CLP president Jamie De Brenni resigns
CLP president Jamie De Brenni has resigned after months of turmoil within the party, with his replacement thanking him for his management of the party.
Northern Territory
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COUNTRY Liberal president Jamie De Brenni has resigned only three months out from the next federal election.
Mr De Brenni was succeeded by vice-president Fiona Darcy, 80, who has promised to lead the party to success at the federal and Territory levels.
The shock resignation of Mr De Brenni came on the first day of the CLP’s central council meeting being held in Palmerston this weekend.
And it follows a tumultuous six months for the party, which has suffered a by-election loss, the resignation of Senator Sam McMahon and concerns the CLP could be deregistered.
Branch members of the CLP had even openly mused about whether the party would be better off becoming a branch of the Liberal or National parties.
Mr De Brenni, who has been in the job for a year, resigned on Saturday morning, claiming it was too difficult to lead the party from Alice Springs.
“I feel that it is logistically untenable for the president’s position to continue to be held outside of Darwin,” he said.
“I am taking this step as I believe it is in the best interest of the party with a federal election pending.
“I would like to thank you all for your support.”
Ms Darcy won a ballot for the party presidency against fellow CLP vice-president Jed Hansen. Insiders said she won the vote over Mr Hansen 38 to 18.
In a statement on Saturday, Ms Darcy said she was humbled to be elected to the position and would turn her attention to the looming federal election, due by the end of May.
“My goals as party president is to ensure that we are supporting our federal candidates so that the Territory has the best representation in Canberra as part of a (Scott) Morrison-led Coalition government, and then looking to ensure we are ready to govern in 2024,” she said.
“I would like to thank the CLP for its faith in me to be able to lead the party and look forward to the challenge.
“I have been a member of the Country Liberal Party for 30 years and over those decades have held many senior roles.”
Ms Darcy also paid tribute to Mr De Brenni, outlining the important role he had played in the party over years.
“I would like to thank Jamie for his hard work over many years as both party president and member of management committee, he has always put the CLP first,” she said.
“I look forward to continuing to work with Jamie as he digs in and supports our terrific federal candidates.”
The CLP’s leader in the NT Legislative Assembly, Lia Finocchiaro, described Mr De Brenni as a “CLP stalwart”.
“I was proud to work with him during his term as president,” Ms Finocchiaro said.
“I wish Jamie well and look forward to seeing him focusing all of his energy in getting Tina MacFarlane, Damien Ryan and Jacinta Price elected.”
Ms Finocchiaro also welcomed Ms Darcy’s ascension to the top job.
“It is a great opportunity for Fiona Darcy to take the reins as we head towards the federal election and I look forward to working with her,” she said.
“Fiona’s decades of experience and passion for the Territory will make her a fabulous party president.”
Rumours of Mr De Brenni’s resignation had been spreading among the ranks of the CLP for the past week.
When the rumours reached the NT News, he did not respond to a request for comment.
His leadership of the CLP’s organisational wing has been mired by setbacks, many of which were out of his control.
Senator Sam McMahon sensationally lost a preselection battle against Jacinta Price last year.
Senator McMahon quit the CLP eight months later, claiming she had felt unsafe in central council meetings but had received no support from the party. She denied the party had a problem with women, but alleged the party had not done enough to protect her.
When contacted for comment on Saturday, Senator McMahon’s office declined to comment on Mr De Brenni’s resignation.
Last week, she remarked that she was “saddened” by the chaos engulfing the party.
Both Mr De Brenni and Ms Finocchiaro have said they do not believe the party has a problem with women.
Senator McMahon’s resignation left the CLP with no parliamentarian in Canberra, exposing the party to being deregistered.
Numerous insiders have said the party does not have enough members to qualify as a political party.
The Australian Electoral Commission last week said they were actively discussing the matter with the CLP.
Adding to woes, an explosive series of posts on a secretive Facebook page speculated the CLP could fold and be replaced by a Northern Territory branch of either the Nationals or the Liberals.
Mr De Brenni’s vice president Jed Hansen also appeared at an anti-vaccination mandate rally in Darwin in January, providing Territory Labor with fresh cannon fodder to brand the party as anti-vaxxers.
In September last year, the parliamentary party was rocked after the CLP lost the long-time safe seat of Daly to the incumbent Labor government.
Many within the party have been unhappy with Mr De Brenni and Ms Finocchiaro’s approach toward vaccination mandates, saying they are too closely mimicking Labor’s policies on health.
After the vote on Saturday, several sources told the NT News they lamented the party’s decline and hoped for fresh leadership.
Two party insiders who were in attendance at the central council meeting said they would have preferred a younger leader to take the reins as president and to help rejuvenate the party.
One noted that the average age in the Northern Territory was 32 and questioned what the organisation was doing to attract younger voters to the party.
Central council meetings of CLP members are held four times a year.
It will continue on Sunday.
New CLP president elected after De Brenni’s shock exit
THE Country Liberal Party have elected Fiona Darcy as its new president after Jamie De Brenni sensationally quit on Saturday.
Ms Darcy, 80, was previously vice president of the CLP and defeated the other vice president Jed Hansen in the vote 38 to 18.
President Jamie De Brenni resigned after months of turmoil within the beleaguered party.
Multiple sources said Mr De Brenni stepped down from the top job of the CLP on the first day of its central council meeting this weekend.
The meeting, held every quarter, is being hosted in Palmerston on Saturday and Sunday.
Rumours had been circulating all week as to Mr De Brenni’s future, with speculation he would use the central council to resign.
In a statement on Saturday morning, Mr De Brenni said he believed the job should go to someone closer to the Top End.
“I feel that it is logistically untenable for the president’s position to continue to be
held outside of Darwin,” he said.
“I am taking this step as I believe it is in the best interest of the party with a federal election pending.
“I would like to thank you all for your support.”
The last six months have been disastrous for the Country Liberals both at the Territory-level and federally.
The CLP lost its seat of Daly to the Labor government in a by-election, undermining Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro’s leadership.
Meanwhile, the party’s only sitting federal parliamentarian – Senator Sam McMahon – quit the CLP,eight months after losing preselection to Jacinta Price.
Senator McMahon has insisted her reason for quitting was due to feeling unsafe at CLP central council meetings, and a lack of action over her complaint.
Her decision to quit left the CLP without a sitting parliamentarian in Canberra, which has sparked concerns the party could be deregistered before May’s federal election.
Labor also was gifted more cannon fodder to attack the CLP, after its vice president Jed Hansen appeared at an anti-vaccination mandate rally in Darwin’s CBD.
‘A live matter’: Commission probing CLP party status
THE Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is in a “live” discussion with the Country Liberal Party about its registration.
It comes after months of lingering speculation as over the CLP’s federal status after its only parliamentarian, Senator Sam McMahon, resigned from the party.
A political organisation can only be registered at the federal level if it has a politician in Canberra, or 1500 members. Senior past and present CLP figures have told the NT News they don’t believe the party has enough members to satisfy this requirement.
The Australian Electoral Commission on Thursday confirmed it is in ongoing “correspondence” with the Country Liberal Party over its registration as a federal party.
In response to questions from the NT News, a spokesman from the AEC said they had contacted the CLP following Senator McMahon’s resignation.
“As it is in progress and a live matter of direct correspondence, I am unfortunately unable to provide any further details,” the spokesman said.
When contacted for comment, CLP president Jamie De Brenni released a short statement.
“The CLP will run candidates under the CLP brand as a compliant registered political party at the next federal election … full stop,” Mr De Brenni said.
If the party is deregistered, it would leave the party’s senate pick Jacinta Price and its lower house candidates Damien Ryan and Tina MacFarlane to fight the election as independents.
Speaking on Friday, Senator McMahon said the state of the CLP “greatly saddens” her.
“I’ve been a member for over 30 years, and I’ve been intimately involved with the CLP,” she said.
The senator, who is now sitting as an independent and has previously indicated it would be highly unlikely she will run for another term, said the Liberals or Nationals taking over from the CLP as the Territory’s centre-right party was “something that the party needs to consider”.
Senator McMahon has a close relationship with the Nationals, describing them as “very well organised”.
Despite her Australian Parliament House page still stating Senator McMahon as being part of the CLP, she confirmed on Thursday she was “no longer a member of the party”.
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