Supreme Court to rule on Victorian Labor preselections
The Supreme Court is set to rule on whether the Labor Party’s preselections in Victoria should continue amid a legal challenge over a federal takeover of the branch.
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A freeze on preselections for Victorian Labor could be wound back as the Supreme Court decides whether to continue holding back candidates ahead of a looming federal election.
Justice Tim Ginnane is on Thursday expected to rule whether his decision to stop the party’s preselections in the state should continue, with lawyers for Labor arguing they were being disadvantaged.
A group of 11 affiliated unions have taken Labor to court challenging a federal takeover of the Victorian branch after the national executive rushed through its plans to preselect candidates.
They have argued the takeover is illegal and that members and unions should be given back power to have a say on candidates.
Peter Willis SC, for Labor, told the court the freeze had wider impacts than preventing the endorsement of sitting MPs in safe seats.
“(It) Prevents the state branch of the party conducting the preselections for the next two tiers of seats, including the critical seats which are deemed to be winnable,” he said.
“To hold that back ... is a very serious intrusion on the ordinary course of life within the political party
“Those seats are the logical and obvious and important ones where the Labor Party would be seeking to make inroads.
But Emrys Nekvapil, representing the unions, said the issue cut both ways.
“Those consequences we say flow from an unauthorised takeover of the preselection process,” he said.
“If the election is called in September or October and your honour takes some time to write the judgement ... then that temporality will cut against our interests in exactly the same way.”
The earliest an could be held is August 7, which would mean the writs were issued in early July.
If an election was held in time to account for new boundaries, including an extra seat in Victoria, it would need to take place from September 11.
LABOR TRIES TO AVOID COURT BATTLE
Meanwhile, senior sources are convinced the matter could go all the way to the High Court.
Supreme Court Justice Tim Ginnane on Tuesday ordered that lawyers for Marlene Kairouz and Labor negotiate before moving ahead with a court case against the party.
Ms Kairouz stood down from her Cabinet role after being linked to the Adem Somyurek secret tapes scandal that triggered a national intervention into Victorian Labor and an IBAC investigation.
She later lashed out when administrators Steve Bracks and Jenny Macklin sent a letter referring her to the party’s internal disputes panel hours before moving on from their roles.
Under new rules, Ms Kairouz would have been asked to prove her innocence, rather typically having to be proven guilty, and launched a legal challenge to ensure she was not booted out.
Her lawyers will argue that the national takeover in Victoria was illegal while representatives for Labor are expected to argue the branch stacking scandals in the state were so severe that the move was justified under their constitution.
Party sources told the Herald Sun the chance of mediation leading to a result were highly unlikely, with one insider expecting the meeting to last for just a few minutes.
It is expected both sides could also take the battle to the High Court if unsuccessful.
Justice Ginnane on Tuesday told the court both sides should take the process seriously.
“I do urge everyone to approach the mediation with an open mind,” he said.
“The parties have rights to go beyond my judgments, so the case could take quite a while to wind its way through the courts.”
“You don’t resolve disputes by necessarily going in and saying well, there has to be my way or no way.”
UNIONS ARE ‘FROZEN OUT OF ALP TENT’
Lawyers for the Labor party have delivered a scathing attack on the factions that have taken them to Supreme Court, accusing powerbrokers of starting the action because they had been “frozen out of the tent”.
A group of affiliated unions are currently pushing to legally end a federal takeover of Victorian Labor as they argue that they and other members should have a say on preselections for candidates ahead of a looming Australian election.
The federal intervention began in the middle of 2020, following the Adem Somyurek secret tapes saga, and nearly a year later control of the party is still with the national executive.
But Peter Willis SC, acting for Labor, on Monday slammed the basis for case while speaking in court and dismissed the challenge as evidence of factional frustration.
“The plaintiffs are not humbled members of the party being denied their rights,” he said.
“They’re not foot soldiers of the true believers but they are displaced powerbrokers.”
A week before the legal action was lodged, Premier Daniel Andrews Socialist Left faction signed a stability pact with groups on the right wing of the party, cutting out other powerful unions.
“This complaint … Is that they have been frozen out of the tent, they’re not part of the deal,” Mr Willis said.
“The plaintiffs are persons who previously enjoyed the perquisites and benefits of compromises, and agreements between factions within the party.”
“But by virtue of present alignments and present circumstances are in the uncomfortable, and perhaps unusual for some of them, position of not being powerbrokers.”
The case is being heard alongside a similar challenge by former Minister Marlene Kairouz who is fighting to ensure she is not kicked out of the party.
Both cases have revealed deep divisions within Victorian Labor after administrators Steve Bracks and Jenny Macklin took control and audited memberships.
The extraordinary move was prompted by allegations of branch stacking which led to the expulsion of Mr Somyurek from the party.
In April, the Socialist Left signed a peace deal with unions such as SDA and the TWU and with a group of right-aligned rank and file members linked to deputy leader Richard Marles.
The document detailed which factions would have control of preselections for each seat in an effort to stop infighting and challenges on sitting MPs.
It also outlined the newly-created seat of Hawke and not long after former state secretary Sam Rae emerged as the frontrunner to contest the likely-safe Labor seat at the next election.
But the deal, and a push to rush through preselection, sparked a backlash from both state and federal MPs linked to the Industrial Left, the AWU and the NUW.
Factional figures are campaigning for a woman to be nominated for Hawke under Labor’s equal representation guidelines, with former MP Kay Setches nominating herself to contest against Mr Rae in protest.
The Supreme Court challenge began within days of the rushed preselections being announced, with unions attacking federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese over his push to speed through the candidate selection process.
“Kim Jong Un is jealous of how undemocratic the ALP has become under Albo,” CFMMEU state secretary John Setka said at the time.
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