Liberal powerbroker Karina Okotel suspended over Lib claims

Former federal Liberal vice-president Karina Okotel has been suspended from a key party committee pending an investigation.

Karina Okotel has been suspended from a key party committee pending an internal investigation. Picture: Kym Smith

Former federal Liberal vice-president Karina Okotel has been suspended from a key party committee pending an internal investigation.

Ms Okotel was last night suspended from the Victorian party’s local government committee after concerns were raised about a potential breach of party rules.

The powerful administrative committee made the decision just weeks after she was promoted to the role.

There are local government elections looming in Victoria and it is a subcommittee of the administrative committee.

The decision to suspend Ms Okotel is expected to stick until the party investigates a series of issues relating to alleged branch stacking.

Ms Okotel, 40, will be given the opportunity to defend her position and The Australian is not suggesting she has done anything wrong. She did not respond to The Australian.

It comes after two of the Victorian Liberal Party’s most senior MPs have ­demanded she be ­expelled over her knowledge of a hard-right plot to dump seven state MPs.

Former Liberal leader Matthew Guy and frontbencher Tim Smith said Ms Okotel’s connection to the strategy to end the ­careers of seven upper house MPs needed to be dealt with.

Victorian Liberal state director Sam McQuestin is investigating a series of potential breaches of party rules and the law that ­involve multiple party members speaking about internal matters, defamation of parliamentarians and the leaking of confidential membership details.

Ms Okotel has attracted significant attention after The Australian revealed that seven MPs had been targeted based on skin colour, ethnicity, gender and ­religious beliefs. The strategy was outlined in a 2018 document emailed by Ms Okotel to her brother Joshua Bonney, who was working in Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar’s office.

She has admitted writing the document.

The document included ­unsubstantiated criticism of MPs relating to personal relationships and social activities.

The strategy was predicated on Ms Okotel replacing Liberal frontbencher Edward O’Donohue, with the reasons including that he was a white male and she was ethnic.