Liberal MP Ann Sudmalis attacks colleagues during an extraordinary speech to Parliament. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen An angry Mr Ward denied the allegations and challenged her to make them in public. "This is an outrageous use of parliamentary privilege," he told Fairfax Media. "If Ms Sudmalis believes the comments she's made tonight, she should make them outside of Parliament and provide evidence." Illawarra MP Gareth Ward. Credit:Georgia Matts

In comments that will rock the Liberal Party as it struggles to handle other allegations of bullying and intimidation during last month's leadership spill, Ms Sudmalis also slammed officials in the NSW division for not doing enough to support her. Hours after Ms Sudmalis detailed her experience to Prime Minister Scott Morrison at Parliament House on Monday, he instructed the Liberal Party's federal executive to create a new "rigorous and confidential process" for complaints from party members and MPs. Loading In her late-night speech to a largely empty House of Representatives, Ms Sudmalis claimed she had endured a "trifecta" of opposition in Mr Ward, local Liberal member Andrew Guile, and John Hanscombe, the editor of the local paper the South Coast Register, which is owned by Fairfax Media. "Between them I have been misrepresented in all manner of media and a continuing barrage of actions from April 2012," she said.

Ms Sudmalis stressed her decision to quit had nothing to do with the leadership of Mr Morrison, who she called a friend and a "man of integrity". "My decision does, however, have everything to do with the NSW state division and their lack of action, and the combined undermining actions as outlined by the revenge-motivated trifecta surrounding me locally," she said. Loading "It is the state division level that I have little or no support [from] during the past six months while waiting for the preselection process, which should have been determined before now." The criticism of the party will prompt new questions about its treatment of women. A number of female MPs claimed they were bullied and intimidated into supporting Peter Dutton's failed plot to overthrow Malcolm Turnbull.

"Politics is a place where if you do not have great resilience, the actions of others can impact on your mental health," Ms Sudmalis told Parliament. "I would ask here that those who feel inspired to be spiteful, angry, insulting and gutless because they're using their keyboards - have a think before pressing the send button. How would you feel if you received the email you're about to send? "I have decided enough is enough. Who was this about? Certainly not the people who elected me. It was about ego-driven ambition, bullying and betrayal and my local position is completely untenable." The likely new candidate, Grant Schultz, will struggle to hold the South Coast seat, which sits on a slim margin of just 0.7 per cent. Ann Sudmalis makes final adjustments to her speech on Monday night. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen