Supreme Court overrules Liberal legal advice

NSW Judge sides with Liberals’ state executive, creating headaches for Scott Morrison and escalating party’s civil war.

Sussan Ley is the MP for Farrer. Picture: Richard Dobbins

The NSW Supreme Court has delivered a win for members of the NSW Liberal Party state executive arguing for preselections to go ahead in all outstanding seats, deepening the internal conflict in the key battleground state just months out from the federal election.

The decision by Chief Judge in Equity Julie Ward on Friday afternoon found the power of the NSW state executive would not extinguish after February 28, as had been proposed by the NSW Liberal Party’s counsel, Robert Newlinds SC, during an extraordinary general meeting of state executive last week.

The overturning of Mr Newlinds’ legal advice creates further uncertainty for Mr Morrison just months out from the federal election and days after he sought an unprecedented intervention from the federal executive.

The decision came just hours before a pivotal meeting of the NSW state executive on Friday night, with the proponents of preselections in every outstanding Liberal seat proposing a timetable to hold plebiscites by April 1.

This includes the seats of three senior members of the Morrison government – Immigration Minister Alex Hawke, Environment Minister Sussan Ley and North Sydney MP Trent Zimmerman – and a raft of marginal seats across the state.

Alex Hawke. Picture: AAP

On Friday afternoon, an extensive proposal – titled the “pathway forward” package, exclusively obtained by The Weekend Australian – was tabled to state executive. It proposed a number of motions aimed at holding preselections in the seats without an endorsed candidate.

If passed successfully, the package will place immense pressure on Liberal state president Philip Ruddock to vet candidates in these seats by March 1, and to overcome the roadblock caused by Mr Hawke’s alleged non-attendance at the nomination review committee meetings.

Motion five would see a temporary “code of meeting practice” implemented until the federal election, expediting the preselection process for all seats and implementing extraordinary arrangements to ensure candidates could be swiftly selected.

Factional infighting has paralysed the preselection process for months on end, leaving a raft of vital, marginal seats without endorsed candidates.

Mr Newlinds’ overturned advice said the party’s failure to hold an annual general meeting in 2021 because of concerns about the spread of Covid meant the power of the state executive would become “null and void” from the end of February, and any decisions made by the body after this could be subject to legal challenge.

Trent Zimmermann. Picture: John Appleyard

In a last-minute attempt to seek the endorsement of the three sitting MPs, Liberal Party deputy state director Simon McInnes, on behalf of Mr Ruddock, emailed members of the state executive requesting their response by 4.30pm on Friday.

“On behalf of the State President, please find attached a very urgent electronic ballot regarding the endorsement of sitting members of parliament the electoral divisions of Farrer, Mitchell and North Sydney,” Mr McInnes’ email said.

Some members of state executive, however, were perplexed by the effort, given they were set to meet just an hour after the ballot closed. In response to Mr McInnes’ email, Mr Camenzuli asked him to withdraw the motion and reintroduce it at Friday’s meeting.

“I feel as though this executive is being bullied into a position. I do have my suspicions as to the actor behind this. It is time these matters are openly discussed in the appropriate place, the State Executive,” he wrote.

On Thursday, barrister Scott Robertson, Mr Camenzuli’s legal representative, argued that the advice provided by Mr Newlinds SC – presented during an extraordinary ­general meeting last Thursday – was flawed and if followed would result in a “radically different” constitution of the state executive.