‘No one has the balls’: Liberals unload on under fire leader Mark Speakman

One moment made WhatsApp chats with Liberal MPs explode this week. And it exposes a big problem for under fire leader Mark Speakman.

It was a cool Monday morning on a Lismore dairy farm when the phones of Liberal MPs began to explode.

Less than a week earlier Matt Kean had been their colleague and the NSW shadow minister for health.

Now, he was standing shoulder to shoulder at a Canberra press conference with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and federal energy Minister Chris Bowen.

The news broke as members of the NSW shadow cabinet were visiting a series of farms around Lismore, part of a multi-day trip to the regions, with phones of senior National and Liberal MPs rapidly pinging as word about Kean’s new gig rolled in through a wave of text messages.

NSW Opposition leader Mark Speakman could have been forgiven for breathing a sigh of relief when Kean resigned from NSW Parliament just days earlier.

One of his biggest threats to the Liberal leadership, if you listen to the rumours, was gone.

But even Kean’s decision to leave NSW Parliament would cause Speakman problems.

“Leaders have to make the tough decisions,” one Liberal MP told The Daily Telegraph, describing how Liberal group chats blew up as Kean’s new role as chair of the Climate Change Authority was revealed.

“When someone has jumped ship and joined Labor Party ranks, like Matt Kean did … (Speakman) should have called immediately for his resignation.

“You won’t find a more honest and decent bloke in Australian politics than Mark Speakman but you have to have a bit of dog in you.”

NSW Liberal Leader Mark Speakman faces pressure to keep his role before the next state election.

It’s ‘dog’ – or lack thereof – which multiple Liberal MPs, staff and insiders pinpoint as Speakman’s biggest problem, one which already has some concerned of an election wipe out when NSW voters head back to the booth in 2027.

“The next election is going to be the one that slams us, if we fail to lay a finger (before then),” a Liberal insider said.

Another said the unlikelihood of a Coalition victory at the next state election would be enough to keep Speakman’s role as leader safe from any challengers, with the morose mood towards the next vote watering down chat of a leadership change.

“Anyone with half a brain will tell you we’re not winning the next one – so why would anyone want (the leadership)?” they said.

Names which are commonly thrown up as potential leadership challengers – such as Vaucluse MP Kellie Sloane, Wahroonga MP Alister Henskens and Upper House MP and deputy Liberal leader Natalie Ward – are unlikely to take any action before 2027, according to multiple sources.

Sloane was only elected to parliament last year, with the sentiment being the next election would be too soon for her to helm the Coalition’s campaign.

Ward remains in the Upper House where she is unable to lead the party from, with a run for the lower house via Kean’s vacated seat of Hornsby understood to be off the table.

Henskens lacks factional support.

Despite his leadership, by default, appearing to be safe until the next election, colleagues and party members were quick to raise issues with the Cronulla MP’s management.

Vaucluse MP Kellie Sloan.

Natalie Ward.

“He’s a barrister – he takes three days to make a decision. He hasn’t employed a decent media person, but he keeps employing lawyers,” one said.

“There’s nobody there that has the balls to keep the government to account.”

It’s understood a sizeable chunk of the staff budget in Mr Speakman’s office is tied up with his chief of staff, preventing a full-time media officer being employed.

It’s an already strained budget with a third hived off for the Nationals’ staff.

A current media officer splits his time between working for the Liberal Party itself and liaising with media, leading multiple Liberal MPs and insiders to nominate the leader’s media strategy as his biggest problem.

“They’re missing too many media opportunities,” one insider said.

Another Liberal MP went as far as saying “it’s pretty clear to me the press gallery doesn’t like the media team – and that creates problems”.

“Mark needs to practice on being more retail, they need a better media strategy, and a better media team,” they said.

While multiple MPs told Saturday Xtra said the former barrister’s “measured” approach was his greatest strength, it came with the caveat that he wasn’t being aggressive enough in his messaging.

“At the moment he’s invisible. Most opposition leaders are invisible – probably the biggest concern is that almost 18 months in, he remains invisible,” one said.

Another MP criticised the leader for not landing enough punches on a Labor Party they said was vulnerable and lacked depth behind Premier Chris Minns.

Former MSW Treasurer Matt Kean.

“(In the early years of Opposition) you should be going after everything. You have to wedge everything – they’ve given Labor free reign,” they said.

“Labor have reformed nothing, delivered nothing, blamed Canberra for their own budgetary woes when they’re giving public servants pay rises left right and centre, and the Libs haven’t been able to capitalise on it.”

Many of Speakman’s colleagues do have praise for the current leader, particularly with how he has helped cut down on internal bickering following an election campaign scarred by the Liberals’ notorious factional infighting.

They point to the fact that Labor is only in minority government, as well as polling from earlier this year, which shows that the NSW Coalition enjoyed a one-point lead over Labor on primary vote, 36 per cent to 35.

Former Premier Dominic Perrottet told Saturday Xtra he thought the Coalition could win the next election under Mr Speakman’s leadership.

“He’s a good man with a deep intellect, sound values and high integrity – so of course he can win. He just needs the team behind him in good times and in bad, because there will be both,” Mr Perrottet said.

In response to questions over his leadership style and office management, Mr Speakman said “I’m in it to win it”.

“My team and I are focused on standing up for households, families and small businesses across NSW,” he said.

“We’re holding the government to account for its broken promises and budget mismanagement, which are seeing record taxes on families and cuts to cost of living support, schools, hospitals and essential infrastructure. NSW deserves better and we’ll continue to fight for everyone.”

Matt Kean was contacted for comment.

Originally published as ‘No one has the balls’: Liberals unload on under fire leader Mark Speakman