Fraser fired off the ultimatum after a Nationals party room meeting on Thursday voted unanimously that it would not support a candidate for the plum positionwhich Franklin is considering after being approached by Labor.
“The party has given him his career,so to kick sand in the face of the party is not good,” Fraser said. “It’s a matter for the party room,which has made its decision. But if Ben was to accept the position,I would refer it to ICAC.”
Franklin would also be forced to leave the National Party if he persists with his ambitions for the role,which attracts privileges equivalent to a minister.
“The only way he could do it,is if he resigns from the party and does a Mason-Cox,” Fraser said,in a reference to rebel former Liberal MP Matthew Mason-Cox,who defied then-premier Gladys Berejiklian in nominating for the same position in 2021.
Franklin has not responded to a request for comment but party sources say he is still considering his options after making his case during Thursday’s party room meeting.
Nationals MPs were livid on Wednesday as it emerged that Franklin,the godfather to one of Minns’s sons,was considering defying party leadership by accepting the role following an approach by the Labor premier to nominate.