Preselection chaos as Labor high court challenge looms

The costly legal battle to gain control of Victorian Labor looms as the fallout from Senator Kitching’s bullying allegations continues.

Labor’s Victorian Senate ticket is expected to be finalised as early as Monday but a looming High Court challenge could cause chaos for candidates.

Veteran senator Kim Carr on Sunday announced he would retire at the election in May after 29 years in the federal parliament.

Former Australian Services Union assistant national secretary Linda White is expected to take his spot, while former state government bureaucrat Jana Stewart remains the frontrunner for the late senator Kimberley Kitching’s role ahead of nominations closing on Monday.

Labor’s national executive will meet on Tuesday to choose Senator Kitching’s replacement after taking control of the Victorian branch in 2020 following branch-stacking allegations.

But a long-running and costly legal battle over the federal takeover of Victorian Labor is expected to come to a head in the High Court this week.

The appeal has been mounted by some trade unions – linked to Senator Kitching and former Labor leader Bill Shorten’s factional base – in an effort to reinstate voting rights for party members and unions.

Senator Kim Carr has announced his resignation.

If they succeed in challenging the validity of Labor’s preselected candidates, the party could be forced back to the drawing board in the days before the election.

Former Victorian Labor assistant state secretary Kosmos Samaras said this round of preselections was the worst he had seen in his 25-year political career.

“The wounds will last decades,” he said.

Senator Carr on Sunday released a statement saying he would have liked to continue Labor’s mission for a fairer Australia but had health issues.

“In light of recent tragic developments, and following determined urgings from my children, I concluded to that it was time for me to reassess my priorities,” he wrote.

Anthony Albanese paid tribute Senator Carr’s contribution, adding he was a “tireless advocate” for Labor’s cause over almost three decades.

“The parliament has had no stronger supporter of Australian manufacturing and science than Kim Carr,” the Labor leader said.

Katy Gallagher hit back at the ‘mean girls’ label. Picture: APH via NCA NewsWire

Meanwhile, Labor Senator Katy Gallagher responded to claims Senator Kitching had dubbed her as one of the “mean girls”.

“I don’t think I did anything that would deserve that name,” she said.

“It’s an unfortunate term in a sense that it does diminish women.”

Senator Gallagher said she and colleagues Penny Wong and Kristina Keneally had not commented on why Senator Kitching was suspended from the opposition’s tactics committee because Senator Kitching could no longer argue her position, “not because we can’t defend ourselves”.

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Originally published as Preselection chaos as Labor high court challenge looms