Liberals firm on dumping Victorian elders after ‘assertive women' comments
The federal Liberal Party is preparing to dump the two octogenarian Victorians appointed to oversee the troubled NSW division, a fortnight after ex-Victorian treasurer Alan Stockdale questioned whether the prevalence of assertive women required protecting men.
Under a draft plan conveyed by four senior Liberal sources, who all spoke on the condition of anonymity citing party rules barring speaking with the media, the administrative committee's term would expire on June 30. It would probably be replaced by a seven-person committee chaired by a Liberal luminary.
Under the plan, the NSW division would be steered by a five to seven-person committee from July 1, with representation from each of the three factions plus an independent chair appointed to oversee the party's constitutional reform process, according to three sources privy to the proposed changes.
The tenure of Stockdale and former Victorian senator Richard Alston, unpopular among a large section of NSW Liberals, appeared terminal after the former raised concerns about assertive women during a meeting of the party's women's council on June 3.
Stockdale later characterised his comments as a 'poorly chosen remark', but he was rebuked by federal party leader Sussan Ley and other Liberal women.
Alston, Stockdale and NSW MP Peta Seaton were appointed by former Liberal leader Peter Dutton after the division's failure to submit 140 candidate nomination forms before last year's local government elections.
Negotiations have been taking place for weeks, one senior Liberal source said. Ley has been talking to powerbrokers from the party's three factions along with NSW leader Mark Speakman about the best way forward.
Stockdale, Alston and Seaton were consulting party members as part of an effort to reform the division's constitution, reduce the power of factions in NSW and improve the ability of members to participate in the party.
Another Liberal source involved in planning the deal said the proposed replacement committee would be between four and seven people. The three former vice presidents of the NSW state executive would play a key role, along with the division's treasurer, Mark Baillie.
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