A member of the NSW Liberals is facing up to five years' suspension for publicly criticising an MP who was caught falsely swearing to have lived in her electorate for a decade. <\/p>\n
Liberal headquarters is moving to suspend barrister Juris Laucis for up to five years for criticising Felicity Wilson, the party's candidate for North Shore. <\/p>\n
During a close preselection battle, Ms Wilson was revealed to have falsely sworn to have lived in the electorate for a decade. <\/p>\n
On the eve of the April byelection, Ms Wilson said she should have been more careful with her wordsamid a burgeoning media scandal about inconsistencies in her claimed connection to the electorate. <\/p>\n
Writing for The Spectator, Mr Laucis described the affair as a \"running sore\" for the party. <\/p>\n
\"The honourable thing to do, even at the 11th hour, would have been for the Liberal Party to withdraw from the race, and thereby demonstrate that it is a Party that commands the moral high ground,\" he wrote. <\/p>\n
\"The election of Felicity Wilson is a running sore that will plague the Berejiklian government all the way to the next election.\" <\/p>\n
Liberal party state director Chris Stone commenced suspension proceedings against Mr Laucis for those comments this week. <\/p>\n
\"Mr Laucis did not obtain authority from the State Director prior to publishing the article and has therefore breached [regulations],\" a motion from the Department of Party Affairs and passed by the Liberals' ruling state executive read. <\/p>\n
But Mr Laucis was unrepentant. <\/p>\n
\"They're trying to set up a Stalinist regime,\" he told Fairfax Media. \"The reason I speak out is the only way that culture is going to change is if it comes out in the public domain. <\/p>\n
\"Within the Liberal Party there's no mechanism we can [use to] stop whatever the executive is doing.\" <\/p>\n
Mr Laucis' fate will be determined by a meeting of the party's all-powerful state executive on July 28. <\/p>\n
In her first tilt at Parliament, Ms Wilson retained the seat of North Shore for the Liberals, notwithstanding a swing of more than 15 per cent. <\/p>\n
Last week she was revealed to have presented her third different account of her ties to the electorate in a speech to party members that significantly watered down her initial apology. <\/p>\n
A spokesman for the NSW Liberal party declined to comment. <\/p>\n
The Liberal Party maintains famously strict rules that prohibit members from discussing \"internal party matters\" in the media. <\/p>\n
Ex-federal MP Ross Cameron recently fell foul of the rule and was recently suspended for four-and-a-half years for critical comments he made about now-Premier Gladys Berejiklian. <\/p>\n
Mr Laucis was also previously suspended last year, along with former MP Charlie Lynn and Mr Cameron, for a period of six months, for comments critical of party preselection processes made to the ABC's 7.30 program. <\/p>\n
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Liberal faces five-year suspension for criticising MP Felicity Wilson - The Sydney Morning Herald<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A member of the NSW Liberals is facing up to five years' suspension for publicly criticising an MP who was caught falsely swearing to have lived in her electorate for a decade. Liberal headquarters is moving to suspend barrister Juris Laucis for up to five years for criticising Felicity Wilson, the party's candidate for North Shore Continue reading