NSW Liberals’ local council turmoil: party sacks state director Richard Shields

The NSW Liberal Party is facing an emergency rebuild of its campaign leadership ahead of a federal election, as its president and state director went to war over a nomination bungle that left 48 councillors without seats.

NSW Liberal Party state president Don Harwin, left, and state director Richard Shields.

The NSW Liberal Party was facing an emergency rebuild of its campaign leadership ahead of a federal election that could be ­decided in western Sydney seats, as its president and state director engaged in a public war of words over a nomination bungle that left 48 councillors without seats and up to 140 candidates unable to contest next month’s local ­elections.

Richard Shields was sacked as the Liberal Party State Director just after 11pm on Thursday night during late-night crisis meetings.

In a statement, state president Don Harwin said the state director was sacked for failing in a “fundamental responsibility” but did not point towards a successor.

“The state director was given the opportunity to explain the circumstances to the State Executive,” the statement reads. “This failure to meet such a fundamental responsibility has rendered his position untenable.

“As a result, the state executive has unanimously resolved to terminate the state director’s employment with immediate effect.”

As communicated in a statement on Friday afternoon, the NSW Liberals executive appointed party affairs manager Wilson Chessell as interim acting state director. He will stay in the role for at least 10 days as the party handles its Epping by-election preselection.

The party also committed to reimbursing nomination fees to all candidates caught in Wednesday’s preselection debacle that left 140 candidates and 48 sitting councillors wiped off ballots statewide for the September local elections.

“What occurred this week is simply not good enough,” the statement reads.

“We recognise the frustration and disappointment this has caused to our candidates, members and the broader community, and we are moving forward with a comprehensive plan to ensure this never happens again.

“What happened is a setback, but it will not define us.”

Federal and state Liberal MPs on Thursday were hoping the state party leadership’s implosion was far enough out from a national election – due next May at the latest – that it would not hurt Peter Dutton’s chances of picking up seats lost to Anthony Albanese in 2022, including Bennelong and Reid.

Claiming he was too focused on preparing for a federal election onslaught on marginal Labor ­federal seats and teal strongholds on Sydney’s northern beaches, Mr Shields launched an attack on Mr Harwin, saying he was the one responsible for overseeing the local election process.

“This year, my focus – as agreed with party leaders – has been on preparing for the upcoming federal election,” Mr Shields said on Thursday evening as he prepared for the emergency ­executive meeting.

“To maintain this focus, the NSW state president Don Harwin, a highly experienced party official and former minister, ­volunteered to run the local government nomination process. I had full trust that this would be delivered successfully. State executive, led by Mr Harwin, decides which elections the party will contest.”

Mr Harwin – a former state minister and high-ranking upper house MP – told The Australian he rejected the notion that he had volunteered to “run” the ­process.

“The statement (from Mr Shields) is false,” Mr Harwin said.

Mr Harwin declined to comment further, but senior Liberal sources said the president’s volunteer role was to help staff with choosing candidates, not to formally run or oversee the process.

Mr Shields faced attacks from all sides of his party and was called to appear before an emergency meeting of party executives on Thursday evening over the nominations blunder.

The state director said the state executive completed final party endorsements at 10am on Wednesday, two hours before the close of nominations.

“I was not made aware the deadline would not be met until it was too late to rectify the deficiencies,” he said.

Mr Shields said he would recommend to the state executive that a review be undertaken promptly to identify the failings of the process and suggest ­approaches to avoid a repeat. “Calls for my resignation are premature as there must be a proper review of the nomination process to establish the full facts,” he said earlier.

However, Mr Shields’ position was terminated at the meeting.

NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman called for state director Richard Shields’ resignation. Picture: Richard Dobson

Members described the error as a “massive failure”.

NSW Liberal leader Mark Speakman on Thursday described the “stuff-up” as a failure of “competence and administration” and said Mr Shields had failed to provide a “cogent explanation” after he declined a Thursday invitation to front the parliamentary party. “The state director has to fall on his sword,” the NSW Opposition Leader said. “He is the CEO who runs this organisation. He is the CEO who’s responsible. He has to fall on his sword.”

Mr Harwin, a former upper house NSW MP, called for a state executive meeting with Mr Shields “to review the situation surrounding local government nominations”.

“It’s crucial we understand what occurred and take decisive action to maintain the trust of our members and the public as we prepare for the future,” he said.

Election analyst Ben Raue said, in the worst-case scenario, 48 current councillors and up to 140 candidates from up to 18 councils could be affected.

Regional vice-president Geoff Pearson and urban vice-president Peter O’Hanlon demanded the resignations of Mr Shields and Mr Harwin, each of whom has been in their role for less than a year.

A senior state Liberal source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the conduct of Mr Pearson and Mr O’Hanlon ­indicated they had neither “the skill set nor the understanding” of what was required to be a member of the party board.

“O’Hanlon and Pearson should resign,” they said. “The first choice (for state party director) was … Luke Dixon, and the two of them worked overtime to make sure that he didn’t get it, because Richard Shields was Peter Dutton’s preferred choice. They really need to take responsibility for this now. They are just as culpable as the state president.”

The party said it was “likely” nominations for several local ­government areas had not been successfully lodged by the deadline for the September 14 elections, including: Northern Beaches, Lane Cove, Shoalhaven, Wollongong, Campbelltown, Camden and Blue Mountains.

The party was waiting on “final confirmation” from the electoral commission that there were ­“partial nominations” for Georges River, North Sydney, Penrith, Canterbury Bankstown and ­Maitland.

The party source said the mistake exposed frictions within the NSW Liberals and was “a reflection on competency” but only “a disaster, not a catastrophe”.