A civil war is brewing at Liberal Party headquarters in NSW after a failure to nominate candidates for local government elections, in a error described by one contestant as mind boggling.
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Former rugby league international-turned councillor John Dorahy, 69, is one of about 135 candidates across NSW left off election ballots after what senior Liberals have described as the worst act of mismanagement in party history.
State director Richard Shields on Thursday labelled as "premature", calls for his resignation, and pointed blame at the party's de facto board led by president Don Harwin.
Mr Harwin, a powerbroker and former state minister, had volunteered to run the local government nomination process, with the executive only picking the last candidate two hours before nominations closed on Wednesday, Mr Shields said.
"There must be a proper review of the nomination process to establish the full facts," he said.
Eight local councils - including several in party heartland - will go to upcoming statewide elections without a Liberal candidate on the ticket.
More than four million people are expected to vote in September's election.
Mr Harwin called an emergency meeting with Mr Shields and the state executive on Thursday night "to review the situation surrounding the local government nominations", according to media reports.
"It's crucial we understand what occurred and take decisive action to maintain the trust of our members and the public as we prepare for the future," Mr Harwin said.
Mr Dorahy, who played two Tests for Australia alongside stints at Manly, Wests, North Sydney and Illawarra, had been selected as the Liberal candidate for Wollongong's mayoral race.
With the incumbent retiring, he expected a two-horse race with Labor.
"A few of my colleagues (including some incumbent councillors) are just beside themselves ... the rug has been pulled from under them," he told AAP.
"It's mind-boggling, to be honest."
Adding to the sting, the former deputy mayor says no one from party headquarters had offered an explanation.
"I know the highs and lows of winning, losing, being left out and after being an elite coach, having to have those hard conversations," he told AAP.
"The communication and engagement was highly lacking and the whole thing could have been averted with better communication."
Opposition leader Mark Speakman on Thursday led a chorus of senior Liberals who were scathing about the "monumental stuff-up".
"It's a basic matter of competence and administration," he told reporters, adding the state director's position was untenable.
Mr Speakman denied it was a sign the party had lost its way but expected ongoing ramifications.
"It's well known that major parties often draw from local councillors for state and federal candidates," he said.
Other Liberals have attacked the 26-member state executive, whose troubles also caused late selection of several candidates for the 2022 federal election.
The executive and state director were due to meet to discuss the latest saga on Thursday night.
Federal party leader Peter Dutton suggested there needed to be at least two resignations.
Northern Beaches, Lane Cove, Camden and Campbelltown councils are among those affected in Sydney, along with regional voters at Cessnock, Wollongong and the Blue Mountains.
Several councils overlap with safe Liberal seats in state parliament.
Election analyst Ben Raue said he had counted 44 contests involving likely 135 candidates who'd been affected.
Those areas could have elected about 51 Liberals, but only about three had a realistic chance, the creator of the website TallyRoom said.
The mess also means a ward in Penrith - where 10,000 voters chose Liberal at the last election - will be automatically won by the only-Labor nominees.
A Liberal party insider contested Mr Raue's figures, suggesting the mess extended to about two dozen winnable seats.
While Labor MPs took delight in the stuff-up, one party councillor admitted the absence is unfortunate for democracy.
North Sydney deputy mayor Godfrey Santor said the nomination process was onerous, time consuming and "unnecessarily bureaucratic".
The NSW Electoral Commission said it was unable to extend the legislated deadline for nominations.
Australian Associated Press
