NSW Liberals deny party in ‘stuff-up spiral’ after Rob Stokes declines role cleaning up state branch
The New South Wales opposition leader, Mark Speakman, has insisted his party was not in the midst of a “stuff-up spiral” after the Liberal federal executive’s attempt to intervene and clean up the state branch caused yet more confusion.
The denial came after it was revealed no one told the former planning minister Rob Stokes he would be named in a three-person committee the federal team wanted to run the state division for almost a year.
Stokes refused the position after the federal team demanded the state executive appoint the temporary committee to run the troubled division, which failed to nominate candidates for some NSW councils.
On Tuesday, the federal executive recommended Chris Stone be appointed state director. Stokes, former party president Alan Stockdale and Howard-era communications minister Richard Alston would help run the branch for 10 months.
Related: Speakman backs NSW Liberals taking legal action over council election deadline
It came after the federal executive was briefed on the content of Brian Loughnane’s snap review of the NSW Liberals, which party sources told Guardian Australia was “scathing” about both the nomination failure and the preparedness to contest the federal election.
Speaking on Wednesday morning, Speakman said he had spoken with Stokes before the meeting on Tuesday about the possibility of him being part of the federal team plan and had “in principle” agreement from the former minister.
“What has changed is he was never consulted about what the makeup of the committee would be or what the complete role would be, and a formal invitation to him was never put,” Speakman said.
The parliamentary party leader said he had not seen the Loughnane report, nor had he been aware a committee with specific names would be voted on at the meeting on Tuesday.
He denied his lack of knowledge of the process or the report meant he had lost grip of the party, and refuted the party was in a “stuff-up spiral”.
“With all due respect to the media, sometimes you get very excited about so-called catastrophes and disasters,” he said. “The [Liberal] fundamentals are sound.”
He said his focus was on holding the state and federal Labor governments to account.
A Liberal source said on Wednesday morning Stokes had not been told about the committee, its composition or the terms of reference before the public announcement.
Stokes is understood to have told the federal executive he would decline the position he had not applied for.
A well-placed Liberal source confirmed Alston had accepted his role on the committee after being informed he was to be put forward shortly before the meeting.
He is understood not to have a strong view on who the third member should be and would work with whoever was selected, but was in favour of picking them based on their suitability for the job and not their gender.
The federal intervention was launched after the NSW branch of the party was thrown into chaos after failing to lodge nominations for 140 candidates in 16 councils before the local government elections, to be held later this month.
The federal executive said it had “requested that the NSW division appoint three eminent Australians as a committee of management to replace its state executive” for a period of 10 months in the lead-up to the federal election – due by May 2025.
On Wednesday, the federal Liberal leader, Peter Dutton, insisted that NSW had put forward Stokes as their pick.
“That was their nomination, they had the conversations, I understand, with Mr Stokes,” he said.
He said that the way the NSW branch had been operating was “completely unacceptable”.
“We took a decision at the federal executive to put in place a council of wise elders to get the NSW Liberal party back on track,” he said.
Speakman welcomed Stone’s appointment but said he wanted a woman appointed as part of the committee.
A Liberal source told Guardian Australia women in the party had been “shocked to see not a single woman appointed”.
Related: NSW Liberal party campaign in crisis after deadlines missed for council election nominations
The committee the federal executive wants to install will sideline the party’s state executive and its president, Don Harwin.
“They are still theoretically members of state executive, but they have given away all their powers for 10 months,” Speakman said.
Asked if Harwin should return to the role after the federal election, Speakman said it was too early to say.
“A day is a long time in politics. Ten months is like a millennium in politics. It is too early to say what should happen.”
