Jodi McKay slams Labor ‘treachery’ over polling woes

Embattled NSW Labor leader Jodi McKay has read her shadow cabinet the riot act but told MPs historically bad polling numbers ‘don’t matter’.

NSW Labor Leader Jodi McKay has read her shadow cabinet the riot act amid ongoing concerns about the direction of the party. Picture: NCA NewsWire

NSW Labor leader Jodi McKay has read her shadow cabinet the riot act but a party room meeting that bad polling numbers “don’t matter” because Gladys Berejiklian will be taken down by the state’s corruption watchdog.

After days of worsening relations with two powerful unions, Labor sources told The Australian that Ms McKay had used a shadow cabinet meeting on Monday to “double down” on her comments.

She told the meeting that she was going “to be f..king tough” and “call out” bad behaviour.

Ms McKay had earlier publicly described the actions of Australian Workers Union secretary Daniel Walton and Health Services Union boss Gerard Hayes as “straight out of the Eddie Obeid and Joe Tripodi playbook”, a reference to two former powerbrokers who had been found corrupt.

Shadow cabinet sources described Ms McKay’s comments in the meeting as “bizarre” and said it showed she “doesn’t get the labour movement” and “ultimately it isn’t going to end well”.

At a separate party room meeting on Tuesday morning, Ms McKay told Labor MPs that the actions of Mr Walton and Mr Hayes were “treachery on a scale I’ve never seen before”.

The AWU had commissioned and circulated polling which appeared to show Labor’s primary vote at 23.9 per cent, lower than the disastrous 2011 election.

However, the polling conducted by RedBridge, did not include a large number of undecided voters.

Ms McKay told Labor MPs at that meeting that the figures “didn’t matter” because an Independent Commission Against Corruption investigation would topple the NSW Premier.

Ms Berejiklian has not been accused of any wrongdoing, although a former Liberal MP she was in a secret relationship with is the subject of two probes.

Ms McKay’s renewed attack on the union leadership caused Rockdale MP Steve Kamper to hit back, saying she was painting them as “thugs and criminals” and questioning her strategy for repairing the relationship.

The AWU and HSU have previously backed Ms McKay’s leadership rival Chris Minns, now the party’s transport spokesman.

If the swing against Labor projected by poll was uniform across the state, the party would lose 12 seats, including Mr Minns’ and those of rising star Pru Car and former leader Michael Daley.

Labor sources said while Ms McKay was more conciliatory during the caucus meeting, saying she would work to mend the rift with the AWU and HSU, they expressed serious concern about the state of the “essential” partnership.

The infighting didn’t escape the attention of the government, which used question time to attack Labor and Ms McKay.

“They don’t care about the workers. They don’t care about the people. They just care about themselves,” Ms Berejiklian said on Tuesday afternoon.

While Ms Car has backed Ms McKay, and said she had ­“always supported the leader”, the Londonberry MP would not be drawn on whether she would vote against Ms McKay in a spill.

“No one is suggesting that there needs to be another leader of the Labor Party at this point,” Ms Car told 2GB radio on Tuesday.