The Liberal Party of NSW is taking a senior federal minister to court over what it says is an attempt to intervene in grassroots pre-selection processes.
Matthew Camenzuli, a member of the NSW Liberals state executive, has lodged a claim in the NSW Supreme Court against Immigration Minister Alex Hawke to clear up an ongoing dispute about the executive's powers.
The dispute has become a sore point for the Liberals because it has meant candidates are yet to be selected for some marginal seats in the upcoming federal election.
The internal war hinges on the fact that the NSW Liberal Party was supposed to meet by November 30 last year to elect the members of the executive but, due to the Omicron outbreak, the meeting never happened.
As a result, the positions of the executives, including president Philip Ruddock, are now in question and it remains unclear whether they can still govern past February 28.
Mr Camenzuli has applied for an injunction, arguing the missed meeting does not mean the executive ceases to hold office.
NSW executive members, from both the moderate and right factions, are blaming Mr Hawke for stalling and not attending meetings in an attempt to run the clock down and push the executives out.
It is alleged that Mr Hawke, who is the Prime Minister's representative on the committee, was failing to engage with the proper pre-selection processes, leading to lengthy delays.
If the court rules in Mr Hawke's favour and finds that the executive no longer holds power after next week, it will mean grassroot branches cannot select their own candidates and there will need to be federal intervention, giving the Prime Minister a greater say over candidates.
The feud comes after months of frustration for the NSW Liberals who are eager to make decisions about pre-selections for seats with a federal election due in the coming months.
Environment Minister Sussan Ley, Federal MP for North Sydney Trent Zimmerman and Mr Hawke are yet to be endorsed as they are facing challenges by other candidates from other factions.
Earlier this month, the Prime Minister lashed out at the "childish games" and "factional rubbish" in NSW and said if Ms Ley was not backed, the state division should "get out of the way and let the federal executive get it done".
One Liberal told the ABC there was immense frustration within the NSW division, which had been trying to resolve preselections for 12 months, and warned: "We need to get candidates in the field ASAP."
A number of other NSW electorates are awaiting pre-selections, including Warringah, Eden-Monaro, Parramatta and Hughes.
The federal election must be held by May 21 but unofficial campaigning has been in full swing for months.
The legal action, which also names Mr Ruddock and federal executive president John Olsen as defendants, will be heard before the Supreme Court.
