Peter Poulos has been disendorsed by the Liberal Party. (NSW Liberal Party)
Peter Poulos, a member of the upper house, was removed from the NSW Liberal Party’s ticket for the forthcoming state election after he acknowledged sharing pornographic images of a colleague about five years ago.
Despite offering an apology for showing a fellow Liberal member the modeling photos of Hawkesbury MP Robyn Preston during a preselection contest, Poulos was formally disendorsed by the party for next month’s election on Saturday afternoon.
A representative for the Liberal Party stated, “This afternoon, the state director utilized campaign powers to suspend Peter Poulos from the NSW Division for a term of six months in consultation with the state president.”
“The result of the suspension is that Mr. Poulos no longer receives the support of the Liberal Party for the upcoming Legislative Council election.
“While Mr. Poulos has apologized for his behavior to the community and the individual in question, his conduct fell below the bar set for party members.
“The Party will swiftly fill the vacancy on the ticket in accordance with our Constitution’s provisions,”
On Tuesday, Premier Dominic Perrottet defended Poulos, saying that “people make mistakes,” but on Saturday, he reversed course and demanded that the Liberal Party take action against him.
Perrottet said to reporters, “They need to look at that situation.
“It is a party-related issue. I was extremely clear then, and I was very clear now. When those memories—created by a decision she made years ago—were used against her, it was abhorrent, nasty, and wrong in every way.”
Poulos’s denial of support comes just one day after Damien Tudehope, a former finance minister, was compelled to leave from the cabinet after confessing he owned shares of the tolling colossus Transurban while serving in that capacity.
For the state election on March 25, the Liberals have not yet named a substitute for Poulos on their upper house ticket.
