Local “anger and despair”

“Party renowned for political bastardry” inflicts local “anger and despair”: former local ALP parliamentarian predicts Labor will lose Newcastle

A lengthy article by Alan Ramsey in this weekend’s Sydney Morning Herald (16 September 2006) deals with the ALP’s Newcastle preselection debacle.

Most of the article (the full text of which can be found at: Alan Ramsay's article 16 Sep 2006) is made up of the text of two letters from Alan Morris (former ALP Federal Member for Newcastle) to Federal Opposition Leader Kim Beasley on 6 and 12 September protesting against intervention in the party’s local preselection process by NSW Head Office and the ALP Federal Executive, both dominated by right wing power-brokers.

Here are some excerpts from the Morris letters:

“Here we have safe seat, where the sitting member is well supported, being at the centre of a crisis which threatens the abandonment of the party by a substantial percentage of its membership and its voters in a controversy which will dominate local media right up to election day. This will have a knock-on effect in adjoining electorates, including the two we will be struggling to win, Port Stephens and Maitland. Talk about self-inflicted injury. I expect if Ms McKay is endorsed we will lose the seat. Further, the anger will flow through to the federal election…”

“I think it imperative this matter be sent back to NSW to be resolved by rank and file ballot under party rules. I strongly suggest this is the only way to correct this amateurish exercise and to avoid a debacle.”

“In a party renowned for political bastardry the decision to disendorse Bryce Gaudry really does take the cake. This will go down as one of the most stupid acts of bastardry in living memory. A parliamentarian five years younger than John Howard, who is more competent than at least half the NSW state ministry, loyal and hard working with very strong local party and community support, is being jettisoned for a female newsreader who joined the ALP last week.”

“The geniuses of Sussex Street have now turned a non-controversial seat we would have held easily in a self-funded campaign into one which will massively divide our membership, probably lose the seat, and will have a negative influence on all adjoining seats. Very clever politics.”