr Abbott from the seat.
A tribute dinner will be held tonight for Mr Abbott at the Miramere Gardens in the northern Sydney suburb of Terrey Hills.
The lavish event is expected to be attract over 1000 guests, including Prime Minister Scott Morrison and former prime minister John Howard, and has a ticket price of $130 per head.