Powerful Labor role dispatched to history

The powerful position of NSW Labor general secretary will be denuded in a move that will forever change the nature of Australian politics.

Federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese in Sydney on Sunday announces a review of the Party’s NSW branch.

The role of NSW Labor general secretary — one of the most powerful political positions in the country — will be denuded in a move that will forever change the nature of Australian politics.

Federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese on Sunday announced a review into the toxic culture within NSW Labor, in the wake of the Chinese donations ICAC scandal that has smeared the past three general secretaries, Kaila Murnain, Jamie Clements and Sam Dastyari.

MORE: Troy Bramston writes the culture of NSW Labor will not change until the faction stranglehold over the party is broken

Former Keating government attorney-general Michael Lavarch will conduct the review, which will have a particular focus on the role of party general secretary, the holder of which has played a large part in the selection of premiers and prime ministers over the past few decades.

In recent weeks, ICAC has heard allegations that in 2015 former party secretary Jamie Clements received a $100,000 donation in an Aldi bag from Chinese billionaire Huang Xiangmo, and that Mr Clements’s successor, Ms Murnain, covered the donation up after consulting Mr Dastyari. “There is something fundamentally wrong when ­people running a political party office think it’s normal to behave this way,” Mr Albanese said in a statement announcing the review, referring to the allegations of impropriety between Labor officials and Mr Xiangmo, who is suspected of having acted as an agent of foreign influence for the Chinese government.

Sources made clear that what would come out of the review was a likely dilution of the general secretary’s role, as has already ­occurred in other states, to have a potential executive director of the party, a general secretary and a campaign director.

At present, the all-powerful role — traditionally held by a member of the state party’s dominant Right faction — runs fundraising, preselections, party administration, relationships with unions and election campaigns.

It is understood Mr Albanese consulted right-wing union leaders including Mark Morey — the head of Unions NSW — state president Mark Lennon and right-wing federal MPs before making his announcement on Sunday.

The federal Right faction parliamentary convener Joel Fitzgibbon said he did not believe the review was about Mr Albanese, a former Left faction assistant secretary of the party, seeking to kill off his old factional rivals.

“Anthony Albanese, in all of his conversations with the key stakeholders, has made it clear that he expects reform to be substantial and meaningful and I believe we have found a way of delivering that for him and the party,” Mr Fitzgibbon said.

One right-wing source told The Australian: “Some of his (Mr Albanese’s) friends would like to see this as an opportunity to smash down the right wing,” but he added that this would not be the end result.

“We had to come up with something. The (workload) of general secretary had become ­ridiculous.

“Whatever it is, it has to be ­better than what we’ve had.”

Another MP said Mr Albanese was smart enough to know he needed the backing of the NSW Right to be prime minister and he would introduce meaningful reform but not kill his rival faction.

On Sunday, Mr Albanese said the party’s internal culture “needs to change”.

“Many years ago at a NSW state conference, I made the point that part of the cultural problem was that the NSW general ­secretary was seen to have a papal ­infallibility,” he said.

“That it was time the white smoke was raised for the last time.

“Indeed, what has occurred with this is a recognition across the party from senior levels down to rank-and-file members that that culture needs to change.

“That the culture, whereby the general secretary makes a directive and people fall into line, needs to change.

“And that is something that is being looked at very explicitly by Professor Lavarch.”

The role of general secretary of NSW Labor has been one of the most powerful political jobs in the country for decades featuring such figures as John Ducker, Graham Richardson, John Della Bosca, Mark Arbib and Dastyari.

It involves being in charge of the faction with the most numbers in caucuses at state and usually federal level. Often the general secretary also serves as convener of the national Right.

Those seeking to become ­federal and state leaders of the party have to lobby the general secretary.

In leadership contests, it has become routine for the holder of the position to intervene in preselection contests if people threaten to vote against the general secretary’s preferred candidate.

Mr Clements and Mr Dastyari critically backed Bill Shorten over Mr Albanese in a ballot after the 2013 election and were able to bring important rank-and-file votes with them.

Mr Albanese and NSW Labor leader Jodi McKay both won their current jobs partly with the ­backing of Ms Murnain as general secretary.

Ms McKay said on Sunday the evidence to emerge from the ICAC hearing was “shocking”.

“I think it has become obvious from the ICAC inquiry hearings that there is far too much power and responsibility vested in the general secretary currently,” she said.

Ms McKay said the first stage of the inquiry would look at “the role and responsibilities of the general secretary”. Ms McKay said the second part would look at the “head office mechanisms; process; governance; risk; which just seem to be lax and deficient right now.”

On Sunday, Left assistant secretary George Simon said on Facebook of the review: “The culture and structure of the NSW Labor Party is broken.

“We can’t continue with business as usual.

“This review ... is our chance to make sure there is lasting reform. Let’s not miss the opportunity.”

The announcement comes with the NSW Right faction, also known as Centre Unity, expected to meet this week and nominate Bob Nanva as its candidate for the new general secretary of the party once suspended incumbent Ms Murnain departs.

The Australian understands no matter what happens, Mr Nanva, a federal Rail Tram and Bus Union official and close friend of Mr ­Dastyari, is still in the box seat to take the role.

Mr Albanese expects a first tranche of the report to be delivered by mid-November.