There have been dozens of private phone calls between party figures who have been finger-pointing at factional enemies and accusing them of tipping off the Mercury to the detailed behind-the-scenes machinations for a feature story last Saturday.

Mud-slinging continues even though both factions are involved in a deal that would see a hard Left candidate installed in Throsby and a Right candidate in the south-west Sydney seat of Fowler.

The Right accuse the Left of being hypocrites, citing the Left's public rallying against Shellharbour State MP Lylea McMahon and other Right MPs when they were made candidates without a rank-and-file vote. "On the issue of Stephen Jones parachuting in, all of the Left and the unions are quite happy to stay quiet now," a Right identity said.

A Left member said "nothing would be worse than the sort of person from the Right a rank and file would most likely throw up".

"It's fine to want democracy but you can't ignore what democracy sometimes leads to, which in this case would be a worse candidate."

It is worth noting that the senior power brokers from both factions - such as Anthony Albanese from the hard Left and Mark Arbib from the Right - are not pushing for a rank-and-file vote in Throsby, given the deal with Fowler.