Anthony Albanese weighs in on Victorian preselection decisions

Federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese has made an extra­ordinary intervention in the ­Victorian preselections row, backing a meeting of the ALP national executive to fast track decision making.

Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese. Picture: Flavio Brancaleone

Federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese has made an extra­ordinary intervention in the ­Victorian preselections row, backing a meeting of the ALP national executive to fast track decision making.

It comes amid a push from parts of the Victorian Right to preselect a woman in the safe new federal seat of Hawke, and claims by opponents of a planned new stability deal that the agreement is a “fraud” and ­excludes key unions.

Mr Albanese wrote to the ­national ALP office calling for preselections to be fast tracked after the party was forced last year to intervene in its Victorian division over allegations of branch-stacking.

The next round of preselections is expected to be ratified by the national executive, but the normal expectation is it would merely be rubber-stamping any deal struck by majority factions.

Mr Albanese wrote: “Under the terms of the national constitution, during this intervention the national executive is responsible for the conduct of all Victorian preselections.

“The next federal election could be held any time over the next 12 months and Labor must clear the way to ensuring the ­selection of strong community candidates in every seat in Australia to ensure the strongest possible Labor campaign.

“The national executive must ensure that it exercises its particular responsibility in Victoria to achieve this vital objective.

“While the final report of the Victorian redistribution is yet to be received, there is sufficient certainty around boundaries and the new seat of Hawke to enable the first phase of Victorian pre­selections to begin.

“It is, in my view, electorally imperative that the national executive commence that process now.”

It comes amid a strong push for a woman to take Hawke, with state minister Natalie Hutchins indicating she will run. But powerbroker Stephen Conroy is backing former Victorian ALP state secretary Sam Rae for the seat and Mr Rae is considered the frontrunner.

This is despite a revolt among right-wing women in Victoria over the resistance to the seat going to a female candidate.

Labor Right women are planning a meeting for Wednesday to debate the issue, with the strong view that under the affirmative action rules the seat should go to a woman.

The Victorian Socialist Left faction was on Monday set to agree to a new stability deal that would herald the start of a carve-up of seats. While that deal, which had not been formally signed late on Monday, was expected to go ahead, some Socialist Left unions were furious with the broad Left aligning with the socially conservative shop assistants’ union.

The national executive will debate a motion from the Victorian Right opening up nominations for a series of lower house federal seats, with nominations to close on Friday.

Three Socialist Left unions — the firefighters, meat workers and postal telecommunications workers — on Monday released a position statement on the stability agreement expressing anger at the Socialist Left deal with parts of the Right.

“The stability agreement is a fraud,” they lamented.

“The agreement is no more than a pursuit of individual positions at the expense of the collective memberships of our union.”