‘Gutless’: War of words breaks out over remote voting in Liberal showdown
His rivals then moved to bring the meeting forward to Friday in a sign the group backing shadow police minister Brad Battin is confident of winning the majority support of the party room.
Signatories forcing the meeting included Newbury, housing spokesman Richard Riordan, recently resigned frontbencher Sam Groth and opposition spokesperson for industry Bridget Vallence.
In his email on Tuesday, Newbury pointed to the Liberal Party’s constitution, which specifies online remote voting is allowed under two circumstances – a health emergency or natural disaster.
“It is clear that a holiday does not make it ‘impossible’ for a member to return for the meeting,” Newbury wrote.
A source close to Pesutto, speaking anonymously to detail internal party matters, said it was “gutless” that the rebel group has not been upfront about the purpose of Friday’s meeting.
“The real purpose is to spill the leadership, but they don’t have the guts to say it.
“In what world can’t things like boards of companies not allow members to participate virtually? It’s a pretty archaic expectation that everyone physically needs to be in the room.”
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Another Liberal source said Pesutto’s decision to allow remote voting was a blatant misuse of the party’s constitution, and that MPs choosing to go on holiday had more than enough time to return for the meeting, which was called on Sunday.
“Remote voting was never intended to be used for convenience – it exists for emergencies and exceptional circumstances where attendance is impossible.
“[It sets a dangerous precedent] and signals that personal priorities can outweigh party responsibilities, undermining our processes. John’s actions are not those of a leader focused on the party’s future but of someone clinging to self-interest at the expense of integrity and accountability.”
Another questioned why Newbury would be worried about remote voting if his team was confident of a majority.
“Trying to deny colleagues a vote in the leadership – I don’t know how they think that’s going to fly. It’s the week of Christmas and people are away and overseas. We’re trying to enfranchise people, not disenfranchise them,” they said.
Another said: “If the first act of a new leader is to intentionally disenfranchise colleagues from participating in a leadership vote, it’s clear that there will continue to be rocky times ahead.”
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