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Somyurek scandal

February 2022

Premier Daniel Andrews.

Andrews faces fresh ‘red shirts’ probe after Labor MP crosses floor

The Victorian Premier faces a fresh probe into the infamous rort after an MP crossed the parliamentary floor to vote with ousted Labor powerbroker Adem Somyurek.

  • Patrick Durkin

November 2021

Adem Somyurek in the witness box this week.

Public not shocked by political corruption: Adem Somyurek

The Victorian MP doubts the rules will change on the use of taxpayer funded electoral officers by politicians, despite four weeks of shocking revelations at the state’s anti-corruption agency.

  • Patrick Durkin
Adem Somyurek appears at Victorian Labor branch-stacking inquiry.

Adem Somyurek: ‘What is your definition of corruption?’

Former Victorian minister Adem Somyurek says he had ‘lost all perspective’ when he was alerted to possibly forged signatures on Labor memberships.

  • Patrick Durkin

October 2021

Luke Donnellan.

Minister resigns amid claims of ‘entrenched’ branch stacking

Luke Donnellan admitted breaching Labor Party rules while a minister in Victoria but denies misusing public funds.

  • Hannah Wootton

June 2020

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd.

Rudd's plan to outlaw factions is ridiculous and cynical

The Labor leader was removed a decade ago not because of the existence of factions, but because he overestimated his power over them.

  • Aaron Patrick
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No one on either side is taking a backward step from what they thought was right back then. If anything, their views are even more entrenched.

The faceless men who started it all have no regrets

A decade after Labor torched a first-term prime minister, the party's faceless men tell Phillip Coorey they have no regrets.

  • Phillip Coorey
NSW Labor leader Jodi McKay with Granville MP Julia Finn, who has quit shadow cabinet after being named in a branch stacking investigation. She resigned on Friday but maintained her innocence.

Labor scandal spreads as NSW MP quits

More Labor heads are set to roll after Victoria's industrial branch-stacking scandal spread to NSW and Labor MP Julia Finn quit the NSW shadow cabinet.

  • Patrick Durkin, David Marin-Guzman and Tom McIlroy
Labor member for Granville Julia Finn has stepped down.

NSW Labor MP stands aside after report

NSW Labor MP Julia Finn will stand aside from shadow cabinet over an allegation she breached party rules.

Editorial cartoon for 18 June 2020 from David Rowe. Gallery Thursday 18th June 2020 ALP, Anthony Albanese, Daniel Andrews, branch stacking, Labor, Adem Semyurek

How to wreck a political party: Victorian Labor's crazy factions

The Victorian branch stacking debacle shows that old fashioned political machines have been replaced by warring tribes that undermine good government.

  • Aaron Patrick
The factional situation in Victoria has long been so impenetrable that you can only liken it to the Judean People's Front versus the People's Front of Judea.

Albanese makes a virtue out of a crisis

Adem Somyurek showed the error of trying to have it all in factional politics. But Victoria could now be easier for Albo to handle.

  • Phillip Coorey
Labor MP Anthony Byrne, the deputy chair of Parliament's intelligence and security committee.

Labor's factional fallout worsens

Federal Labor MP Anthony Byrne looks set to escape sanction following the release by his sworn enemy Adem Somyurek of fruity text messages deriding key members of the party.

  • Phillip Coorey
Labor MP Anthony Byrne: "I welcome investigations into corruption, which has no place in the party I love.”

Somyurek releases explosive text messages

The Victorian ALP scandal has pivoted back to the federal parliamentary party after explosive text messages written by federal Labor MP Anthony Byrne were released.

Daniel Andrews speaks to the media on Wednesday about party reforms. But he is likely to face more questions about what he knew and when.

Inside Labor’s Civil War

Victoria's Labor Premier Daniel Andrews could still emerge from Labor’s civil war a winner but in the same way as someone who cuts off their own gangrenous arm.

  • Patrick Durkin and David Marin-Guzman
Anthony Albanese has found himself embroiled in a Labor Party crisis of someone else's making.

Victorian scandal makes Albo's difficult task impossible

Anthony Albanese has been trying to establish himself as leader of a party focused on the community rather than its own internal convulsions and factional warfare. Then the branch stacking allegations emerged.

  • Updated
  • Jennifer Hewett
Factional disputes: Former power broker Adem Somyurek.

Somyurek brought down in Labor civil war

Adem Somyurek's enemies believe he was brought down in a civil war because he was targeting members of another Labor faction.

  • Phillip Coorey
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Takeover should help stabilise Albanese

In his short period at the helm of the ALP, Anthony Albanese has shown he is not afraid of taking on seemingly entrenched structures and figures.

  • Phillip Coorey
Adem Somyurek was elected to the Victorian upper house in 2002 with the support of the shop assistants' union.

'Everyone knew what was going on'

Adem Somyurek was a factional operator of such prodigious drive and ambition that he almost single-handedly took control of the Victorian Labor Party.

  • Aaron Patrick and David Marin-Guzman
Daniel Andrews speaks to the media on Tuesday morning.

Federal Labor takes over Victorian branch

Labor's national executive is set to seize control of the Victorian branch for up to three years, place it under the control of administrators and audit every member.

  • Phillip Coorey and Andrew Tillett
Marlene Kairouz with Premier Daniel Andrews in 2018.

Victorian political crisis sparks Labor shake-up

Labor insiders said the intervention of the ALP’s national executive is expected to shift power within the Labor Party from Spring Street in Victoria to Canberra.

  • Patrick Durkin
Daniel Andrews’ outrage as he professed surprise at watching all this unfold on 60 Minutes demonstrates the Premier’s ability to perform extremely convincingly for the cameras.

Victorian embarrassment puts Labor leaders under siege

Few people had heard of Adem Somyurek but he wielded great power in the Victorian Labor Party. How could Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese not know how he used that influence?

  • Updated
  • Jennifer Hewett

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/somyurek-scandal-1nhl