Wagga Liberal president suspended as threatened leader adopts zero-tolerance stance towards ‘bad behaviour’

The fallout from the unannounced visit to Wagga by NSW opposition leader Mark Speakman continues as his coalition rival is joined by a second casualty, National Party MP Wes Fang.

Coalition sources have confirmed that Wagga Liberal Party president Rob Sinclair has been effectively sacked by the party leader over comments published in the Wagga Gazette This Daily Advertiser.

Mr Sinclair has been suspended for six months, meaning he can no longer hold leadership positions or serve on committees and will not be eligible to participate in the upcoming leadership elections due later this year.

The sanctions were imposed a day after Speakman and NSW National Party leader Dugald Saunders agreed to end a stalemate that threatened to split the Coalition.

Saunders challenged Speakman over his attempt to punish Wes Fang, a National Party MP who publicly criticised the opposition leader on social media.

Fang was removed from several junior Shadow Ministry posts after he called Speakman’s visit to Wagga “dishonest” and criticised him for failing to inform his local Coalition ally about an upcoming photoshoot.

In his Facebook criticism, Mr Fang noted that the local Liberal Party branch had also appeared to be left out.

“The local Liberal party branch had to organise for Tony Abbott to come to meet with party members in a few weeks but couldn’t be bothered to organise an event with the current leader even though he is in #WaggaWagga,” he said in a now-deleted post.

“That should tell you everything you need to know about the longevity of Speako’s leadership.”

Mr. Sinclair was quoted in Daily Advertiser on Monday, expressing sympathy for Mr. Fang’s position and suggesting that he, too, had been snubbed after he requested a meeting with the party leader but received no response.

His “disappointment” will undoubtedly be compounded by Mr Speakman’s brutal response, who declared on Tuesday (July 2): “I will not tolerate poor behaviour from any member of my team and will demand the best possible behaviour.”

Mr Sinclair was elected as branch president in December 2022, while Richard Moffatt and Rosina Gordon were elected as branch vice presidents.

In addition to serving as president of the general division, Mr. Sinclair served as secretary of the State Electoral Conference (SEC), a delegate to the Federal Electoral Convention (FEC), and served on three committees.

While there has been no official comment from the Wagga branch of the Liberal Party, his successor will only be chosen through a ballot.

Original article published by Chris Roe on the Riverina Region website.