Dumped cabinet minister Eric Abetz has called for reform in the NSW Liberal Party, warning schemers are wielding "disproportionate" power.
Senator Abetz says backroom manoeuvres in NSW cost the coalition the 2010 election and now stands to unseat "excellent" performers, including junior minister Concetta Fierravanti-Wells and MP Angus Taylor.
"Recent backroom manoeuvres in NSW have exposed a long-running issue in the state which continues to go unresolved, where schemers, professional political hacks and lobbyists wield a disproportionate amount of power, including over preselections," he writes in The Australian on Monday.
Cabinet minister Simon Birmingham said the NSW division was high performing and the way it conducted its preselections was a matter for the organisation.
"Ours is a democratic party where we are all open from time to time to facing challenges from other members who may think they have something to offer within the parliament," he told Sky News.
Share
