Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Immigration Minister Alex Hawke,who worked together to stop preselections in 12 seats in NSW from being held.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
This year 325 members have quit,while just 102 members resigned in 2020 and 160 in 2019,according to a slide presented to state executive members and seen byThe Sydney Morning Herald.
Slides,shown to the meeting by state director Chris Stone,also revealed that the party signed up 2319 new members in 2019 – the year the division had elections at a state and federal level – but this year that figure was significantly lower at 1211.
Simmering anger has ripped through the division after local branch preselections were abandoned in 12 NSW seats following an intervention by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his key ally,Immigration Minister Alex Hawke.
Morrison stepped in to save Hawke,as well as Environment Minister Sussan Ley and North Sydney MP Trent Zimmerman from facing preselection battles.
However,in a federal executive intervention,Morrison,NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet and former federal president Christine McDiven also took control of handpicking candidates in nine more seats only a week out from Morrison calling the election.
The bitter factionalfight over preselections wasultimatelytaken to the High Court.
The membership figures were released just days before Morrison called the election,which some state executive members saw as extraordinary timing,given the dire message they send.