Last week, the Liberal Party failed to lodge its candidates by the deadline for the upcoming NSW council elections. Still figuring out who to blame, what’s the scam?
The scam is how the Libs were scrambling to put the blame on the Electoral Commission despite sacking director Richard Shields within days “after a paperwork blunder that could cost the party more than 50 seats in upcoming local elections.” Shields, however, pointed the finger at the party’s State President, Don Harwin.
Harwin, in turn, called in the legal eagles because “the Electoral Commission declined to rectify its own error.” Exactly what that error was, is unclear.
Not a good idea, said lawyers James Renwick and Brendan Lim. According to Harwin’s statement yesterday, “it would be inadvisable for the Party to commence proceedings.”
Apart from the “uncertainty of the outcome” and the “possible cost,” the reasoning was,
The possible effect on the campaigns of the nearly 300 Liberal candidates that have been nominated for the local government elections and are campaigning hard for victory.
It also begs the question of what the 50 “unlucky” candidates were not doing to be registered when the majority managed to submit their paperwork on time.
Former Federal Director of the Liberal Party, Brian Loughnane, has now been tasked with the unenviable task of determining who really did eat whose homework. In the meantime, we are confident that democracy in NSW will survive.
Branches and Beefs: is anybody up for a job in the Liberal Party?
Kim Wingerei is a businessman turned writer and commentator. He is passionate about free speech, human rights, democracy and the politics of change. Originally from Norway, Kim has lived in Australia for 30 years. Author of ‘Why Democracy is Broken – A Blueprint for Change’.