Perrottet embarrassed as bid to head off sexism backfires spectacularly

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has been left embarrassed and politically damaged by a failed bid to dump three senior male Liberal figures to install women.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Damian Shaw

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has been left embarrassed and politically damaged by a failed bid to dump three senior male Liberal figures from the NSW Upper House in order to install women in the spots ahead of the March state election.

The move had been intended to head off mounting criticism of sexism within Liberal Party ranks and counter the threat posed by teal independents but backfired spectacularly on Friday when the state executive baulked at the deal.

The defeat means a factional battle over preselections is likely to fester over Christmas and reignite in the New Year, precisely the outcome Mr Perrottet and party ­powerbrokers had sought to avoid.

The plan to achieve gender parity had meant stripping preselection from Legislative Council president Matthew Mason-Cox and backbenchers Lou Amato and Shayne Mallard.

On Thursday night, Liberal Party spin doctors had touted the manoeuvre as “a done-deal” that had cross-factional support.

Matt Kean. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Jeremy Piper

Damien Tudehope. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Flavio Brancaleone

But on Friday, the deal – which had been pushed by Mr Perrottet, Treasurer Matt Kean and Finance Minister Damien Tudehope – was rejected by the Liberal Party’s state executive.

Many members of the executive were angry over what was seen as a power play by the conservative Premier and his moderate Treasurer.

Much of the blame was directed at Mr Tudehope, the head of the party’s Right faction, who had tried to pre-empt and prevent any opposition to the deal by claiming victory in ­advance as “a tremendous outcome”.

“The self-appointed leader of the Right, Damien Tudehope, really blew this one up,” one Liberal MP told The Weekend Australian on Friday. “They did all their media and spin last night and they stuffed it all up – they didn’t bring others with them.

“The people from the Right who were making this deal with Damien Tudehope didn’t have the authority to do it.”

Moderates on the executive did not support former schoolteacher Jean Haynes on the ticket.

“She’s been in the party for five seconds – with the Upper House you’re picking people who have been stalwarts for the party, good fundraisers, good campaigners for years,” another Liberal MP said.

Families Minister Natasha Maclaren-Jones is still expected to get top billing on the Upper House ticket, but the plan to put state executive member Susan Carter on the ticket also appears to be in doubt.

Other potential female candidates being discussed include Rachel Merton, daughter of former Baulkham Hills MP Wayne Merton; Penny Fisher, daughter of ­former minister for women Pru Goward; and state executive member De Yi Wu.

Natasha Maclaren-Jones. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Monique Harmer

Melanie Gibbons.

But some members of the Right faction are insistent that candidates should be preselected through the normal processes of the party in order to avoid the catastrophic pitfalls experienced when former Liberal prime minister Scott Morrison used his extraordinary federal intervention powers to install candidates before the federal election.

“We don’t want these background, faceless-man deals. It goes against everything the (Brian Loughnane and Jane Hume federal election loss) review has gone through, and that’s what happened with the feds,” one MP said.

It is understood that Hols­worthy MP Melanie Gibbons will still not get a spot after the shake-up, despite putting her Canberra ambitions on hold at the federal election, when Mr Perrottet promised her a cabinet spot so her safe state seat would not be at risk. Mr Perrottet had previously downplayed the Liberals’ undecided preselections as an “inside baseball” diversion. But that changed earlier this week after Liberal figure and Parramatta hopeful Tanya Raffoul reported that she had been told by party members she should “settle down and have children” instead of running for parliament and she was “too assertive” to be an MP.

The treatment of Transport Minister David Elliott’s chief of staff was the latest in a string of ­allegations that party members consistently overlooked talented women for winnable seats.