Prime Minister Scott Morrison is being urged to launch an extraordinary takeover of the Liberal Party’s NSW division to stop a factional brawl that cabinet ministers blame for triggering the leak of purported texts that labelled him a “complete psycho” and a “horrible” man.
Mr Morrison is considering the formal intervention in the party’s biggest division to prevent an internal fight that could wreck the party’s fortunes at the coming federal election, with officials yet to name candidates for seats they must win for the government to survive.
Scott Morrison said he was confident the minister said to have made the remarks was not in federal cabinet and there was no need for an investigation into the leaks.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
But the text messages, reported by the Ten Network on Tuesday night, have also fuelled talk of an “orchestrated hit” against the Prime Minister in a bid to remove him from power before the election because voters have lost trust in his leadership.
Federal cabinet ministers ruled out sending the texts and rejected the criticism of Mr Morrison in the messages that the Ten Network said were shared with former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian, who said she had no recollection of the comments.
Mr Morrison said he was confident the minister said to have made the remarks to Ms Berejiklian was not in federal cabinet and there was no need for an investigation into the leaks.
“I’m not fussed,” he said while campaigning in the marginal seat of Macquarie, west of Sydney.
“What matters to the Australian people, as we go forward to this next election, is their job, their security, their health and wellbeing, the strength of their community that they rely on.”
Mr Morrison’s personal ally Alex Hawke, the Immigration Minister and a faction leader in the NSW division, has been ensnared in a long fight with moderates and conservatives that may only be resolved by a federal intervention to force the selection of candidates.
While senior federal sources said the Prime Minister would be very reluctant to intervene, the state division had to decide as soon as possible whether to allow party members to choose the election candidates at preselections or give officials the power to make the decisions without ballots.
Without a swift resolution, those close to Mr Morrison believe there will be “little choice” but to intervene in a move that could risk a backlash from disaffected party members across the state.
Environment Minister Sussan Ley is under threat from the conservatives in a potential preselection in her seat of Farrer on the Victorian border, with her supporters backing the idea of an intervention to stop the infighting before the election.
The Liberals are yet to choose candidates for Dobell and Parramatta, two seats where they believe they could defeat Labor, and do not have a candidate to contest Hughes, where they are seeking to topple Craig Kelly, the former Liberal who now leads the United Australia Party.
“This was an orchestrated hit,” said one senior Liberal of the leaking of the texts.
“NSW is a mess, a real mess, so anything is possible in the quagmire and this was a definite hit job.”
Mr Morrison defeated Defence Minister Peter Dutton by 45 to 40 votes in August 2018 to take the Liberal leadership and some of Mr Dutton’s supporters believe he would be a better prospect to lead them to the coming election. Others ridicule the idea of a spill.
The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age have not seen the texts reported on Tuesday. Ten Network political editor Peter van Onselen quoted passages from the texts but did not show each message in full in the conversations with the former premier. Those passages included Ms Berejiklian calling Mr Morrison a “horrible, horrible person” and a senior minister calling him a “complete psycho”.
Mr van Onselen said on Wednesday the senior minister in the text exchange was a federal cabinet minister, that he had checked this with the minister and the messages were exchanged at the time of the “black summer” bushfires two years ago.
With several sources saying Ms Berejiklian regularly deleted her text messages while she was premier, some Liberals disputed the claim that the texts were accurate and that they involved a federal minister.
‘This was an orchestrated hit.’
“It is completely unbelievable to me that she had that exchange with a current member of federal cabinet,” said one Liberal MP.
Federal Liberals named NSW Treasurer Matt Kean, a known critic of Mr Morrison, as the likely source of the texts but he denied this in an interview on radio station 2GB.
“I played no part in the ambush on the Prime Minister. It was not me,” Mr Kean said.
Asked if he had sent any text messages between himself and Ms Berejiklian to any third parties, such as Mr van Onselen, Mr Kean initially said “not to my knowledge” and then added, when asked again, that he did not show a text message to the journalist.
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said it was only a matter of time before the minister’s identity was revealed and called for the person to come forward.
“Three people know who this is. Did I say three? I meant 3000. This is about one dinner and two bottles of red wine away from the whole world knowing who this is,” he said.
Asked if he was the source, NSW premier Dominic Perrottet said: “I can completely reject that it’s me.”
As rumours swirled about the messages, federal cabinet ministers issued a series of statements to deny being involved.
“I can say categorically that these claims have nothing to do with me,” said Foreign Minister Marise Payne in a statement.
“I have never had such an exchange with the former premier, nor have I ever used such language, and nor did I like messages, if indeed they are genuine. It is ludicrous to suggest otherwise.
“I would add that I also reject the descriptions of the Prime Minister in the purported messages. They do not match my long experience of working with him. He is the best person to lead this country now and into the future.”
A spokesman for Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said “no” when asked if the minister, whose electorate overlaps with Ms Berejiklian’s former state seat, was involved.
Finance Minister Simon Birmingham, a leader of the moderate wing of the Liberal Party and a close colleague of the former premier, also denied being the minister involved. “No, it wasn’t me,” he said.
A spokesman for Government Services Minister Linda Reynolds, who was in the defence portfolio at the time of the “black summer” bushfires, said: “Happy to confirm that Minister Reynolds has not sent the reported text messages to Ms Berejiklian.”
Ms Ley also said she had no part in the texts.
“I have neither been involved in the purported exchange nor been aware of it at any time prior to yesterday’s question at the Press Club,” Ms Ley said.
“Any suggestion otherwise is insulting and completely untrue.
“I have known the Prime Minister for 20 years and such a characterisation of his behaviour and attitudes is entirely alien to my understanding of the politician and the person.”
Social Services Minister Anne Ruston said: “These messages were not from me. Having worked closely with the Prime Minister through the bushfires and the pandemic, I know his absolute priority is always the people of Australia and their welfare.”
Energy Minister Angus Taylor and Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews also denied being part of the text exchange.
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