Labor leader David O’Byrne ‘must go’ as scandal spreads

David O’Byrne faces pressure to quit, amid claims senior party figures ‘sat on’ sexual harassment allegations against him.

David O'Byrne, Tasmanian leader-in-suspension, in the Tasmanian parliament on Thursday. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Tasmanian Labor leader David O’Byrne is under intense pressure to resign, amid claims state and national party figures “sat on” sexual harassment allegations against him during the recent leadership ballot.

Senior party figures were calling for Mr O’Byrne to quit, after he apologised on Wednesday for kissing and sending “sexually suggestive” text messages to a junior employee when he was a union leader in 2007-08.

Multiple sources said they expected at least one further complaint to come about Mr O’Byrne’s alleged conduct. He has declined to comment on that.

On Wednesday, he said he thought at the time that his interaction with the complainant was consensual, but he now understood “this was not the case”.

The scandal is threatening to spread to state and national Labor figures. Some in the party accuse others of knowing about the allegations before and during last month’s leadership ballot.

Labor’s national executive is accused of “sitting on” the woman’s complaint for weeks, during the ballot, in which Mr O’Byrne defeated rival Shane Broad.

Several party figure accuse the two key Left faction unions – the Health and Community Services Union and the United Workers Union – of knowing about the allegations for many years but “keeping it quiet”.

Leaders of HACSU and the UWU did not respond to requests for comment; nor did ALP national secretary Paul Erickson.

In state parliament, Greens leader Cassy O’Connor accused Labor frontbencher Ella Haddad of knowing about the incidents, claiming the woman had confided in Ms Haddad at the time.

“I think Ms Haddad owes the house an explanation - or at least to make a statement about how she was approached, what steps she might have taken, in order to provide that support to the person,” Ms O’Connor told the House of Assembly. Ms Haddad declined to comment, citing confidentiality of the complaints process.

Mr O’Byrne has stood aside as leader, after just two weeks in the job, but only pending a party investigation. He and a core of supporters have been strongly resisting calls for him to resign, but some expect this to occur within days.

State Labor appears in chaos, with factional and inter-factional splits and no clear idea who would replace Mr O’Byrne.

Rebecca White, the leader effectively forced out by HACSU and the UWU in favour of Mr O’Byrne, has since had her second child and is on maternity leave.

She has not responded to questions about her willingness to step-back into the leadership. The Left, although fractured in recent weeks, with HACSU effectively quitting the faction, has the numbers – if it can agree on a candidate.

Party insiders said the most likely scenario was either Ms White returning to the job or acting leader Anita Dow being appointed. It is unclear whether a Right-backed unaligned candidate, such as Dr Broad, would force another ballot.

Former state Labor minister Julian Amos publicly expressed what many within the party were saying privately, writing in his regular newsletter: “There is no way O’Byrne can retain the leadership ... If he doesn’t resign, the national executive will have no option but to step in.”

Dr Amos said national executive might also consider the position of ALP state president Ben McGregor. Labor MPs have demanded Mr McGregor stand aside for threatening to sue Ms White after she insisted he quit as an election candidate for sending “vulgar” text messages to a woman. 

Federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese would not say whether he supported Mr O’Byrne or federal intervention.