NSW Liberal MP 'can't vote for Morrison'

NSW state Liberal MP Catherine Cusack
NSW state Liberal MP Catherine Cusack attacked Scott Morrison's handling of the recent floods. -AAP Image

Another Liberal MP has called out the prime minister's character, saying she cannot vote for a "a ruthless self-serving bully" and no longer recognises the party she joined.

NSW state Liberal MP Catherine Cusack attacked Scott Morrison's handling of the recent floods, accusing him of politicising the tragedy.

"I can't vote for Scott Morrison, full stop, at the next federal election," she told the ABC.

"Doing the right thing now won't get my vote because it won't undo the wrong he has done to my community."

Ms Cusack says Mr Morrison forced the federal executive to go over the state division to ensure his candidates were preselected in NSW and therefore robbed every person in those seats "their rights to have a voice in the candidate selection".

"That behaviour - in terms of his own party and his own colleagues - is completely unacceptable," she said. 

"He is now using his role as prime minister to bully the NSW government and the flood victims because he is not getting his way."

Ms Cusack said this was evident in the political appointment of Shane Stone as the co-ordinator-general of the National Recovery and Resilience Agency and using guidelines to exclude some flood victims.

The upper house member also accused Mr Morrison of failing to engage with the NSW government to assessing and approving payments and co-funding a recent disaster package.

"As a result, those packages are well below what's required and what should be available," she said.

"It is unbelievable anyone would act like this towards flood victims."

The new revelations comes alongside a new poll putting Labor 14 points ahead of the coalition after NSW Liberal senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells criticised Mr Morrison's character and trustworthiness.

A Roy Morgan Poll conducted in the past week shows the ALP extending its lead to 57-43 in two-party preferred terms - a 1.5 percentage point increase from a week prior.

But senior Labor figures are trying to play down their lead in the polls, with frontbencher Chris Bowen saying the party needed to "win seats, not polls".

Mr Bowen also took aim at the prime minister's trustworthiness as figures from within the Liberal Party continue to target Mr Morrison's character.

"Sure there's a pile-on but it's coming from his own side," Mr Bowen told the ABC.

But assistant minister Tim Wilson has defended the prime minister, saying he's confident of holding his seat and government.

"There'll always be opinions of politicians. There'll always be opinions of public figures. There'll always be people who will be upset or disgruntled about previous experiences," he told the ABC.

"It's just not even remotely relatable to any experience. I've always found my engagements with him (Mr Morrison) to be incredibly professional and engaged in good faith."

Labor is also trying to shift the focus onto small businesses left behind during national disasters, announcing standard business support package for times of crisis.

Deputy Leader Richard Marles said Labor would provide certainty around the timeliness for disaster payments as well as cut red tape and transaction fees, which could save businesses more than $800 million a year in merchant fees.

"A lack of federal leadership has compounded the anxiety felt by small-business owners, eroding confidence and certainty about the future," he said. 

The consumer watchdog's anti-scamming unit will also be beefed up to protect small businesses and more opportunities will be provided for Commonwealth procurements. 

The threshold for agencies to directly engage with small businesses will be raised from $200,000 to $500,000 to ensure greater representation on government procurement panels.