Record number of NSW Liberal members quit amid war over preselections

The internal war within the NSW division of the Liberals over preselections has led to a mass exodus of members, with more deserting the troubled party this year than the previous two years combined.

Membership figures were presented to the party’s state executive meeting on Friday night, showing hundreds of members have resigned this financial year, which still has several months to go.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Immigration Minister Alex Hawke, who worked together to stop preselections in 12 seats in NSW from being held. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

This year 325 members have quit, while just 102 members resigned in 2020 and 160 in 2019, according to a slide presented to state executive members and seen by The Sydney Morning Herald.

Slides, shown to the meeting by state director Chris Stone, also revealed that the party signed up 2319 new members in 2019 – the year the division had elections at a state and federal level – but this year that figure was significantly lower at 1211.

Simmering anger has ripped through the division after local branch preselections were abandoned in 12 NSW seats following an intervention by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his key ally, Immigration Minister Alex Hawke.

Morrison stepped in to save Hawke, as well as Environment Minister Sussan Ley and North Sydney MP Trent Zimmerman from facing preselection battles.

However, in a federal executive intervention, Morrison, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and former federal president Christine McDiven also took control of handpicking candidates in nine more seats only a week out from Morrison calling the election.

The bitter factional fight over preselections was ultimately taken to the High Court.

The membership figures were released just days before Morrison called the election, which some state executive members saw as extraordinary timing, given the dire message they send.

One member of the state executive, who is prohibited from speaking publicly under party rules, said the membership figures were particularly concerning because they did not represent those who had allowed their membership to lapse, but had wanted to leave the party.

“We have never seen anything like this; it’s an exodus,” the source said. “There is higher morale in the Russian army than Morrison’s home division. The damage Hawke and Morrison have deliberately caused to the Liberal Party will long outlast Morrison’s prime ministership.”

Senior Liberals, including the party’s NSW president, Philip Ruddock, have conceded delays to preselections could make victory harder for the federal Coalition.

Ruddock, who has flagged that the NSW branch’s constitution would be reviewed after the election because of the factional battle, has acknowledged the impact of the preselection delays on the election fight.

One of electorates that had a candidate imposed on it was the seat of Hughes. Lawyer Jenny Ware was endorsed as the candidate after preselections were cancelled, despite being described by the party as not “suitable” to run.

Local branches in Hughes were infuriated by the move. The Sutherland branch sent a searing letter to state executive members after the preselections were abandoned.

“State executive members must take time to reflect on what has occurred. The party is removing the democratic right of loyal members rather than prosecuting the case against the Labor Party, the Greens and the Climate 200 ‘independents’, all of whom have policies that will damage Australia’s prosperity and security,” the letter, obtained by the Herald, says.

The letter pointedly said branch members believed the three candidates who had nominated for preselection were “suitable”. This was a reference to a motion that was put to the executive that said: “Unfortunately, none of the persons who nominated are suitable or provide the division with its best chance of winning the election.”

Ms Ware had nominated, as did state MP Melanie Gibbons.

Jacqueline Maley cuts through the noise of the federal election campaign with news, views and expert analysis. Sign up to our Australia Votes 2022 newsletter here.