Northern beaches: Liberals to hold crisis talks over plans to axe endorsements
A senior Liberal said moves by the party to stop endorsing candidates at council level will be like “giving a free kick to our opponents”, as crisis talks are held to work out a battle plan.
Manly
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Liberal councillors on the northern beaches have been summoned to a crisis meeting after it was revealed that the Liberal Party is considering not endorsing any candidates at next year’s local government elections.
If the move, backed by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, goes ahead it will mean Liberals running for local council will have to run as independents, without any financial support from the party.
It’s believed one reason for stripping the brand from councils is concerns about how to be more transparent in terms of donations obtained by council candidates.
One senior Liberal said the rank and file is outraged and as one of the largest councils in NSW and a flag-bearer for local Liberals, he said the northern beaches will be leading the fight against the proposal.
The source added it was a dangerous move for the party to withdraw support, especially with last year’s loss of the seat of Warringah to independent Zali Steggall.
“If the Liberal Party vacates this space it’s at our peril,” the senior Liberal said.
“It will be like giving a free kick to our opponents.
“The people want an opportunity to vote Liberal and not have to work out who is not Liberal.”
The source added it could also result in the “return of the bad old days” with
“inappropriate” candidates who would never get endorsed by the party, putting themselves forward as independent liberals.
President of the Liberal’s northern beaches branch, Jean Hay, said she had called an urgent meeting of the five Liberal councillors and five executives on Wednesday to discuss what they want to do and whether they want to start lobbying.
“It’s disappointing,” Ms Hay, who was the former mayor of Manly and is now retired from council politics, said.
“And, I don’t think it is fair.”
She said the Labor and the Greens will continue to field candidates and there are already a number of councillors running under “the guise of being independent”, but were also members of a registered political party Your Northern Beaches Independent Team, with Mayor Michael Regan its most prominent figure.
Mr Regan responded by saying his “token political party” was set up to allow the candidates to have a name above the line on voting forms and was not a major political party, “not Macquarie St, not head office, not Canberra”, but “just northern beaches locals” representing the “interests of locals only”.
He also said the councillors in the party did not bloc vote.
He said he supported the move by the Liberal Party to stop endorsing candidates saying there should not be major parties involved at local council level.
“What happens is that if a major party is in the minority it tends to act as an opposition,” Mr Regan said.
“That negativity is not in the interest of ratepayers and residents who want us to make the best decisions on their behalf.”
Cr Pat Daley, who has been in local politics for 30 years, said in a letter that he helped lead the charge to have endorsed Liberals involved on the council.
“It was a long fight and it is imperative that we now not relinquish this important political space and leave it to other political parties particularly on the northern beaches,” he said.
He said that councillors get paid $29,000 a year and in order to be transparent in relation to donations, he funded his own election campaign last time, using his first year’s wages.
“There have been suggestions that funding and related probity issues are two of the reasons why the party is considering taking this extreme action,” Cr Daley wrote.
“At the last council election I totally funded my campaign from my own personal funds. The campaign was successful.
“If the party has a problem with funding and related issues then I believe the model used by myself at the last election should be considered. It is absolutely imperative we have endorsed Liberals in the field at the next council election.”
Previously, state MPs Brad Hazzard and Rob Stokes have said they are not in favour of endorsing Liberals at a council level.
“I’ve always had a view that party politics is best left to the parliaments,” Mr Stokes said.
“Ultimately it is a matter for the party.
“I’m happy to work with anyone on the council.”