A plan by Tony Abbott to give Liberal members in NSW more say over state and federal candidates is likely to be defeated this weekend despite it having the support of the former prime minister's mentor John Howard.
Mr Abbott, the member for Warringah, is behind the move to transform party preselection into a "one member one vote" grassroots process that would see members directly elect their candidates.
His so-called Warringah Motion, backed by Warringah conference president Walter Villatora, new NSW Senator Jim Molan and Mr Howard, will be voted on at the state Liberal annual general meeting in Sydney on Saturday.
Currently, preselection is left to branch delegates and supporters of the Warringah Motion argue that nurtures factionalism.
"We are seeking to empower the membership to give every member a vote - picking lower and upper house candidates and the state executive and the party president," Mr Abbott told 2GB on Friday, adding it was a "watershed" moment for the party.
The Warringah Motion - sometimes also referred to as the Rosehill Resolution after the plan was backed at a special convention in July 2017 - can only be enacted if it passes the state council.
Mr Abbott's reforms are up against a more moderate "unity ticket" alternative.
That so-called Bennelong Motion, which Mr Abbott has described as a "watered down" version of his plan, would still leave about 10 per cent of the preselection vote to the state council and executive.
It would also not allow party members to vote on candidates for the NSW upper house or the Senate. Further, it would only be implemented in two years, after the next state and federal elections.
"These people who are trying to backslide and water them down, they are doing their best to make it almost impossible to win the next state and federal elections," Mr Abbott has said.
Former prime minister John Howard has thrown his support behind the Warringah Motion.
"I hope at the weekend the state council embraces the major reforms," Mr Howard told News Corp Australia this week.
"All the major things ought to be endorsed such as preselections involving all party members for both upper and lower house seats and very importantly a provision that the entire membership of the party in NSW votes to elect the state executive."
It is understood the unity ticket headed by former Howard government minister Philip Ruddock would deliver a state executive comprising six conservatives, four from the centre-right and nine from the dominant moderate or "left" faction.
There is speculation the ticket has the support of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.
Senator Molan described the Bennelong alternative as "a sell-out".
AAP understands the Bennelong Motion is the more likely to get up at Saturday's AGM at Sydney Town Hall.
