Liberals get down and dirty over NSW deputy leadership

A war of words has broken out between aspirants for the NSW Liberal Party’s deputy leadership, David Elliott and Matt Kean.

NSW Transport Minister David Elliott. Picture NCA Newswire/ Gaye Gerard

A war of words has broken out between aspirants for the NSW Liberal Party’s deputy leadership, with Transport Minister David Elliott slamming claims by his Liberal colleague Matt Kean as “complete bullshit” and “lies”.

With a third contestant unlikely to emerge, the numbers in the two-horse race were firmly stacked in Mr Kean’s corner, behind a mostly united moderate faction and conservatives backing him as the candidate of continuity and stability.

Senior figures from the Right had told The Australian the faction would vote for Mr Kean as a bloc, despite being opposed to him ideologically.

Two months after Premier Dominic Perrottet warned his two senior ministers to stop feuding or risk the sack, Mr Elliott sprayed the NSW Treasurer and moderate powerbroker over a disagreement about the cause of delays in government compensation for taxi plate owners.

“Wrong. And that’s one of the reasons why I’m running for the deputy leadership. That is just complete bullshit and it’s frustrating me that people are giving you lies,” Mr Elliott told radio 2GB on Thursday morning, asserting Mr Kean’s Treasury was the cause of the delay.

“If you’re telling me that there’s a certain cabinet minister that’s avoiding your program and is blaming other people, that’s just wrong.”

The ministerial brawl comes after a diabolic week for the Premier, who sacked small business minister Eleni Petinos on Sunday over serious allegations of bullying levelled against her by staff, then effectively forcing the resignation of party deputy Stuart Ayres over the John Barilaro trade appointment scandal.

With Mr Elliott painting his deputy leadership tilt as one of “reluctant” benevolence, an effort to help out Mr Perrottet who was “under the pump”, he said he was unfazed by the predicted margin of Mr Kean’s victory.

“If a mate needs a hand, I’m putting mine up to give him that assistance,” Mr Elliott said.

“It’s one of those occasions where I don’t put my name forward, or I don’t canvass support, out of excitement or enthusiasm.

“I’ve been around politics long enough … I’ve seen victories snatched out of the jaws of defeat and vice versa. It’s really up to the party as to what their priorities are.”

Rumours of a run by Metropolitan Roads Minister Natalie Ward were unfounded, given she was ineligible for the position as she sat in the Legislative Council.

Planning Minister Anthony Roberts had ruled himself out of contention, telling The Australian: “It’s not my intention to run. I’ve got four boys and a family and there’s enough to keep me busy in planning”.

A planned meeting of Liberal moderate MPs on Friday morning – scheduled to anoint the faction’s candidate for deputy – was postponed on Thursday from availability issues, with the meeting likely to go ahead on Monday.

Labor leader Chris Minns leapt on the Liberal altercation, saying the litany of crises confronting the state required the full attention of ministers, instead of “squabbling” with one another.

“I don’t think that’s a healthy political culture. I mean, we are elected to serve the people of NSW, our responsibility, particularly in a time of real stress and anxiety in the public is to focus on their needs, not the political interests of the Liberal Party.” he said.