As a result of an OC Special Investigation following a tip-off on Friday afternoon, the Liberal Party's state president David Kemp and party director Julian Sheezel have come clean on the mutinous situation prevailing in the Victorian party office towards Leader in crisis Ted Baillieu.
Under Baillieu's leadership, particularly in the period after the state election, many Liberals were in open despair about the future direction of the Opposition, with a Leader who is seen as unelectable.
Victorian Liberal party deputy state director and federal campaign director for Victoria Simon Morgan and Liberal party campaign wizard John Osborn had both operated a website that was highly critical of Baillieu's indolence and incompetence and clearly stated alternative to Labor's policies. It was run anonymously but the OC understands that their involvement was an open secret within the Kroger/Costello faction.
They were both terminated by the Liberal party when they admitted to their involvement in the website. Many are asking whether the Liberal Party's decision to sack two of their brightest and most diligent young staff while keeping Ted Baillieu sums up their predicament at the moment.
10 May 2008 Statement
Dr. David Kemp, State President
Mr. Julian Sheezel, State Director
Last month the State President and State Director discovered that two staff members employed in the Liberal Party's Campaign Unit had been involved in acts of gross misconduct prejudicial to the interests of the Party. The Campaign Unit members were Simon Morgan and John Osborn.
The State President and State Director received information on 14 April that the two staff members had been active contributors to a blog site aimed at undermining Ted Baillieu, a number of state and federal members of parliament, and other party members. The blog site was called hewhostandsfornothing.blogspot.com.
The staff members were interviewed by the State President and State Director and admitted their contributions to the blog site. Their employment with the Party was terminated on 15 April.
There is no evidence or suggestion that any other Secretariat staff member had any knowledge of the contributions to the blog site by the offending former staff members.
We are continuing to check other information concerning the site.
"The use of blog sites by Party members or staff with the specific intention of publicly undermining the Party's leader, members of parliament and other Party members is conduct which is gravely detrimental to the best interests of the Party and will not be tolerated under any circumstance," Dr. Kemp said.
"The State Director and I have acted to protect the interests of the Party by dealing swiftly with the offending former staff members and by making a clear statement that this behaviour will not be tolerated."
MUCH MORE TO FOLLOW
Game on.
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