Tasmania Labor in turmoil after president Ben McGregor quits over text messages

Labor’s Tasmania election campaign is in turmoil, with open brawling at senior levels.

ALP Tasmanian president Ben McGregor in Hobart on Wednesday. Picture: David Killick

Labor’s Tasmania election campaign, and the party itself, is in ­turmoil, with open brawling at senior levels, a candidate quitting over “vulgar” text messages and another openly attacking party policies.

A day after federal intervention to resolve a preselection row, state Labor president Ben McGregor on Wednesday quit as a candidate for Clark over alleged inappropriate text messages he sent to a female friend.

An emotional Mr McGregor claimed he was the victim of a smear campaign by “reaction­aries” in the party who were “weaponising” women’s rights.

The key Left faction figure accused Labor leader Rebecca White of using the allegations to push him out and shore up her position.

In a third candidate contro­versy in the past 24 hours, a Labor candidate for Franklin, Fabiano Cangelosi, sent a letter to party members attacking as “wholly repugnant” his own party’s policies on poker machines and workplace protest laws.

Mr Cangelosi was rebuked by Ms White, but then called a press conference to “stand by … everything” in the letter and praised Mr McGregor — whom Ms White had said was “not fit … to stand” — as an “excellent person”.

Mr McGregor and Mr Cangelosi are both backed by the Health and Community Services Union — a powerful component of the Left. Mr Cangelosi said he was factionally unaligned but confirmed receiving “in kind and financial support” from HACSU.

Ms White denied her campaign and her party were imploding long before the May 1 election, where Labor was already an underdog.

“I think what people can see here in Tasmania in the last 24 hours is that I’ve taken control of the situation,” she said. “I’m making sure that we have the best candidates and candidates who can best represent our community with integrity.”

Mr McGregor said he had never denied claims, made by a woman in a statutory declaration in recent days, that he had sent her inappropriate text messages six or seven years ago.

He said the texts were sent to a former friend, who later became his boss, and he had apologised at the time and twice subsequently.

The texts were part of “coarse and vulgar … banter” among friends and were sent sitting in a pub with his wife and others “egging each other on”, he said.

He claimed he had been denied due process and forced to quit as a candidate, but refused to say whether he would resign as party president.

“This appears … a smear campaign to hurt me and my nomination, and my opinion of this has been reinforced by the recent ­actions of our state leader,” he said.

“Rebecca has failed in providing leadership here. She has seen an opportunity to rid herself of ­factional challenge.”

He claimed it was part of a wider conflict in the party. “Over the past couple of days, reactionary elements within the Tasmanian branch of the ALP have launched extraordinary attacks against progressive people in the party,” he said. This was “an attempt to further their personal political agendas and undermine the Labor Party”, he said.

Ms White rejected the suggestion. “I sat across the table from the person who raised this complaint,” she said. “They were very compelling … I knew immediately … there was only one course of action.”