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Georges River Mortdale, Peakhurst Wards to miss Liberal candidates in local election

The Georges River council election has been thrown into chaos with two out of five Liberal Party candidates wiped from the ticket following the “worst act of mismanagement” in the organisation’s history.

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The Georges River Council election has been thrown into chaos after the Liberals missed the candidate nomination deadline.

Peakhurst Ward candidate Lou Konjarski and Mortdale Ward newcomer Dr Andrew Ng will miss out on contesting the upcoming local election after the Liberal Party failed to submit candidate nominations to the NSW Electoral Commission by midday Wednesday.

Fellow Liberal candidates for Hurstville Ward (Nancy Lui), Kogarah Bay Ward (Sam Stratikopoulos) and Blakehurst Ward (Oliver Dimoski) managed to make it through unscathed onto the party ticket.

The trio will comprise all that is left of a whittled-down Liberal offer at the Georges River election booths on September 14.

A source said two candidates who missed out due to the blunder were “very disappointed”, but “still happy to help the Liberal Party”.

Peakhurst Ward candidate Lou Konjarski missed out. Picture: Supplied
Peakhurst Ward candidate Lou Konjarski missed out. Picture: Supplied
Dr Andrew Ng also missed out on his first run as a Liberal Party candidate. Picture: Supplied
Dr Andrew Ng also missed out on his first run as a Liberal Party candidate. Picture: Supplied

They said the mistake was reportedly made because the Liberals thought the nomination deadline was 5pm instead of 12pm.

“They left it to the last second after head office realised at about 10:30am the deadline wasn’t 5pm in the afternoon – it was 12pm,” they said.

Failure to nominate candidates means Mortdale and Peakhurst residents will not have any Liberals to vote for.

The source said Georges River Liberals were concerned about potential flow-on effects into state and federal politics.

“They know if there are no Liberal candidates in Mortdale and Peakhurst, State Member for Oatley Mark Coure is in trouble,” they said.

“There will be no Liberal presence at a local government level … and the big worry is how this could also affect the seat of Banks.”

Richard Shields has been “thrown under the bus”, the source said. Picture: Supplied
Richard Shields has been “thrown under the bus”, the source said. Picture: Supplied
Liberal leader Mark Speakman called the mistake the “worst act of mismanagement” in the organisation’s history. Picture: Richard Dobson
Liberal leader Mark Speakman called the mistake the “worst act of mismanagement” in the organisation’s history. Picture: Richard Dobson

Fears of a Labor takeover in southern Sydney have contributed to a ‘blame game’ embroiling the Liberal Party.

“People are throwing [NSW Liberal Party state director] Richard Shields under the bus,” the source said.

“In reality he made it clear to [a NSW Liberal Party member] that he would manage the upcoming federal election and by-elections, and she would be responsible for local government.

“He is the boss, the CEO, but Richard made it clear [another member] would be handling local government. I feel a bit sorry for him.”

It comes after Liberal leader Mark Speakman demanded Mr Shields resign, followed by an email sent to Liberal MPs on Thursday morning in which Speakman described the incident as “probably the worst act of mismanagement … in the organisation’s history”.

Georges River was earlier listed as one of five local councils which may only have “partial nominations”, including Penrith, North Sydney, Canterbury-Bankstown and Maitland.

Councils that will likely have no Liberal candidates are the Northern Beaches, Lane Cove, Shoalhaven, Wollongong, Campbelltown, Camden and Blue Mountains.

The Liberal Party have been contacted for comment and a response is forthcoming.

Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/st-george-shire/georges-river-mortdale-peakhurst-wards-to-miss-liberal-candidates-in-local-election/news-story/42b4a36becc1d34075a3d25db2ba56e6