Anthony Albanese to dodge union ALP conference walkout

Anthony Albanese won’t ­attend the Victorian ALP conference, avoiding a planned mass walkout.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese. Picture: AAP

Anthony Albanese will not ­attend the Victorian ALP state conference this weekend, avoiding a planned mass walkout by Left unions furious at federal Labor’s position on free trade.

In a further move reflecting internal party tensions, the ­Opposition Leader’s deputy, Richard Marles, a Victorian frontbencher, has ­declined an ­invitation to step in for his leader and make a keynote conference speech on ­behalf of the federal parliamentary party on Sunday.

The threatened walkout by a raft of Victorian Left unions primarily over free trade also reflects their opposition to Mr Albanese’s campaign to have state CFMEU leader John Setka expelled from the ALP.

READ MORE: ‘You will pay’: unions threaten Labor over free trade agreements | Dave Noonan asks Who’s side are you on, Labor? | CFMEU to Labor: change tack on trade or cash stops | John Setka is not going anywhere, says CFMEU

National union leaders remain angry at the ALP caucus for backing three free-trade deals, accusing the party of abandoning its platform by siding with the government on the ­Indo­nesian, Hong Kong and Peru agreements.

The display of party disunity comes as Mr Albanese tries to rebuild Labor after the devastating election loss in May. Victoria, the home state of former leader Bill Shorten, remains a relative Labor stronghold but Mr Albanese’s stand against Mr Setka has generated opposition among state Left-wing unions.

John Setka. Picture: Morgan Sette

The pushback from Mr Setka’s supporters will not be welcomed by federal Labor and the ACTU, which are trying to convince the Senate crossbench not to support the union-busting Ensuring Integrity Bill.

The government, which has delayed a vote on the bill, is citing the conduct of Mr Setka and the Construction Forestry Maritime Mining and Energy Union to justify the proposed new laws to make it easier to deregister ­unions and ban union officials.

In a report tabled in the ­Senate on Thursday, Mr Setka was cleared by the privileges committee for being in contempt of parliament over alleged threats to senators.

The committee, which investigated Mr Setka after he said crossbench senators would “wear the consequences” if they voted for the Ensuring Integrity Bill, said while they found the conduct “extremely distasteful”, it did not warrant further action.

Sources said the decision by Mr Albanese and Mr Marles not to address the conference had led to “panicked” discussions among state party officials about who would be the keynote speaker on Sunday, which is generally reserved for debate on federal ­policy and politics.

Mr Albanese said on Thursday his decision not to attend the conference had been made months ago but Labor sources and union officials said they believed it was driven by the planned walkout, a source of speculation for weeks. “All the Left unions were planning to walk as soon as he got up to speak,” a Labor source said. “He was going to be looking at a very empty hall.”

Union leaders said there ­remained widespread anger about federal Labor’s decision to side with the government on the three free-trade agreements as it was seen as a blatant beach of the ALP platform. Sources said the state conference would debate at least one motion attacking the federal Labor position.

Mr Albanese has not said what he will be doing instead of attending the conference. A spokesman for the Opposition Leader said: “Mr Albanese is not attending this conference, a decision that was made several months ago. He looks forward to attending next year’s conference.”

Mr Marles said he had been invited to address the conference but had a pre-­existing commitment to be an ambassador for a charity fun run in his electorate.

Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese (left) and his deputy Richard Marles. Picture: AAP

A Labor spokesman said late on Thursday Mr Marles “will be available (on Saturday) to present the federal Labor report”.

A spokeswoman for Mr Marles said: “He isn’t speaking. He will be there at various points. He will be there in a voting capacity.”

Another senior Labor figure said on Thursday: “Albo’s problem is he thinks he is going to get walked out on. Marles was pencilled in but I would be surprised if he turns up. They are usually lining up to talk.”

CFMEU leader ­Michael O’Connor said in October that Labor’s support for the three free-trade deals would cause ongoing “conflict” between the ALP and the union movement, and the “parliamentary party will have to wear the fallout”.

He said the caucus decision sent a “very bad signal” to unions and workers, and guaranteed there would be rank-and-file opposition at ALP state conferences and the next national conference.

ACTU president Michele O’Neil also accused the party of abandoning its platform by siding with the government on the free-trade agreements.

Premier Daniel Andrews is scheduled to address the conference on Saturday, close to a year after his election victory. Sources said he could face anger over his decision to ban nat­ive logging but no motions condemning the move were planned.