There’s a Liberal civil war breaking out in Sydney’s south, with federal Hughes MP Jenny Ware lawyering up in response to an explosive factional attack from conservatives in her own backyard.
On Wednesday night, Ware told members of her federal electoral conference who attended a meeting at the Woronora River RSL that she was seeking legal advice in relation to an email sent by Menai Young Liberal branch president Jawad Hanna earlier this week.
The 2,900-word email, sent to the Liberal Party’s deputy state director Dorina Ilievska on Monday, accused Ware of trying to plant allies in the Menai Young Liberal branch. Hanna’s email was in response to a request by Ilievska that the branch supply reasons why applications to join the branch were rejected.
“Jenny Ware MP is supposed to be fighting cost of living pressures to support families and small business, instead she is fighting and undermining conservative branches in her area,” the email, seen by Crikey, said.
“It is customary for membership applicants to contact branch members to express their interest in joining. However, none of the applicants engaged us in any way whatsoever before or after they submitted their applications to join Menai Young Liberal’s branch …Consequently, our members found this behaviour to be highly irregular and sneaky. This was a negative indicator that branch stacking was occurring and it seems it was actively being supported by Jenny Ware MP.”
Crikey tried to get in touch with Hanna by emailing, calling and texting, but did not get a response by deadline. Crikey confirmed we had the right number with Hanna’s wife, who is also a member of the Liberal Party.
In response to questions from Crikey, Ware denied she had engaged in branch stacking or that she had declared intentions to take over branches.
Encouraging allies to join a certain branch would not be illegal, but depending on how it’s done it may rub factional opponents the wrong way.
According to Crikey’s sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because party rules prevent them from speaking openly, conservatives in the area are miffed that Ware was selected as the Liberal candidate in Hughes in 2022 by a troika of party officials led by then prime minister Scott Morrison, rather than going through a preselection. Ware won her seat at that year’s federal election, and when she was up for preselection as an incumbent ahead of the upcoming 2025 federal election, no-one put their hand up to oppose her.
“I was endorsed unanimously by my conference and wasn’t challenged last year,” Ware told Crikey. “I consider myself a liberal in the true sense of liberalism.”
Liberals feared the escalating fight between Ware and her conservative party colleagues could have negative consequences for the NSW Liberals at the upcoming election.
Several sources said they felt the email was written in an unusually confrontational way, and some local Liberals felt the author had gone too far.
“This is an absolute disaster, right before a federal election,” one local source said. “They went nuclear on Jenny and the damage has already been done.”
“At the same time, if [the party head office] can effectively reverse decisions from branches, that will make all the other branches nervous.”
People who become members of the Liberal Party end up in a general pool of members, and must seek permission from branches if they want to join that branch. One of the benefits of belonging to a branch is that such a membership grants the right to vote in local preselections, provided the membership has been held continuously for two years.
One source, who described themselves as an ally of Ware, said the moderate MP lacked control of any branches in the area.
“Assuming Jenny wins the upcoming election she will face another term, but she will face a preselection for her third term,” the source said, speculating Ware was trying to lay the groundwork for that contest.
Another Liberal source rejected the arguments made in the email, telling Crikey: “Encouraging people to join the party in your electorate shows you have a good, hard-working local member.”
As Crikey reported previously, conservative elements within the nearby Sutherland Branch had intended to move a series of motions at the Wednesday meeting, including calling for the expulsion of ex-NSW treasurer Matt Kean and ex-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull from the party.
Those motions were deferred until the next meeting, but another one brought by the same branch, which called for state party president Don Harwin to resign from the position, was passed unanimously.
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