Tasmanian Labor contender David O’Byrne caught on video in tirade against Morrison

A video shows Tasmanian Labor leadership contender David O’Byrne — apparently under the influence of alcohol — giving a tirade against ‘f..king Morrison’.

David O'Byrne was filmed at a private function late on the night of the May 2019 federal election. Picture: Eddie Safarik

A video is circulating during the Tasmanian Labor leadership ballot, showing aspirant David O’Byrne apparently under the influence of alcohol, glass in hand, giving a tirade against “f**king Morrison”.

Shot at a private function late on the night of the May 2019 federal election, the video is circulating as Labor members and conference delegates vote in a ballot to elect a new state party leader.

It shows Mr O’Byrne giving an impromptu rant to a group of Labor supporters, at one point struggling as he appears to confuse Scott Morrison with then premier Will Hodgman.

Mr O’Byrne, a leading figure in Labor’s dominant Left faction, is standing for leader against factionally unaligned MP Shane Broad, who has made searing public attacks on Left powerbrokers.

The leaking of the video appears to be aimed at damaging Mr O’Byrne’s leadership campaign, stoking Labor internal tensions or both. The Australian does not suggest Dr Broad is responsible.

Shane Broad. Picture: Rob Burnett

Mr O’Byrne was asked by The Australian whether he was drunk in the video, whether he regretted using an expletive to describe the Prime Minister, and who he blamed for circulating the video.

In response, Mr O’Byrne said: “Elections nights are colourful and this election night was particularly disappointing for the Labor Party.

“This was not a public event, and (the video) was posted briefly on a friend’s private Facebook account (at the time). Why it is being distributed now is a question for those people distributing it.”

In the video, an excited and emotional Mr O’Byrne claims the Morrison government “does not care about education” or “lifting people out of poverty”.

He also has an apparent dig at Rupert Murdoch, executive chairman of News Corp, publisher of The Australian.

“We don’t accept this rubbish and today, of all days, we accept we have lost this election,” Mr O’Byrne says in the video. “But the next election we know we will come together to win, because this rubbish, this government, this Hodgman f..king Morrison government does not accept that we deserve better.

“The working people of Tasmania, the working people of Australia, deserve better than the divisive politics of what we’ve seen ... Murdoch may have won today, but he shall not win the war, because we shall rise up against him.

Rebecca White.

“We deserve better. And I say to you, make this the day, make this the day that you say ‘no’ — ‘no, we will not accept this and we will do everything we can do to bring Labor back into government’.”

Mr O’Byrne and Dr Broad, a former agricultural scientist, are vying for the leadership vacated by Rebecca White, the leader for the past four years who quit after losing the support of key Left union powerbrokers, in the wake of Labor’s May 1 state election defeat.

The outcome of the leadership ballot will be known after voting closes on June 15.

Sources say Ms White upset influential leaders of the Left-aligned Health and Community Services Union and United Workers Union by backing ALP national executive intervention to install the Right faction’s Dean Winter as a candidate for Franklin.

Mr Winter went on win his seat, topping for the poll for Labor in Franklin, ahead of Mr O’Byrne.

Ms White further inflamed relations by insisting Left-backed party president Ben McGregor quit as a candidate after it emerged he sent “vulgar” texts to a woman.