Protests and division over controversial motions expected at Victorian ALP conference
A range of controversial motions are expected to be debated on subjects including Gaza, drug legalisation and introducing rent caps.
Anthony Albanese and Jacinta Allan are expected to rally the true believers at the Labor Party’s annual Victorian state conference over the weekend, but the event is set to become a target for anti-Israel protesters as well as controversial motions on Gaza.
The Prime Minister and Premier are due to address the two-day conference at Melbourne’s Moonee Valley racecourse on Saturday, with the state government likely to come under fire from unions and party members over WorkCover legislation, public sector pay and cuts to mental health funding.
A range of controversial policy ideas have also been listed among 129 proposed resolutions, including introducing rent caps, legalising pill testing, recreational cannabis and state-owned cannabis distribution, and reviving plans for more injecting rooms, despite the government last month announcing it would not proceed with one in Melbourne’s CBD.
State and federal governments are not bound by motions passed on the floor of state conference, but the debate frequently offers insights into party divisions, and the directions in which the membership is moving on key issues.
Labor is set to debate a range of motions drafted by pro-Palestinian supporters within Labor’s Socialist Left faction, including one demanding the Albanese government support the “inalienable right of self-determination for the Palestinian people,” and another calling for the end to Israel’s “perpetual military occupation and human rights violations” in Gaza.
The motions are expected to cause deep disquiet among members who support Israel, particularly given the Socialist Left – which is increasingly dominated by anti-Israel members – holds the majority of numbers in the Victorian Labor Party.
The waning support for Israel has been exacerbated by the departure from politics of former premier and staunch advocate for Israel’s sovereignty Daniel Andrews, who last year voiced his opposition to his own Socialist Left faction’s successful motion on Palestinian recognition.
As well as the battle over Gaza inside the conference, the event is expected to attract a major gathering of anti-Israel protesters, many of whom have spent the week blockading Melbourne’s university campuses.
The state government is also expected to receive criticism from unions over WorkCover legislation it passed in March, with a motion from HACSU and AMWU bosses Paul Healey and Tony Mavromatis calling for the government to rescind its “regressive” new definition of an “injury” – which excludes mental injuries – and “revert back to the definition that has existed in the legislation since 1946”.
Other motions call on the Albanese government to reconsider its future gas strategy in favour of renewable energy, and oppose the AUKUS submarine deal.
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