Charlotte Varcoe
MEMBER for MacKillop Nick McBride has left the South Australian Liberal Party for the crossbench, citing his position as a Liberal member as “untenable.”
Announcing his decision to become an independent on Wednesday, July 5, Mr McBride said the decision was made due to being sick of “factional divisions”.
Mr McBride told The Border Watch the decision had accumulated over his five years as an elected member, and that there had been “frustrations” in trying to work with the Liberal Party.
“The events in the last couple of weeks have been the final straw to what has accumulated over those last five years,” Mr McBride said.
The events Mr McBride referred to included the recent MacKillop annual general meeting where his “strong executive team” was “decimated by factionalism”.
“My people that have done such a terrific job getting me to where I had been were removed which I thought was very unfair, unwise and unwarranted,” he said.
He did not comment on whether he believed the incident at the annual general meeting was in retaliation to his wife Katherine recently challenging Member for Barker Tony Pasin for pre-selection.
Mr McBride said there were “dark forces” in the Liberal Party, in the sense that “you never see it coming and it operates with stealth”.
“You never know whether you are on the inner or the outer,” he said.
In last year’s state election, Mr McBride won 62.3 per cent of first preference votes – the highest in the state.
Mr McBride said he was pressured into signing a statement re-affirming his commitment to the Liberal party following a number of rumours in the media recently which said he was “doing deals with the Labor Government” and “looking for a ministerial position”.
“Those rumours were absolutely false and I have a real strong sense – and I don’t know this for a fact – that it was not coming from the Labor government,” he said.
“I don’t know where it was coming from but I had to try and put them to bed because they were continually bubbling along.
“I can categorically say that I have made no deals and have had no need to make deals with Labor around any promotion in parliament for the future.”
Now working as an independent, Mr McBride said he would continue to advocate for his constituents.
“This is going to give me a lot of opportunity to work and serve the people of MacKillop and help them get what they have missed out on over maybe decades,” he said
“I believe that for the rest of this term, and the next term if the electorate will elect me again, we can go a long way in addressing that shortfall.”
He said he believed the Liberal Party was now in the “rebuilding stage” and he wanted it to be “a party that represents mainstream voters”.
“I want the Liberal Party to be electable and they can be in government and actually stay in government for a period that obviously can enforce real change of what Liberals believe in and want,” he said.
“I know that I’m going to be very busy as an independent and I’m not going to belong to a party, which supports and backs the members and their role, we’re going to be on our own and I just want to make sure that our staff, our office, and our ability to serve the people of McKillop isn’t made any harder to do that.”
Independent Member for Mount Gambier Troy Bell, who left the Liberal Party in 2017, confirmed this would not change his working relationships with Mr McBride, and they would continue to advocate for the Limestone Coast.
“I look forward to continuing to work with Nick as I have for the past five years on issues relevant for our community,” Mr Bell said.
“I always found Nick passionate about the MacKillop seat and it is a large area and I look forward to continuing to work with him.
Leader of Government Business in the House of Assembly Tom Koutsantonis said Mr McBride’s resignation confirmed the state Liberal Party now belonged to the “radical right”.
“The great-grandson of Sir Philip McBride, one of the founders of the modern Liberal Party and a confidant to Sir Robert Menzies, now feels there is no place for him in the party is an indictment on its current state and on its leadership,” Mr Koutsantonis said.
“It is clear this is no longer a party for traditional Liberals of the sensible centre-right; it is no longer the party for farmers, for small business.
“It is not even a party for many members of parliament who were elected under its banner.”
Mr Koursantonis said the state Liberal Party had become one for “extreme fringe groups, emboldened and enabled by the weakness of its current leadership”.
“We are seeing the forces of Alex Antic and the far Right taking over the Liberal Party in South Australia,” he said.
“The factional cracks are gaping for all to see – not even the Liberal Party’s safest seat holder feels safe in the Liberal Party anymore.
“If David Speirs can’t stand up to the extremists in his own party, how can the people of South Australia trust him to stand up for their interests?”
An Opposition spokesperson said it was disappointing to have Mr McBride leave the party despite reassurances just weeks ago that he would remain a Liberal and was dedicated to the team.
