Court ruling could unwind Morrison’s ‘captain’s picks’ forcing Liberals to hold rushed votes to select candidates ahead of May election
The federal Liberal party’s ability to appoint candidates for key NSW seats including two ministers and a sitting MP hangs in the balance, with the state’s court of appeal reserving its decision in a long-running preselection dispute.of the immigration minister, Alex Hawke, in Mitchell, the environment minister, Sussan Ley, in Farrer, and North Sydney MP, Trent Zimmerman.in their seats in March by a three-person committee appointed by the federal branch.
The latest chapter in the Liberal party’s crisis over preselections played out before the NSW court of appeal on Friday afterCamenzuli is seeking a declaration that the committee was acting beyond its powers and that only members of branches are empowered by the NSW constitution to choose candidates. He also wants injunctions to restrain the committee from handpicking candidates for a further five seats.
The state divisions had the primary responsibility for the management and control of the party on a day-to-day basis while the federal division had the power to intervene in the affairs of the state divisions in limited circumstances, he told the court of appeal on Friday. “The federal executive was entitled to say: ‘You have hit the wall here, and we are taking over management.’ They could have held the review committees, booked the halls and held the preselections,” he said.
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