LNP director Tony Eyres resigns ahead of federal election

Queensland’s Liberal National Party has been rocked with the resignation of its state director Tony Eyres.

LNP state director Tony Eyres has resigned. Picture: Jane Dempster

Queensland’s Liberal National Party has been rocked by the ­resignation of state director Tony Eyres ahead of the upcoming federal election.

Just months after Mr Eyres’s shock appointment to the role without political experience, he resigned on Thursday in the face of mounting pressure from LNP powerbrokers and MPs.

Campaign director Lincoln Folo will step into the role and guide the Morrison’s government’s re-election bid in the battleground state.

Mr Eyres’s move follows a swag of resignations from party headquarters this year, with internal factional divisions and disquiet over the director’s manage­ment style.

A human resources consultant called in last month to talk with staff delivered a report to state executive. LNP sources said Mr Eyres “read the writing on the wall and jumped before he was pushed”.

“It was clear that it wasn’t working,” a party insider said.

Mr Eyres’s appointment in June by former LNP acting president Cynthia Hardy, as one of her last official acts before Lawrence Springborg was elected as president, infuriated parliamentary leader David Crisafulli and other party powerbrokers, who wanted her to wait until after the state convention in July.

Mr Eyres replaced Michael O’Dwyer, who resigned in March.

In an email to members, Mr Springborg confirmed the resignation but said it was a decision by Mr Eyres. “Recognising the state director role is entering a more operational phase, Tony Eyres has advised that he will be returning to a role providing strategic advice to entities seeking growth with a focus on the facilitation of capital for businesses to innovate and generate wealth for regional Australia,” he said.

“Tony has served the party with distinction in recent months, working through the state executive strategic review, and has worked very closely with Mark McArdle in preparing the election review recommendations. We are now positioned as a party with a strong structure and strong platform to move forwards.”

In a statement, Mr Eyres, who has an agri-tech business, said he left the party in “strong” position after his appointment in June. “I would like to thank my loyal staff and the party members for your support though the recent important processes and for embracing the next steps so passion­ately,” he said.

“My desire to make a contribution to better government for Queensland remains as strong as ever, and I look forward to doing that as a member of the LNP.”

The shake-up was backed by LNP MPs, several of whom told The Australian they were surprised to have had very few interactions with Mr Eyres since he became state director in June.

“I’ve never met the guy, I’ve only spoken to him on the phone once,” one MP said. “It’s not rocket science that if you become the Queensland state director, you come to Canberra to meet the MPs by doing a lap of the building.

“The view of the team is that Eyres was a square peg in a round hole. He didn’t come from enough of a political background to realise the party was focused on winning an election and not the reputation of the state director.

“We strongly support Lincoln taking over and keeping that role until the next election, given his success for us at the last (federal) election in 2019.”

Sources said the exodus of staff from LNP headquarters in recent months was also a contributing factor to the resignation.

Two experienced administrative staff members who resigned since Mr Eyres’s appointment will return to their previous roles, Mr Springborg said.

The move against Mr Eyres was also influenced by Mr Springborg’s desire for the party’s organisational wing, which has been rocked by scandal in the past two years, to focus on fundraising and campaigning.