Leonie Hiscutt MLC may have breached Liberal Party rules by campaigning for independent candidate, son
A retiring senior Liberal, Leonie Hiscutt MLC, is facing scrutiny after publicly supporting her son, an independent candidate, instead of the endorsed Liberal vying for her seat.
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A senior government MLC may have breached party rules by openly supporting her son to succeed her in parliament instead of the preselected Liberal candidate.
Leonie Hiscutt, who has served as the member for Montgomery for 12 years and is the Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council, is set to retire in May and the Liberals have tapped former senator Stephen Parry to replace her.
But Ms Hiscutt’s son, Casey Hiscutt, a Central Coast councillor, is also vying to win the seat as an independent candidate and it appears his mother is backing him over Mr Parry.
Ms Hiscutt has been using her professional Facebook page to share her son’s posts from the campaign trail, promoting his work in the community.
On one occasion, it appears that Mr Hiscutt even officially represented his mother at a school assembly.
The Liberal Party constitution states that if a member actively assists an election candidate other than an endorsed Liberal, they will cease to be a member of the party and won’t be allowed to rejoin unless they are given the written consent of the state executive.
Liberal Party state director Sam McQuestin said the election period didn’t begin until the issuing of the writs but he told the Mercury he had spoken to Ms Hiscutt and “reminded her of her obligations under the [party’s] constitution”.
Ms Hiscutt was contacted for comment.
Labor MP Josh Willie said the issue was a test for Premier Jeremy Rockliff’s leadership.
“It’s extraordinary that Premier Rockliff is allowing Leonie Hiscutt, a member of his government, a member of the Liberal Party, and Leader of the Government in the upper house, no less, to actively campaign against the Liberal Party,” he said.
“It shows weak leadership on his behalf. It’s in breach of the Liberal Party rules.”
Mr Willie said the May upper house elections would be crucial for the Liberals’ ongoing ability to govern.
Clarence Mayor Brendan Blomeley, who was dumped from the party last year after he initially failed to rule out running as an independent at the 2024 state election, said it was “hypocrisy writ large” that he had been automatically expelled from the Liberal Party while Ms Hiscutt appeared to face no punishment.
“Frankly, this state deserves so much better than what we’re getting as a result of the weak and pathetic leadership of Jeremy Rockliff,” he said.
Government minister Roger Jaensch said he backed Ms Hiscutt “100 per cent” and that questions over whether her support for her son amounted to a breach of party rules were a matter for the organisational wing of the Liberal Party.
“I think what we’ve got is a hardworking member of parliament who has announced her retirement at the end of this term, supporting her son, who has put his hand up to be elected in our democratic process,” he said.
“Which mother out there wouldn’t be supporting their son having a go?”
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