Both sides in the Canberra Liberals' bitter Senate preselection dispute have called in lawyers before Wednesday's vital party vote.
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The party's ruling management committee, dominated by supporters of Zed Seselja, have hired two senior Sydney barristers to provide an opinion that the former party leader's preselection win over incumbent Gary Humphries cannot be legally challenged.
But as the internal brawling intensified over the weekend, Senator Humphries said that he has his own legal advice that there is nothing to prevent the challenge from going ahead. The heavily indebted branch retained Sydney silks David Bennett, QC, and Ian Neil, SC, for a joint opinion.
In their written advice to the management committee, Mr Bennett and Mr Neil quote Shakespeare's Lady Macbeth to support their argument that Mr Seselja's preselection is legally safe.
"What's done cannot be undone," the two barristers wrote.
Party members will gather at the Hotel Rex in Canberra's inner-north on Wednesday to vote on a motion to overturn Mr Seselja's victory and hold the ballot for the party's No. 1 Senate spot again.
Any second contest would see a dramatic increase in the number of members eligible to vote after a furious reaction by Liberals who say they were unfairly denied the right to a ballot on February 23.
The legal advice, circulated by divisional general secretary David Connolly, says the section of the party's constitution used by the motion's sponsors and to mount their challenge only gives authority to review a decision made by the management committee, not by the membership or the returning officer.
In his message to the members, Mr Connolly warns of "consequences" if agreement cannot be reached at Wednesday's meeting.
Senator Humphries, in his own message to the membership, told them that he had consulted a Canberra barrister specialising in administrative law.
"He advises me that there is nothing to prevent the divisional council meeting on 27 March proceeding to consider a motion to call for a fresh preselection.
''It's lawyers at 20 paces."
In another development, the president of the party's Southern
Electorate Branch James Daniels has launched an attack on the general secretary after Mr Connolly wrote to the membership defending the conduct so far of the preselection.
In an email sent on Monday morning Mr Daniels gave a detailed reply to Mr Connolly's defence of the process.
''As the statements you made appear to be exactly how Zed's camp would want them presented and are laced with part truths and inaccuracies, I have included Senator Humphries in the email,'' Mr Daniels wrote to Mr Connolly. ''Given my various emails to you regarding your communications to the membership on Friday, I am hoping that you will issue clarifying messages today.''
''If you do not, I feel that I will not be effectively representing the members of my branch if I do not communicate my concerns to them.''
Mr Connolly sent his furious missive to party members accusing unnamed internal people of using financial information he disclosed last week ''as a weapon to attack the party''.
He labelled the negative use of the information as ''intolerable'' and denied the party was in financial trouble, despite earlier revealing it was shedding staff.
Fairfax revealed on Saturday the party has an overdraft with St George Bank of more than $300,000 and owes Australia Post about $100,000, although that sum is disputed by party executives.