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The Tony Abbott-aligned group urging NSW Liberals to attend a party reform meeting this weekend is campaigning with a political app used by the organisation behind the 2010 National Tea Party Convention in the United States.

The app being used by the group, the Democratic Reform Movement, is created by Right Mobile Pty Ltd.

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It gives mobile phone users access to videos and articles featuring Mr Abbott and others arguing for an overhaul of the NSW Liberal Party preselection rules and urges party members to attend.

The same template was used by Right Mobile to create an app for Tea Party Nation, which organised the 2010 convention for the Tea Party conservative Republican splinter group at which former Republican governor Sarah Palin was keynote speaker.

Fairfax Media has also learnt questions are being asked about $10,000 in party funds spent on the Democratic Reform Movement campaign by the Federal Electorate Conference for Mr Abbott's seat of Warringah.

The reform group is led by Warringah FEC president Walter Villatora.

Internal documents show Warringah FEC spent $10,334.90 on a "Democratic Reform Workshop".

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This is understood to be the subject of a complaint to NSW Liberal head office ahead of the Party Futures Convention to be held at Rosehill racecourse this weekend.

The convention is set to thrash out changes to how state and federal candidates are preselected by the NSW Liberals.

The Democratic Reform Movement is pushing a Warringah FEC motion to introduce plebiscites whereby every local party member would get a vote. At present, voting is restricted to branch representatives and some party officials.

The ruling left and centre right factions claim this will open the door to large-scale branch stacking by Mr Abbott's "hard" right faction.

They support a compromise that would introduce plebiscites but with strict safeguards such as a member activity test and a requirement for several years' membership.

On Monday Fairfax Media reported the Democratic Reform Movement was accused of trying to "stack" the convention, including by paying the $150 fee for members to attend.

The convention is being seen as the next potential flashpoint between Mr Abbott and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over the Liberal Party's direction.

Former party member and plebiscite campaigner John Ruddick has predicted a split in the Liberals should the Warringah motion fail.

Right Mobile has created apps for numerous US Republican party groups as well as for charity.

Sasha Reid, a founder of Sydney company Hyper Apps, estimated the Democratic Reform Movement app would cost between $10,000 to $15,000 to set up, plus potential ongoing fees.

However, a source close to the Democratic Reform Movement said Right Mobile was owned by a "mate" and therefore cost "next to nothing" and denied the owner had Tea Party or Republican links.

A Warringah FEC source said it had passed the Warringah motion unanimously twice and that "gives the Warringah conference the mandate to spend [the $10,000]".

But a Liberal source accused the Warringah FEC of "spending party funds to support the hard-right faction in its campaign to introduce the branch stacker's plebiscite".

"They should have their guns pointing at Labor, not fellow Liberals," the source said.

Go here to see the original:
Tony Abbott-aligned Liberal reform group using Tea Party political app - The Sydney Morning Herald