Victorian Liberal official Michael Pountney quits

A senior Victorian Liberal official has quit after accusations he had a conflict of interest in his dual roles.

Michael Pountney has quit his party position.

A senior Victorian Liberal official has quit his party position in a bitter postscript to the Catholic schools’ campaign against the Turnbull Government’s Gonksi 2.0 funding package.

Michael Pountney, the communications and marketing manager for Catholic Education Melbourne, tendered his resignation from the party’s administrative committee after he was accused by senior party figures of having an unmanageable conflict of interest in his dual roles.

The Australian revealed the high level party concerns three months ago, when the Catholic school sector commissioned a series of robo-calls into Liberal-held marginal electorate in Victoria attacking the proposed funding reforms.

The robo-calls were placed in the seats of Dunkley, La Trobe, Chisolm and Corangamite — all of which are considered crucial to the Turnbull Government’s prospects of being returned for another term.

Mr Pountney helped organise the campaign and initially defended his involvement with the party and the Catholic schools lobby. “I will continue to serve both loyally and to the best of my ability,’’ he told The Australian in June.

In response, the administrative committee issued Mr Pountney with a “please explain’’ directive, requesting him to clarify his position in writing.

The Herald Sun reported on Tuesday night that Mr Pountney had resigned as a member of the party’s executive. In his resignation letter, he said he didn’t want negative perceptions surrounding his position to detract from the party’s prospects of winning the next state and federal elections.

Mr Pountney’s decision will add to the factional unease within the Victorian branch of the Liberal Party, where Mr Pountney is aligned to federal ministers Scott Ryan and Kelly O’Dwyer.