Elizabeth Kikkert has been removed from the Canberra Liberals' parliamentary party, after earlier being disendorsed ahead of the ACT election.
Mrs Kikkert was disendorsed after the party's management committee unanimously decided to dump the Ginninderra MLA from its ticket, a little more than a month from polling day.
The party issued a statement in the early hours of Tuesday morning to confirm its management committee had decided Mrs Kikkert would not contest the election as one of the party's endorsed candidates.
"This decision was not taken lightly, but reflects the seriousness with which the Liberal Party takes compliance with obligations of candidates and MLAs under the Electoral Act 1992, including but not limited to disclosure of donations and electoral expenditure," the party said in a statement.
"In taking the decision, the Liberal Party also took into account conduct which had exposed the party to potential workplace claims as a result of Mrs Kikkert's behaviour towards employees.
"The Canberra Liberals take compliance with the Electoral Act 1992 very seriously, and has no tolerance for behaviour which would not be acceptable in any workplace."
The Canberra Times has contacted Mrs Kikkert for comment.
Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee said there were two major factors that led to Mrs Kikkert's removal from the Canberra Liberals ticket, but Ms Lee did not provide specific details.
The two areas of concern were alleged non-compliance with disclosure obligations under the Electoral Act and allegations of behaviour that "would not be acceptable in any workplace", the Opposition Leader indicated.
"It was an incredibly difficult decision, and it's the kind of decision that is not made lightly by any party, but it was compelling and as the public statement from the party has indicated, there were some serious concerns," Ms Lee told ABC radio.
Ms Lee said she was very confident in the decision that the party's management committee had made following an internal investigation.
"I think that it's important to note that every candidate and every MLA is expected to comply with very strict obligations under the Electoral Act, including donations in terms of disclosure, as well as disclosure for expenditure," she said.
"If those strict requirements are not adhered to, then action will be taken."
The Canberra Liberals issued another statement after 1pm to confirm Mrs Kikkert had been removed from the party room.
"Following the decision of management committee ... the Canberra Liberals party room has resolved to remove Elizabeth Kikkert from the parliamentary party," the statement said.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr said it was incumbent on Mrs Kikkert or Ms Lee to provide more information to the community.
"Disendorsing a sitting MLA in this way with a press release in the small hours of the morning, hoping to slide through under the cover of an election commitment announcement, looks a bit sneaky and clearly highlights that there are issues," Mr Barr said.
Mrs Kikkert, a member of the party's conservative faction, was first elected in Ginninderra in 2016 and relegated to the backbench in December 2023.
Ms Lee said at the time she believed she had assembled a team she could trust to put forward an alternate government for Canberra ahead of the election, but Mrs Kikkert and former party leader Jeremy Hanson remained important members of the Liberals from the backbench.
Mrs Kikkert received 9.3 per cent of the vote at the 2020 election, ahead of Peter Cain, who was elected as a Liberal member of the Assembly for the first time. Mrs Kikkert could still contest the territory election as an independent or a candidate for another party.
The next ACT election will be held on October 19.
Mr Cain is set to recontest Ginninderra for the Canberra Liberals, flanked by Chiaka Barry, Darren Roberts and Joe Prevedello.
The Liberals have exactly two weeks from Tuesday to find a fifth candidate to endorse for Ginninderra now that Mrs Kikkert has been removed from the ticket.
