Ahead of the AGM on August 26, one Liberal insider told InDaily that concerns are held amongst some members that conservative power brokers backing aligned candidates for top SA Liberal Party jobs are in danger of making the party “unelectable”.

Playford Mayor Glenn Docherty who earns a $91,312 mayoral allowance covering Adelaide’s northern suburbs also works as a casual electorate officer for right faction federal Liberal Senator Alex Antic, according to Playford council’s register of interest.

Docherty is standing for one of four vice-president positions at the Liberal Party AGM along with Lachlan Haynes, who works part time as an electorate officer for right-aligned federal Liberal MP Tony Pasin.

“I can confirm I have nominated for one of the four vice-president positions of the SA division at the upcoming AGM. I have been a member of the Liberal Party since 2002,” Docherty said, but did not comment about his role in Alex Antic’s office.

“I won’t be making any further comments on internal party matters.”

Moderate faction members fear the party may become “unelectable” if its conservative kingmakers continue to win contests to fill key roles in the party that influence its direction and sees the party move further to the right, the Liberal insider who preferred not to be named said.

The Liberal Women’s Council is led by the party’s right faction and recently courted controversy when it invited exiled Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming as a guest speaker to its AGM.

Deeming was expelled from the Liberal Party after attending a rally headlined by British anti-transgender activist Kellie-Jay Keen where neo-Nazis were photographed performing the Nazi salute.

These latest concerns raised with InDaily follow former Liberal MP for MacKillop in the South East Nick McBride resigning from the state’s Liberal Party in July claiming “dark forces are at play” and a party “controlled by party factionalism”.

Earlier this year, his MacKillop branch president and secretary were voted out and replaced with local Pentecostal pastor Matthew Neumann as president and his wife, pastor Janine Neumann, as secretary.

McBride questioned whether Opposition leader David Speirs was in control amid a concerted recruitment drive from the hard right to bring Pentecostal Christians into the party.

Sitting member Pasin recently shored up his standing in the party, winning the preselection battle for his safe federal seat of Barker against McBride’s wife, Catherine McBride.

There also have been reports that Senator Antic may challenge for moderate federal MP Anne Ruston’s position on the top of the Liberal ticket in the Senate elections.

Other recent Liberal positioning has seen Ben Hood, who is backed by Antic and Pasin and lives in McBride’s South East stomping ground, winning a Legislative Council spot ahead of moderate Leah Grantham to replace outgoing former Health Minister Stephen Wade.

Ben Hood (second left) Sarah Game, Nicola Centofanti and Alex Antic at the ‘pro-life’ group Love Adelaide’s ball. Photo: Facebook

There will be 250 party delegates at the state council meeting on Saturday, and the insider said president Rowan Mumford will be re-elected unopposed.

The four vice-president positions are currently held by two members of the right faction, Berri Barmera Mayor Ella Winnall and Naracoorte-based Lachlan Haynes who works for Tony Pasin, and moderates lawyer Alex Rice and Leah Grantham.

However, all four of these positions are now open for election at the Liberal Party AGM, Winnall and Rice are not standing and InDaily understands there are eight candidates hoping to win the vice president spots, including Harris and Grantham.

Thea Hennessy and Brydie Ward are also backed by the right faction, Ward is on the Liberal Women’s Council executive.

Amy Grantham, who is not related to Leah Grantham, is also standing along with Ruth Robinson and Light Regional councillor Michael Phillips-Ryder.

This morning, news emerged that right-aligned Nicolle Flint, a former Boothby MP, is nominated for chair of the party’s rural and regional council. Hood is nominated to be the council’s rural briefing editor.

Deputy Opposition Leader John Gardner said the Liberal Party in South Australia is in “a very strong position from where we were on the 22^nd of March last year, I think there is a strong sense of purpose in our team”.

While he is not a delegate to the party body, he said “I haven’t spent a lot of time looking through everybody’s CVs, I don’t have any problem with people working in politically related roles standing to support the party”.

“Anyone who wants to commit their personal time voluntarily for the Liberal party should be encouraged to do so and traditionally the Liberal party state council seeks to have a diversity of backgrounds and geographical locations in the choices that it makes,” he said.

Liberal party president Rowan Mumford did not respond to calls or questions sent from InDaily by deadline.