Alex Hawke fails to appear in supreme court for NSW Liberal party preselection case

The federal immigration minister, Alex Hawke, has failed to appear in the New South Wales supreme court, despite being named as the first defendant in a case that will determine whether the NSW Liberal party branch can continue to operate beyond 28 February.

Scott Robertson SC, appearing for the plaintiff, Liberal state executive member Matthew Camenzuli, told the court considerable efforts had been made to reach the minister, including the service of court documents, emails and phone calls.

There is no legal requirement for a defendant to respond to a civil summons but as Sacker noted they should be given an opportunity to put their case.

The second and third defendants, the NSW Liberal party president, Phillip Ruddock, and the federal president, John Olsen, were represented by senior counsel, but have indicated they do not intend to make submissions.

Camenzuli wants a declaration from the court that the state executive remains validly elected. The court agreed to hear the case on Thursday.

The stalled AGM is part of a much broader factional power struggle that has left the NSW Liberal party hamstrung and without candidates in nine winnable seats just months before a federal election.

They include North Sydney, Mitchell and Farrer, which have sitting MPs (including Hawke himself) as well as Warringah, Hughes, Dobell, Bennelong, and Parramatta.