Dumped Liberal Schultz ‘bullied’ his way in, says Morrison

A feud over Liberal preselection in Gilmore erupted when Scott Morrison defended his captain’s call to install Warren Mundine.

Grant Schultz at his Mollymook Beach home yesterday. Picture: Sam Walklate

A feud over Liberal preselection in the federal NSW seat of Gilmore erupted yesterday when Scott Morrison defended his captain’s call to install Warren Mundine and ­accused the previous candidate of attempting to “bully” his way into the seat.

Dumped candidate Grant Schultz, the son of Liberal stalwart Alby Schultz, responded by calling the Prime Minister a “coward”, while rank-and-file Liberal members accused him of using the state executive to impose Mr Mundine on the electorate.

Mr Morrison appeared in the electorate alongside Mr Mundine, a former ALP national president who joined the Liberal Party on Tuesday night and who yesterday picked a house in Nowra to buy as he committed to moving from Sydney’s north shore.

Mr Mundine also faced claims last night he had been close to running as the No 1 Senate candidate for the Liberal Democrats at the next election, and leader David ­Leyonhjelm said he had quit only last week.

Mr Schultz made it clear last year he would challenge sitting member Ann Sudmalis for the seat, months before she announced she would not contest the election amid claims of bullying and intimidation in the party’s NSW division.

He was asked to vacate as a candidate by the party but he refused and will now run as an independent in the seat held by the Liberal Party by 0.7 per cent.

“You don’t get to bully your way into a seat in the Liberal Party, that is not how it works,” Mr Morrison said in Nowra.

“I have been around the Liberal Party a long time and (Mr Schultz’s) decision to do what he has done yesterday, I think, just says the NSW state executive got it dead right.

“Warren is exactly the right person who everyone can now get behind and ensure that we do not face a Labor future in Gilmore or as a country, because that is what puts our economy at risk.”

Some government MPs questioned Mr Morrison’s judgment in parachuting Mr Mundine in to the knife-edge seat.

One NSW Liberal MP suggested the party could lose its hold on the electorate for the first time in 23 years.

Mr Schultz, a real estate agent from Mollymook, declared last night it was “absolute rubbish” of Mr Morrison to suggest he had intimidated and bullied the outgoing Ms Sudmalis by challenging her preselection.

“Coming from the office of the Prime Minister, that is unprecedented. It’s cowardly,” Mr Schultz told The Australian.

“He’s the most powerful man in this country and he’s threatening an individual such as myself, and yet when I was a member of the party he said nothing. It (bullying and intimidation) did not happen, and he knows it did not happen.

“(Challenging a sitting member) is an option that’s open to every member of the Liberal Party. It’s part of the democratic process. I supported Scott Morrison when he took the leadership, although I was very concerned about the circumstances. To see this come about is very sad ­indeed.”

Mr Schultz’s rebuke of Mr Morrison came as outspoken conservative NSW Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells demanded reform following the fallout from the Gilmore preselection process, which has seen local members threaten to quit.

Mr Mundine, whose family ties to Gilmore go back generations, was installed late on Tuesday by the NSW state executive after branch members overwhelmingly endorsed Mr Schultz last month.

“The controversy and lack of transparency in the Gilmore selection process reinforces yet again the need for plebiscites and democratic reform of the NSW division,” Senator Fierravanti-Wells said.

Ms Sudmalis accused NSW state MP Gareth Ward under parliamentary privilege of leaking and working against her but did not name Mr Schultz.

Mr Mundine, who will live with relatives in the area until settlement on the Nowra property, said his first task was to unite a divided Liberal Party and talk to dis­affected members.

He said had been in discussions with the Liberal Party for six months about running and had ­expressed a preference for Gilmore. “A lot of people have a shot at me where I live on the north shore (in Sydney),” the indigenous leader told The Australian.

“My wife agrees with this. We’ve made a decision to uproot ourselves and come down here to fight for a marginal seat. It shows my commitment and my belief in the Coalition and in Scott Morrison’s government. In the next 12 months we’re even looking at purchasing a property, which I’ll have one of my sons operate.”

He said he had seen infighting in both major parties but was confident the stoush over his candidacy would “very quickly calm down and people will move on”.

“My commitment is to those members of the party (who are disaffected) because they have worked long and hard over many years. My arguments will be about how we get them back.”

Labor launched an attack ad and a “facts about Warren Mundine” website yesterday, noting his support for nuclear power and the anger about his candidacy.

A series of his recent tweets still online last night also criticised the Liberal Party. A December tweet declared: “I just wish members of the Liberal Government would just shut up attacking each other and focus on the Australian ppl. Disunity is why you’re getting smashed in the polls.”