The Meeting Place > Political > More Labor Brawls

More Labor Brawls

avatar
6 yrs ago

An ugly internal Labor brawl has broken out in the fight for a safe seat in Melbourne's west, with a federal MP calling for a candidate to be expelled from the party. Joanne Ryan — who replaced Julia Gillard as the member for Lalor in 2013 — has written to Premier Daniel Andrews and the party's state secretary Samuel Rae, calling for preselection candidate Intaj Khan to be expelled from the ALP. Mr Khan, the self-professed "king of bling" in Melbourne's west, is a Wyndham councillor who has been charged with numerous offences over an alleged failure to disclose his property and commercial interests. Mr Khan is one of three candidates seeking preselection for Tarneit, which Labor holds by 14.6 per cent, and which will be vacated by disgraced former speaker Telmo Languiller. Mr Khan, who does not hail from the right faction that holds the seat, is up against Sarah Connolly, who has the backing of the moderate Labor sub-faction of the right. Also in the race is Jasvinder Sidhu, who has been linked to branch stacking allegations — which he vehemently denies involvement with.

2 comments

Pravda on the Yarra otherwise known as the Age

POLITICS 

State Labor’s newest sub-faction has been trounced in its first electoral test, but its organisers say they are undeterred, blaming the ALP factional “machine” for galvanising against them.

 

InDaily revealed last month that a group of hard Left unions, grassroots activists and community groups had united under the banner of “Active Left” as an “active campaigning voice within the SA Labor Party”.

 

But in a ballot this week to elect four delegates from the influential Adelaide sub-branch to Labor’s state convention in October, Active Left’s candidate – Maritime Union boss Jamie Newlyn – failed to garner a single vote, InDaily has been told.

 

 

Newlyn is currently overseas and could not be reached for comment today, which would explain why he did not even manage the consolation, in a ballot of 62 members, of having one vote – his own.

 

The formation of Active Left followed Newlyn’s unsuccessful nomination for an Upper House vacancy in February, as a protest against a factional deal that saw the seat handed to Australian Workers’ Union powerbroker Justin Hanson.

 

At the time, Smith’s union – the Australasian Meat Industry Employees’ Union – threatened to disaffiliate from the party.


2 comments



To make a comment, please register or login

Preview your comment