Liberal conservative Blake Keating has been expelled from the party's Newcastle branch by a majority of 29 votes to nine.
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It followed a bitter feud between Mr Keating and other members of the branch.
Mr Keating, who was expelled for 'conduct unbecoming of a branch member' was given the opportunity to address members prior to a rarely used expulsion motion being moved against him on Wednesday night.
Sydney-based party affairs manager Wilson Chessell also attended the meeting. He reminded members prior to the vote that expelling Mr Keating would not result in his removal from the party's state executive.
Mr Keating, who was previously the party's candidate for the state seat of Newcastle, was last week reelected to the party state executive. He received 164 votes, the highest of any of the 11 country and regional candidates.
Mr Keating, who is due to attend a state executive meeting in Sydney on Friday night, is also a member of the Wallsend Young Liberals Branch.
Party rules prohibit members from publicly speaking about Wednesday's meeting.
However, a member who spoke on condition of anonymity said they were devastated at the way Mr Keating had been treated.
"It was quite cruel what happened to Blake. The branch really meant a lot to him," the member said.
"There were people there last night who had never staffed a polling station who were laughing about what was going on."
Among those who travelled to Newcastle to support Mr Keating was Matthew Camenzuli, a co-founder of the party's members' rights movement.
Mr Camenzuli, who has been expelled from the party, waited outside the meeting.
He told the Newcastle Herald that Mr Keating's expulsion was a "sad indictment of the Newcastle branch and its nature."
"I can't believe what happened. You have got a great, dynamic young person who really has a heart for the party and a heart for electoral success getting steamrolled by a group of much older and out of touch citizens who are trying to protect their own council outcomes," he said.
"They will burn the entire party down as long as they get council spots. It's ridiculous, it's obscene and it's everything that is wrong with the party at the moment."
Prospective local government candidates also had the opportunity to make pitches to branch members ahead of the party's preselection process.
Among those who spoke were incumbent Newcastle councillors Jenny Barrie and Katrina Wark, former Newcastle councillor Aaron Buman and former state candidate Thomas Triebsees.
Matt Bailey, the husband of former Newcastle and Port Stephens candidate Jaimie Abbott, also spoke. Mr Bailey is presently serving as a an east ward councillor on Port Stephens Council.
Matthew Kelly
Matthew Kelly has worked as a journalist for more than 25 years. He has been working as a general reporter at the Newcastle Herald since 2018. In recent years he has reported on subjects including environment, energy, water security, manufacturing and higher education. He has previously covered issues including the health and environmental impacts of uncovered coal wagons in the Hunter Valley, the pollution of legacy of former industrial sites and freedom of information issues.
Matthew Kelly has worked as a journalist for more than 25 years. He has been working as a general reporter at the Newcastle Herald since 2018. In recent years he has reported on subjects including environment, energy, water security, manufacturing and higher education. He has previously covered issues including the health and environmental impacts of uncovered coal wagons in the Hunter Valley, the pollution of legacy of former industrial sites and freedom of information issues.
