The statement of claim, filed last month, asserted that the meeting was in bad faith.
It said the vote was conducted by secret ballot rather than a show of hands; that committee members did not have details before the meeting or proper time to consider it; that the motions were not recorded in writing; that ballots were counted away from the committee members with no scrutineer; and that the split was never announced despite a request for the count.
Moira Deeming re-enters the party room on December 27 last year.Credit: Luis Enrique Ascui
Several party members, speaking anonymously to be frank about internal issues, view the court challenge as a political manoeuvre to pressure Davis’ position as state president. Two of Davis’ internal opponents said the memo showed he was under pressure given he is facing a challenge from former state president Greg Mirabella at next month’s state council. They view the loan process as flawed and lacking transparency.
Davis said it was a furphy that the outcome of the meeting was predetermined, given “highly active lobbying from interested parties” and since all members received an agenda in advance.
The statement of claim from the five aggrieved members said the agenda only said, “request from member for Hawthorn”.
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Davis, in his memo, said he had witnessed “the best and worst” of politics in the last few weeks. He said the committee members who disagreed with the democratic decision were reneging on their obligations to the party.
“The loan to Mr Pesutto is just another investment in the asset portfolio, generating a return which will be used for the benefit of the party … Suggestions which have been made to the effect that the loan was undocumented or uncertain in its terms are simply false,” Davis wrote.
He claimed one member had taken a confidential document from the meeting in breach of the code of conduct and had used it in the litigation without preserving its confidentiality, in a reference to lead plaintiff Harkin, though he did not name her.
“These members who have shown contempt for the majority decisions of the committee, and are unable to comply with the code, should resign as members of the committee as set out in the code,” Davis wrote.
Harkin was contacted on Monday.
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