Sumeyya Ilanbey says that to understand the current ALP power vacuum, you need to understand factions. And to understand what happened this week, cast your mind back to the ’80s and ’90s, when “ethnic branch stacking” hit overdrive. We paraphrase Illanbey’s article:
Read: Power vacuum: can the Labor Party really clean up its factional mess? – by Sumeyya Ilanbey, The Age, 19 June 2020 [External link]
The Left started branch stacking ethnic communities, seizing on racial divisions. Then there was the counter-attack; Turks against Greeks, Croats against Serbs, Greeks against Macedonians.
A 2009 truce came when Left Kim Carr signed a stability deal with Right Stephen Conroy. Eight years Somyurek sought to undo the pact when Conroy left the Senate in 2016.
“Those people at the top – why should they have more say on who gets preselected than Mike Smith down the road?” asked Daniel Andrews.
Former federal MP Michael Danby saying “I doubt it is legal for an MP to authorise a staff member to participate in the covert surveillance of his own office. It is certainly as unethical as the alleged branch stacking undertaken by Mr Somyurek.”
Somyurek himself started leaking text messages.
Another insider close to Somurek’s faction says (The Australian Financial Review): “The concept of them (Federal Executive) taking over for three years is bloody outrageous. They’re taking people’s voting rights away. They’re even going to control who will be made delegates for national conference that will elect the next national executive, for God’s sake. So they will be actually selecting people to vote for themselves. They’re going to look after Andrews and preserve Andrews’ ability to be king and emperor of Victoria. The last group that was potentially an inhibition for him, the organisational wing, has been neutered.”
However, the Left and other Right sources and say the Left will not purge Right members without also changing their own behaviours.
One union leader close to Somyurek’s faction said that the crisis was an opportunity for unions to build their influence at the expense of factions controlled through the branches. “Then real trade unionists will get to have a real say.”
Somyurek entered Parliament Upper House in 2002 on the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association Right-aligned ticket. In 2015 he parted ways with the SDA. He was also accused by his chief of staff of bullying her. He lost his Andrews Government cabinet position.
The following year, Emergency Services Minister Jane Garrett resigned from cabinet over the fire services reform bill, causing troubles inside the Socialist Left.
When both a new federal seat in Melbourne’s western suburbs, and a federal Senate seat opened (as Stephen Conroy stepped down),a preselection battle followed between Jane Garrett and the (eventual winner) Socialist Left Ingrid Stitt for the Western Metro upper house seat. The Industrial Left was then created and joined with the Moderates’ faction. Somyurek claimed to control two-thirds of VIC ALP members. Somyurek was reappointed to Cabinet after the 2018 election.
Both Left and Right sources claim Bill Shorten has been a driver of Somyurek’s exceptional rise. “When he saw Somyurek rising — at that point Conroy had left the scene — he knew there’d be an ALP power vacuum and he grabbed Somyurek. And: “Bill is still very heavily reliant on Somyurek because a huge number of the votes in his seat of Maribyrnong are controlled by the Mods.”
Shorten allies say Somyurek acted on his own. “Bill was in the federal leadership and his full focus was on defeating Turnbull”…. “Then Stephen Conroy left, and there was a vacuum into which stepped ambitious people at at a state level.”
Phillip Coorey, Financial Review, says that Albanese has shown he is not afraid of taking on entrenched structures and figures. He would have preferred the Victorian branch stacking crisis had not occurred, but he made a virtue of taking strong and decisive. In this ALP power vacuum, the takeover should help stabilise Albanese.
Reporters Patrick Durkin & David Marin-Guzman say that Daniel Andrews has emerged as one of several major winners from the enfeebling of the party right.
In this ALP power vacuum, with alliances shifting, what is next? Labor members are hoping for change.
Read here
Power vacuum: can the Labor Party really clean up its factional mess? – by Sumeyya Ilanbey, The Age, 19 June 2020 [External link]
Related readings
Operation Watts IBAC enquiry into branch stacking practices – by Open Labor, 19 Oct 2021
Stability Pact sticking points threaten between VIC Labor – by Rob Harris, The Age, 21 May 2021
ranch stacking the party – by Rosie Elliott, Open Labor, 1 Nov 2021
How did Somyurek get so much power? Because the ALP let him – by Shaun Carney The Age June 21, 2020
Inside Labor’s Civil War – by Patrick Durkin & David Marin-Guzman, Financial Review, Jun 18, 2020
Labor has a significant problem, Premier Daniel Andrews says following branch-stacking scandal – ABC News 17 Jun 2020
Takeover should help stabilise Albanese – Phillip Coorey Financial Review Jun 17, 2020
Bill Shorten’s power base in turmoil after factional fight in Victorian ALP – by Katherine Murphy, The Guardian, 20 Dec 2017
Stacking votes using a small community – some Stability Pact stories – by Nino Bucci & Richard Willingham 2018 & Ben Chifley 2016 – some stories by Nino Bucci & Richard Willingham 2018 & by Ben Chifley 2016
What will Conroy’s departure mean for Shorten’s leadership? – by Ben Chifley, Crikey, 19 Sep, 2016
Labor launches inquiry into mega branch stacking scam – by Ben Schneiders & Royce Millar, The Age, 30 Oct 2015
Nothing new, but surely it’s time to stop – by Pete Steedman, The Age, 1994
Leave a Reply