NSW Labor branch stacking: Granville MP Julia Finn resigns
Three days after The Daily Telegraph exposed details of a secret Labor investigation into a string of branch stacking allegations in western Sydney, Granville MP Julia Finn has resigned from the NSW Shadow Cabinet.
NSW
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW. Followed categories will be added to My News.
NSW Labor MP Julia Finn has resigned from Jodi McKay’s front bench amid the party’s internal probe into branch stacking.
It comes three days after The Daily Telegraph exposed details of a secret Labor investigation into a string of branch stacking allegations in western Sydney electorates.
Ms Finn was explicitly named in the report for having breached the rules, but it stopped short of recommending any party punishment against her.
The Granville MP issued a statement saying “Today I have told NSW Labor Jodi McKay I will be standing aside from Shadow Cabinet. I have asked the NSW ALP’s internal tribunal to urgently consider matters raised about me in an anonymous dossier and in the Moorhead independent review”.
She said she had “asked that any steps required for this to happen be taken”.
Ms Finn said “I maintain my innocence of any wrongdoing, as was the finding of the independent review”.
Ms McKay on Friday said Ms Finn should be given a chance to clear her name at Labor’s Independant Appeals Tribunal.
“Julia Finn MP has today informed me she will be standing aside from Shadow Cabinet,” Ms McKay said.
“I said yesterday I accepted Julia’s explanation regarding a reference in the recent investigation by Evan Moorhead into allegations of branch and membership record falsification,” she said.
“Julia Finn maintains she has not breached any rules, and she is entitled to have her name cleared.
Labor will expedite hearings in the tribunal to interrogate the seven party members involved in the report on branch stacking.
“With COVID-19 restrictions easing, the tribunal will expedite hearings against seven party members whom the Moorhead inquiry found had cases to answer. Their party memberships have been suspended,” Ms McKay said.
Taking over Ms Finn’s portfolios will be Deputy NSW Labor Leader Yasmin Catley for Consumer Protection and Jodie Harrison will assume the Carers portfolio.
Ms McKay on Thursday stood by Ms Finn and blamed a delay in disciplinary action being taken against seven party officials found to have engaged in “unworthy conduct” on the coronavirus pandemic, claiming it’s not her “concern”.
The Daily Telegraph revealed that a man accused in the report of branch stacking activity was in fact a staffer of then industrial relations minister Paul Lynch and that emails the adviser sent discussing “personally” paying for memberships were sent from his ministerial work email using taxpayer resources.
MORE NEWS
COVID rent row landlord charged with assaulting tenant
Commuter fares to be halved — but there’s a catch
Colt member walks free as child incest charges dropped
Earlier, Ms McKay said she had not spoken to Mr Lynch, who is still a front bencher, about why that occurred but noted there was no finding against him in the review.
Despite ordering the investigation into branch stacking allegations, Ms McKay yesterday admitted she had only read a “majority” of the report. “I have read parts of the report that are relevant to the members of parliament and the requests that I made,” she said.
“I made damn sure that I was completely and utterly informed about issues that affected MPs on my front bench.”
However she said any findings against Labor Party members are “an issue for head office to deal with”.
“They are not my concern. There is an independent process that has to go through,” she said.
However, one Labor source yesterday said Ms McKay had been unable to discipline Mr Lynch and Ms Finn because she relies on their faction’s support for her leadership.
ALP staffer arranging party memberships on taxpayer time
A second NSW Labor frontbencher has been linked to the state ALP branch stacking scandal.
The Daily Telegraph can reveal that one of the party members accused of misconduct in a damning internal branch stacking report was a ministerial staffer for Labor frontbencher Paul Lynch when the man allegedly paid for other people’s party memberships.
Luke McCaskie used his internal work email, funded by the taxpayer, to discuss “personally” paying for other people’s ALP memberships and to plan branch membership business when he worked for then Industrial Relations Minister Mr Lynch as a “policy advisor”.
Despite condemning Mr McCaskie’s activities, the report does not mention that he was accused of using the parliamentary resources of an ALP frontbencher.
This omission which will give ammunition to party members already claiming the report has been too soft on MPs – however another source said the ministerial link was “outside the terms of reference.”
Mr Lynch – who says he was not aware of the activity – is the brother-in-law of powerbroker Laurie Ferguson, who has also been accused of branch stacking misconduct but denied wrong doing.
Labor’s branch stacking report identified Mr McCaskie as one of seven party operatives guilty of misconduct – in his case, paying for other people’s memberships as they were about to expire.
This is a tactic that falsely boosts branch numbers and voting blocs for the faction.
In a string of 2011 emails obtained by The Daily Telegraph from Mr McCaskie’s Paul Lynch ministerial email address, the staffer lists “financial” and “unfinancial” memberships, promising Mr Ferguson’s staffer Maurice Campbell he would “take care of” and “fix” outstanding memberships.
Mr Campbell has also been accused of branch stacking conduct.
The report found the email evidence was not clear enough to prove Mr McCaskie had been paying for other people’s memberships, but Mr Moorhead found sufficient evidence through party financial receipts.
Mr McCaskie – who also worked for Labor frontbencher Lynda Voltz – could not be contacted for comment and Mr Moorhead’s report also notes the branch stacking investigation could not reach him.
Originally published as NSW Labor branch stacking: Granville MP Julia Finn resigns
Viral bishop defends free speech against new laws
The outspoken bishop stabbed at the pulpit for his political views has panned new misinformation laws.
Almost 500 new homes to be built over Sydney Olympic Metro
Almost 500 new homes will be built on the new Sydney Olympic Park Metro precinct with major construction set to begin after the site was finally approved by the NSW government.