THE state executive of the NSW Liberal Party may expel several members following allegations of assault and forced entry at a Young Liberals meeting in Castle Hill last week.
The executive meets this week after 13 police including a rapid response unit rushed to the Castle Hill offices of the federal MP for Mitchell, Alex Hawke, about 6.30pm on Wednesday after reports of a scuffle at a regular monthly meeting of the Baulkham Hills Young Liberals.
It's claimed by one Liberal group loyal to upper house MLC David Clarke, a right-wing factional leader, that rival Hawke lieutenants barred their entry by making each of the 40 members show ID and sign attendance books, while the meeting started without them. The police were then called and the meeting was shut down, denying them a vote on membership.
The party's decision-making body has subsequently closed the books on two Young Liberals branches in The Hills.
The trouble is the latest shot in the right-wing factional war between Alex Hawke and his former boss, David Clarke, the so-called Christian right leader from whom his young protege has broken away. Mr Hawke is trying to reinvent himself as the new ``soft''right leader.
Both men are vying for control of the north-western branches, the Young Liberals and various state party offices. The bitter stoush is to secure their power bases and careers, with supporters branch-stacking to control the preselection of candidates at every level of government.
A tit-for-tat stacking war is under way to undermine sitting state MPs Michael Richardson (Castle Hill) and Wayne Merton (Baulkham Hills) and lately local branch meetings have turned ugly.
A large group from the Clarke faction arrived at the meeting in the Hawke suite last week. They were barred from entry by Andrew Jefferies, a Hills Shire councillor, and Scott Farlow, the NSW president of the Young Libs. Both are factional warriors of Mr Hawke.
Charles Perrottet, a vice-president of the Young Liberals and a David Clarke staffer and Tim Abrams, under threat from the Hawke faction in his role as president of the Mitchell branch of the Liberals' Federal Electoral Conference were denied entry.
The Clarke camp said they had the right to enter, just like every other member who had turned up to vote on the night. Mr Hawke himself said ``some of the people attempting to force entry were known, but most were not known to the branch, myself or my staff ... they refused to identify themselves''.
The throng pushed their way in anyway as the meeting was starting without them. It was alleged that in the melee Cr Jefferies shoulder-butted Mr Perrottet, which he denied. He said he was the one assaulted. He said the group refused to sign an attendance register and stormed in.
With the meeting out of control, Alex Hawke was shouting for order and warned that he would call the police. ``I witnessed a number of Young Liberals and other persons being physically pushed and shoved into the front door as persons outside attempted to force entry and disrupt the meeting,'' Mr Hawke said in a prepared statement a day later. ``The use of physical force at any meeting is completely unacceptable.''
Shouting for order, he suspended the meeting and asked everyone to leave, and then the police were called.
The Hills crime commander, Detective Chief Inspector Wayne Murray, said: ``As I understand, there was a meeting of the Young Liberal Party and between 40 to 60 invited participants attended, but they could not all fit in the room, which could only fit 15-20 people.
``Some became overzealous and heated but it was not a public order disturbance. There were no allegations of assault or injuries, no charges and no move-on directions.''
Two of the participants at the meeting have told the News they are considering laying assault charges.
Mr Hawke concluded that: ``Behaviour that causes this kind of unrest is completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. I have spoken to the state director and called for an immediate inquiry.''
Was it necessary to call the police? See video at http://www.abc.net.au/news/storie s/2009/10/01/2702195.htm
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