Henskens survives NSW Liberals’ crisis talks after text message revelations

NSW Liberal leader Mark Speakman has spared senior frontbencher Alister Henskens from the sack after hours of crisis talks over claims the shadow attorney-general had branded the under-pressure opposition leader a liar.

In a statement late on Thursday night, Henskens denied conveying that Speakman had been dishonest in text messages divulged on Ray Hadley’s mid-morning 2GB program, and said moving forward it was incumbent on Liberal shadow ministers to hold the government to account.

Alister Henskens and Mark Speakman.Credit: James Brickwood; Kate Geraghty.

“In a text message which was read out on radio this morning, I did not convey, nor did I intend to convey that Mark Speakman was dishonest. Rather I disagreed with Mark’s honestly held opinion of responsibility for the local government failure by head office,” he said.

“It is incumbent on all Liberal MPs to concentrate on holding the Minns Labor government to account, which requires teamwork and loyalty. This requires that, going forward, every member of shadow cabinet refrain from speaking or backgrounding against decisions or actions of the leader, the shadow cabinet, the Liberal Party Room, or the Coalition joint party room.”

The decision not to dump Henskens came with the party engulfed in crisis after it failed to submit nomination forms for 140 candidates ahead of the September 14 council elections.

Speakman had been taking the temperature of his Liberal allies on Thursday, with MPs divided over whether the contents of the private text messages read out by Hadley live on air reached the threshold for Henskens to be removed from cabinet.

According to Hadley, a text message from Henskens read: “Speakman’s comment in today’s Daily Telegraph that Harwin’s heavy involvement in candidate selection and endorsement is entirely separate from lodging the nomination on time could not be further from the truth.”

In co-ordinated comments, Speakman said he welcomed Henskens’ statement.

The Wahroonga MP was seen at Martin Place Metro station heading towards Macquarie Street on Thursday afternoon, and the statement was not released until close to 10pm.

The message exchange began with the Wahroonga MP calling division president Don Harwin “the biggest fraud of all time”.

The party’s failure to lodge nomination forms in 16 council areas sparked an internecine war between conservatives and moderates. Speakman has come under fire with accusations he is culpable for the fiasco which has already claimed the scalp of state director Richard Shields.

Speakman on Wednesday afternoon accepted Henskens’ initial denial.

On Wednesday, Hadley claimed two senior conservative Liberal MPs – Henskens and Anthony Roberts, the longstanding Lane Cove MP who decided against serving in cabinet – had been undermining Speakman by leaking against him in private text messages.

The pair denied attacking Speakman personally. Henskens denied to the Herald he had sought to undermine Speakman’s leadership by leaking to Hadley. If that proposition meant “attacking him personally as leader – no, I haven’t,” Henskens said.

Radio broadcaster Ray Hadley.Credit: James Brickwood

“That doesn’t mean I always agree with everything the party has done,” he said, adding his comments have all been in the context of Harwin.

A former barrister who was elected in 2015, Henskens served across multiple portfolios under former premier Dominic Perrottet. Speakman, Henskens and Roberts were all in the running to become Liberal leader after the election.

Under parliamentary privilege in February, Henskens accused the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure director of corruptly using sensitive information to purchase property. The corruption watchdog found no evidence the director had engaged in any corrupt conduct.

On Wednesday, Hadley took umbrage with Henskens and Roberts, labelling them “cowardly” for leaking to him as a vehicle to undermine Speakman and Harwin.

“One of you people get the balls to actually come on this program and say what you’re saying to me privately … Stop sending me text messages. Cowardly. Letting me be your mouthpiece,” he said live on his program.

Speaking after the broadcast, Nationals MLC Wes Fang said: “I trust Mark Speakman will be consistent in dealing with members of the Liberal Party in the same way he has done previously on other matters. His public statements are all on the record. If he doesn’t, he will only further demonstrate how he himself is not a fit leader and simply a factional hack.”

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