Brian Loughnane called to account over Liberal Party feud as dispute spills over to Queensland

The Australian

Liberal Party in turmoil

LIBERAL federal director Brian Loughnane has received a brisk "please explain" from the opposition front bench amid fears strife at party headquarters could derail the Coalition's campaign at the next election.

Mr Loughnane removed deputy director James McGrath from his post last week.

Mr McGrath has been offered a job supervising campaign efforts in the vital state of Queensland in the lead-up to the poll, but The Australian understands he is yet to accept a new role. Mr McGrath was not available for comment yesterday.

But a string of senior Liberals raised concerns when the opposition front bench met in Sydney yesterday, questioning Mr Loughnane's account. "There were some very strong comments made," one source said.

Mr McGrath, a former staffer with the Kerin government in South Australia and with a suite of high-ranking members of the British Conservative Party, has been in charge of the Liberals' key seats campaign. The frontbenchers were told Queensland's merged Liberal National Party structure was not working, with campaign preparedness nowhere near as high as in other states.

But frontbenchers and backbenchers alike do not want to lose Mr McGrath's skills in other states. "He has built up a level of trust that the federal secretariat has not previously enjoyed," one senior frontbencher said.

"He has put in place some of the best marginal seats initiatives. He has very broad support from across marginal seat-holders. He has visited their offices on numerous occasions, knows them inside out, developed a rapport with their staff and understands local issues."

One senior figure contrasted the "remote" Mr Loughnane with Mr McGrath, saying of the younger man: "He's popular with marginal seat-holders. He's out there all the time. They feel he cares about them."

Mr Loughnane defended his personnel decisions and offered one-on-one briefings to any concerned frontbenchers.