New South Wales opposition leader Mark Speakman says he was kept in the dark about the Liberal federal executive's move to take over the party's state division. The federal executive has appointed three senior Liberals to run the party for 10-months but one of them has already declined.
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00:00Well, Mark Speakman says he was caught off guard when the Liberal Federal Executive yesterday
00:07launched a takeover of the party's New South Wales division.
00:10It followed the failure of party officials in Sydney to nominate some 140 candidates
00:16for the upcoming local government elections after missing the paperwork deadline.
00:21The Federal Executive asked the New South Wales division to appoint three senior Liberals
00:25to run the party for 10 months, including Victorians Alan Stockdale and Richard Olsen,
00:31as well as the former New South Wales Minister Rob Stokes.
00:35But last night, Mr Stokes declined the offer, telling the ABC he was not in a position to
00:40accept.
00:41Mr Speakman said he put Mr Stokes' name forward days before the decision when there was talk
00:48about possible federal intervention.
00:50The opposition leader said Mr Stokes had expressed to him an in-principle willingness to serve
00:56I did not know that that motion was going to Federal Executive.
01:00But of course, there had been suggestions that there would be federal intervention.
01:05So very late in the piece, I sounded out Rob Stokes about his interest in serving on such
01:10a committee.
01:11He indicated to me a happiness to serve.
01:13I conveyed that to federal identities.
01:17There was off the record, I thought, private discussions about other possibilities.
01:21But I had no knowledge that his name was going to be put forward to a Federal Executive
01:26meeting yesterday.
01:27Well, this was the first time Mr Speakman fronted the cameras since former Shadow Assistant
01:32Minister Rory Amon was charged with child sex offences on Friday.
01:36Mr Speakman said the first he learned of the charges was through the media.
01:41He said there were rumours about Mr Amon's sexuality, but that they were none of his
01:45business.
01:46He insisted, though, he had heard no rumours suggesting any alleged illegal behaviour on
01:52Mr Amon's part.
01:54Mr Amon quit parliament on Friday and denies the charges, which he says he will be defending
02:00in court.
02:01The party is facing headaches on multiple fronts as it prepares to try to hang on to
02:06three seats in by-elections next month.