Qld: Tucker to take another shot at forcing general preselection

AAP General News (Australia)
08-04-2001
Qld: Tucker to take another shot at forcing general preselection

Failed Liberal candidate BOB TUCKER is planning another attempt on Tuesday to force
his Queensland branch to hold a normal preselection in the Brisbane seat of Ryan.

Lawyers for Mr TUCKER will return to the Supreme Court in Brisbane after Justice JOHN
MUIR yesterday declared the limited preselection invalid.

Now cancelled, the preselection was to be held tomorrow.

now cancelled for tomorrow.

Mr Tucker repeated calls today for the party's state executive to urgently meet and
hold a full plebiscite in the federal seat in the city's west.

"I call on (Liberal party state president) John Herron to do the right thing because
the rank and file members are pretty cranky about being shut out of the process," Mr Tucker
said today.

The millionaire businessman took the state executive to court this week on behalf of
the state's 6,000 Liberals to overturn a party decision to hold a limited preselection.

The truncated vote would involve only 85 of a possible 1,200 Ryan voters, which Mr
Tucker said disenfranchised rank and file members.

Mr Tucker sought a court order for a full plebiscite, but Justice Muir put the issue
back on the table for the state branch to vote again.

In the meantime, Justice Muir has agreed to take further submissions from Mr Tucker's
lawyers on an order to force the Liberals into holding a full preselection.

But Senator Herron, who opposed the court action on the basis of a limited preselection
saving time, rejected Mr Tucker's calls for urgency today.

"There have already been two state executive meetings that have made this decision,"

Senator Herron said.

"The sooner we get a candidate in Ryan the better. I am not making any further comment
until I read the judgement."

A limited plebiscite is allowed under the party's constitution in exceptional circumstances
to install a candidate such as when snap elections are called.

Justice Muir rejected Liberal lawyers claims that preparations for a full preselection
would involve phone calls to each voter.

He said he could see no reason why the details could not be checked against the electoral
roll or on the day of the plebiscite at the voting venue.

Mr Tucker had the backing of Prime Minister John Howard in the wake of the Ryan by-election
loss on February 17 but Mr Howard is now refusing to enter the debate, saying it is now
a state matter.

Labor's Leonie Short won the seat away from the Liberals for the first time in history
by 244 votes after it was vacated by retiring former Defence Minister John Moore.

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KEYWORD: LIBS QLD (BRISBANE)

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