Labor crisis: Joel Fitzgibbon to quit as Right faction leader

Making his latest exit, Joel Fitzgibbon wants more freedom to express views about Labor’s direction and become a ‘policy leader’.

Joel Fitzgibbon in Parliament House Canberra. NCA NewsWire/Gary Ramage

Joel Fitzgibbon will quit as the leader of Labor’s Right faction, declaring he wants more freedom to express his views about Labor’s direction and become a “policy leader”.

The Hunter MP said he did not intend to remain as the convener of both the national Right and NSW Right factions, roles he has held for more than a decade.

He said he wanted to express his opinions “without the risk of them being taken as the views of every member of the faction”.

“I don’t want to any longer be talked about as a faction leader. I want to be talked about as a policy leader,” Mr Fitzgibbon told Sky News.

“I want to spend the rest of my time in parliament absolutely focusing on the policies and the narratives which I think are critical to the people who we traditionally represented but also are critical to the election of a Labor government.”

Mr Fitzgibbon said it was a good opportunity for a woman to be a leader of the faction.

Right faction MPs, including frontbencher Mark Dreyfus, have been critical of Mr Fitzgibbon’s policy freelancing while he was the convener of the faction.

Mr Fitzgibbon’s controversial crusade to put “labour back into the Labor Party” was endorsed by NSW Labor leader Jodi McKay.

Ms McKay, from the NSW Right, told The Daily Telegraph Mr Fitzgibbon “has a point” in his criticism of the direction of Labor as being too focused on climate change and fringe issues.

Ms McKay endorsed the coal sector, condemned “just transitions” policies as “taking people’s jobs”, and issued a mea culpa for her previous opposition to the Narrabri gas project.

With leadership rumblings taking hold in caucus, Mr Fitzgibbon said Mr Albanese is “still a chance” of leading Labor to the election if he is “more clear and loud” in backing blue-collar jobs and traditional industries.

“But the language is still hesitant. So rather than say ‘we support gas’ it tends to be ‘we are not against gas’. The punters pick up on that nuance and they don’t like it,” he told the SwitzerDaily podcast.

Mr Fitzgibbon denied he was angling for Mr Albanese’s job as Labor leader because “I believe there is still life in Anthony Albanese’s leadership”.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese visits Joel Fitzgibbon’s Hunter Valley electorate. Picture: Toby Zerna

But his support of Mr Albanese’s leadership has softened since he last week said he would stand by the Labor leader.

“Obviously I believe he needs to change his trajectory. He needs to be more clear and loud in his support for blue-collar and hi-vis workforce. Not just them of course, also low paid workers in the aged care and childcare sector, the services sector more generally,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.

“We need to get to get back to our base. I’ve often said I’m about putting labour back into the Labor Party.

“And if Anthony Albanese can find a way of doing so clearly and without hesitation or ambiguity then he is still a chance of both leading us to the election and winning that election.”

Sources close to Mr Albanese reject Mr Fitzgibbon’s criticisms, declaring Mr Albanese has been consistently supportive of resources and blue collar jobs since becoming leader.

They note Mr Albanese’s backing of traditional industries in a visit to the Tomago aluminium smelter on Tuesday.

“The jobs here are safe,” Mr Albanese said on Tuesday.

Mr Fitzgibbon on Wednesday rebranded his personal website and social media accounts to include the phrase “putting labour back into the Labor Party”.

He told the SwitzerDaily podcast about two-thirds of caucus agreed with his policy positions but conceded a fair chunk of his backers did not like his public freelancing on policy.

“I would say one third support me, what I stand for and how I am going about trying to give effect to change. Another third support my policy approach and my views on where the policy has to head but don’t like the way I go about it. The disruption, if you like, of the commentary,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.

“And a third just hate me and are diametrically opposed to my policy positions.

“I don’t like having to publicly contest what others are saying in my party but we don’t have a minute to lose here.

“Change has to come decisively and quickly. And doing that quietly just behind closed doors just isn’t going to cut it I’m sorry.”

Other Labor MPs say Mr Fitzgibbon’s views have the support or sympathy of no more than a quarter of the caucus and declare most MPs are furious with his actions.

Opposition legal affairs spokesman Mark Dreyfus last week said Mr Fitzgibbon represented merely “a handful of views in the Labor Party”.

“A large majority of the Australian Labor Party and I’d suggest the Australian community also disagree with his strongly held views,” Mr Dreyfus told the ABC.