1 week Ago By Sage Swinton
Two former Cessnock councillors say they are taking legal action against the Liberal party for the registration bungle which robbed them of the chance to recontest their seats. Login or signup to continue reading John Moores and Paul Paynter said they decided to initiate legal proceedings after Liberal head office failed to submit nominations for almost 150 candidates in the 2024 council election, including four incumbent Cessnock councillors. Mr Moores and Mr Paynter said they never in their "wildest dreams" could have imagined bringing a case against the party before the fiasco.
"How could the Liberal Party have let us and our fellow candidates down so cruelly?" the pair said in a joint statement. The missed registration affected about 150 Liberal candidates across the state and led to the sacking of NSW Liberal Party director Richard Shields. Eight local councils went into the 2024 local government elections without a Liberal candidate.
Mr Moores and Mr Paynter said the party told them it would handle their nominations with the NSW Electoral Commission. That turned out to be "fatal" to the election hopes of "dozens of people who, like us, were prepared to stand up for their community and Liberal party values". The pair said they were still waiting for an apology or explanation from the party.
"The events of August 2024 and the council elections of September 2024 were an incredible disappointment to me personally and those who had worked so hard to have me and my colleagues elected," Mr Moores said. "It was also highly embarrassing to me and my family. People would stop me in the community including when I was out shopping.
I had to explain why a professional political party got it so wrong." "Community members have encouraged me to go for it when they heard of our case," Mr Paynter said. Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter.
She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020. Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020.
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