Labor’s Bridgewater/Brighton branch still backing embattled former leader David O’Byrne

A Labor Party branch is calling for David O’Byrne to be reinstated as leader while another has called the party’s annual conference “a waste of time”. LATEST >>

A LABOR Party branch is standing by embattled MP David O’Byrne, calling for his reinstatement as leader in a move that further underlines the continuing rift in party ranks.

A northern Tasmanian ALP branch has also expressed dissatisfaction with the processes for the annual ALP conference coming up next month, describing it as “a waste of time”.

The Bridgewater/Brighton branch has questioned reviews into the party’s election defeat, asked why party president Ben McGregor was removed as a candidate for Clark, and demanded to know who made the decision to seek national intervention on candidate pre-selections.

The Bridgewater/Brighton branch of the Labor Party wants David O’Byrne reinstated as leader. Picture: Richard Jupe

In a letter sent last month to the ALP secretary Stuart Benson and obtained by the Sunday Tasmanian, Bridgewater/Brighton branch secretary Darren Clark said members of his branch wanted “transparency”.

“What factual evidence did the party have prior to removing Ben McGregor as a candidate?” Mr Clark wrote.

“If the evidence is not substantiated that led to the point of David O’Byrne as leader stepped (sic) down, will the 75 per cent of the membership be given the outcome it voted on and reinstate the Member for Franklin as leader?

“Who and why, made the decision to seek national intervention on pre-selections, and is this now the rule going forward on pre-selections.”

Mr Clark declined to comment on the letter but is believed Mr Benson attended the branch’s meeting this month.

Labor candidate Ben McGregor was forced to withdraw his candidacy during the election campaign in April. Picture: David Killick

Mr O’Byrne this week has had his parliamentary office moved upstairs in Parliament House to where media offices are located.

He did not attend recent Budget Estimates hearings but continues to attend parliament after being thrown out of the Parliamentary Labor Party caucus.

Meanwhile, the Lilydale ALP branch has penned a letter of complaint about the processes for the annual state conference.

“For some years now, the ALP conference has been an exhibition of totalitarian principles where proposed motions cannot get a hearing unless they are approved or by an ALP elite,” secretary Ian Pattie wrote.

He said there had been a “dearth of discussion and pursuit of ideas” at conferences and said if motions did not proceed because they fell “outside a narrow factional agenda”, branches and the ideas of rank-and-file members were irrelevant.

“The ALP was once the great arena of debate, but that, no longer, appears to be the case,” the letter, also obtained by the Sunday Tasmanian, said.

“The ALP was once a broad church of ideas for the benefit of the people.

“We are contending that the present process of the ALP conference is a waste of time.”

The annual state conference is set down for October 30 and 31.

Some Labor insiders said there would be fireworks at the conference while others said it would be business as usual.

Labor branch slams party’s complaint handling

A REGIONAL branch of Tasmania’s Labor Party says it has no confidence in the state party’s administrative committee and has also called on MP David O’Byrne to resign.

The Derwent Valley branch unanimously passed the motion at its meeting on Monday night, saying it “believes and supports survivors of sexual harassment”.

It comes after an independent party-initiated investigation into allegations of harassment by Mr O’Byrne towards his junior employee Rachel Midson when he was head of the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union was “finalised with no further action required”.

That prompted the Franklin MP to say he had been cleared of sexual harassment claims, but the finding led to Ms Midson saying she felt let down by the party’s investigation, that was led by former Fair Work commissioner Barbara Deegan.

The Derwent Valley branch’s secretary Griffin Blizzard sent an “urgent motion” to Labor state secretary Stuart Benson, the state parliamentary Labor Party, federal Tasmanian Labor members and senators, and other branch secretaries, criticising the complaint handling process.

“The failure of the process tells ... survivors that there is no avenue within the party to seek justice ...,’’ Mr Blizzard wrote.

“Support for the process by members of the administrative committee indicates that the committee are not serving the interests of members nor the values of the party.”

Mr Blizzard said the Derwent Valley branch had “no confidence’ in the administrative committee of the party’s Tasmanian branch, and also called on Mr O’Byrne to resign.

“To survivors of sexual harassment ... — we believe you, and we stand with you,’’ Mr Blizzard wrote.

But Mr Benson defended the way the complaint was handled and claimed the motion contained inaccuracies.

“Barbara Deegan’s investigation was conducted at arm’s length from myself, the administrative committee, and the Labor Party more broadly,’’ Mr Benson said.

Tasmanian ALP state secretary Stuart Benson. Picture: LUKE BOWDEN

“The administrative committee was not involved in the process. Any suggestion the investigation was not conducted independently are wrong.”

Mr Benson said Ms Deegan had more than 30 years’ experience and had been admitted as a solicitor for 40 years and was satisfied she conducted the process appropriately.

“I am confident that there is no more action that could have been taken to make the investigation any further removed from the Labor Party than it was,’’ he said.

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