Upper house candidate Peter Poulos has been suspended from the NSW Liberal Party for six months, after facing immense backlash for sharing explicit photos of Liberal MP Robyn Preston in 2018.
This comes as NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet revealed on Friday that Mr Poulos had resigned from his role as parliamentary secretary.
A spokesperson for the NSW Liberal party confirmed Mr Poulos had been disendorsed on Saturday, and will no longer be able to run as a Liberal candidate for the Legislative Council at the March 25 election.
Peter Poulos (pictured) has been suspended from the NSW Liberal Party for six months, after facing immense backlash for sharing explicit photos of Liberal MP Robyn Preston in 2018
The X-rated photographs of Robyn Preston (pictured alongside NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet) from a Penthouse magazine from the 1980s were shared when she was running for preselection in the north-west Sydney seat of Hawkesbury five years ago.
‘This afternoon, the State Director, in consultation with the State President, exercised campaign powers to suspend Peter Poulos from the NSW Division for a period of six months,’ the spokesperson said.
‘While Mr Poulos has apologised for his actions to the person concerned and to the community, his conduct fell short of the standard of behaviour expected of Members of our Party.
‘The Party will promptly fill the vacancy on the ticket in line with the requirements of our Constitution.’
The X-rated photographs of Ms Preston from a Penthouse magazine from the 1980s were shared when she was running for preselection in the north-west Sydney seat of Hawkesbury five years ago.
The email was sent to another Liberal MP, with the subject heading “Treasurer’s Pet” and the message “Enjoy” and “please clean up pdf”.
It’s understood he was working for NSW Treasurer Matt Kean at the time. In the hours before Mr Poulos’ suspension was announced, Mr Kean said the incident was “very disappointing”.
“I understand it happened in a private capacity, but it doesn’t matter if it happened in someone’s private capacity or not,” he said.
“There is no place for disrespect anywhere across our community.”
While Ms Preston would go on to win the seat, she was a councillor at the Hills Shire Council at the time, with Mr Poulos working as a political staffer.
Ms Preston confirmed there was no bad blood between her and Mr Poulos, whom she described as a ‘great mate’.
‘Peter rang me and personally apologised and he was very remorseful,’ she said.
‘We support each other along the way in our journey in politics and in friendship.’
Speaking to reporters on Saturday morning, Mr Perrottet said he had been ‘horrified and disgusted’ at the incident when it occurred, but he had accepted the parliamentary staffer’s apology.
The incident caused the female MP distress at the time, Mr Perrottet said.
‘Peter has apologised, as he should have. There is no place for that behaviour in any workplace. I have made that very clear.
‘I expect the NSW Liberal Party to act appropriately as well.’
The premier’s sharpened language comes after he appeared to defend the upper-house MP earlier this week, saying Mr Poulos had offered a heartfelt apology over the incident.
‘People make mistakes. No one is perfect. I’ve made a number of mistakes in life,’ Mr Perrottet said on Wednesday.
Premier Dominic Perrottet (pictured) said he had been ‘horrified and disgusted’ at the incident when it occurred, but he had accepted the parliamentary staffer’s apology
On Saturday, NSW Treasurer Matt Kean also said he was ‘very disappointed’ in Mr Poulos, although he wouldn’t speculate on the MP’s future in the Liberal Party – which the deputy Liberal leader said was an internal matter.
‘This is disrespect. I don’t think there’s any role for disrespect in workplaces or anywhere across our community,’ he said.
Labor leader Chris Minns said Mr Poulos’s behaviour was appalling and would likely lead to instant dismissal in any workplace, not least the public service.
The government was caught in a second scandal on Friday when finance minister Damien Tudehope resigned from his portfolio after declaring he owned shares in toll road owner Transurban.
The company operates most of Sydney’s toll roads and the city’s tolling regime is one of several key election flashpoints.
The premier accepted Mr Tudehope’s resignation, adding he had been cleared of wrongdoing by lawyers from the Department of Premier and Cabinet.
But Mr Perrottet refused to release that advice, saying he had already acted on the findings.
Mr Minns argued it should be made public as hiding the information from the public was ‘problematic’.
Asked if the Liberal Party was in disarray six weeks out from the state election, the premier and treasurer insisted the party remained focused on delivering for families.
On Saturday, the coalition pledged $1.5 billion to set up a Clean Energy Superpower Fund to invest in renewables and boost the state’s transition from fossil fuels.
The premier also announced a record $23 million funding boost for the state’s life savers, for new rescue vehicles, jet skis and upgrades to their emergency communication devices.
Meanwhile, Labor pledged $13 million in the coming four years to deliver another 50 police officers to southwest Sydney to tackle escalating crime.
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