Victoria Labor audit asks members to provide email, phone to prove they are real
Hundreds of members in Victoria Labor have been given five days to provide an email address or mobile phone number to retain their party membership — as tensions rise over its internal branch-stacking audit.
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Hundreds of members within Victoria Labor have been given five days to provide an email address or mobile phone number as tensions rise within the party over its internal branch-stacking audit.
The letter is the latest in a series of moves by administrators Jenny Macklin and Steve Bracks that have fuelled uneasiness within members while the investigation has been rolled out.
Rifts have also emerged around the use of lawyers to communicate with branches and the involvement of Ben Hubbard, a former chief of staff to then Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
Affiliated unions and branch members have questioned whether the party is funding Mr Hubbard’s role in the audit, with significant amounts estimated to have been spent on legal bills.
In a letter sent out on Thursday, Mr Bracks and Ms Macklin said they were conducting their audit to ensure members were genuine, consenting and self-funding.
“In reviewing your membership profile, our records indicate that you have not provided an email address or mobile phone number to the party,” the letter reads.
“In order to retain your membership of the ALP, we ask that you provide your email address and mobile telephone number as a matter of urgency.
“It is essential that this process is completed in a timely fashion to help restore confidence in the integrity of our membership list and our internal processes.”
It comes after branches across Victoria were left seething in August after receiving legal letters demanding they hand over records of every meeting for the last two years.
The backlash prompted leaders within Labor to urge for calm within the party.
Victorian Labor is also considering a plan to weed out branch stacking by banning cash payments for membership applications and renewals.
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