Beattie in crisis over electoral rorts

BY JIM McILROY

BRISBANE — The Queensland Labor government faces its biggest crisis
revelations over electoral rorts escalate. Te Shepherdson inquiry, established
under the auspices of the Criminal Justice Commission following the conviction
of an ALP figure for electoral fraud in Townsville, is investigating rorting
allegations.

Deputy Premier Jim Elder on November 22 announced his resignation over
allegations that members of his family were falsely enrolled with the Electoral
Commission in an ALP branch-stacking rort in the mid-1980s.

At least three other state Labor MPs, including high-profile former
party state secretary Mike Kaiser, have been named as organisers of branch
stacking on behalf of the dominant Australian Workers Union faction of
the Queensland ALP. Former AWU faction operator Warwick Powell named the
MPs in evidence before the inquiry on November 24.

Powell accused AWU state secretary and ALP heavyweight Bill Ludwig of
being involved in a “slush fund” to pay for party memberships in branch
stackings to ensure AWU faction members were preselected by the ALP for
parliamentary seats.

Allegations of branch stacking in both the Labor and Liberal parties
are common. However, only Labor Party members have resorted to illegal
Electoral Commission enrolments, using false addresses, because Liberal
Party rules do not require a new member to on the electoral roll before
being accepted in a branch.

Premier Peter Beattie stated he was “shocked and disturbed” by the revelations
and vowed to expel from the ALP MPs found guilty of electoral fraud.

Australian Manufacturing Workers Union secretary and ALP left faction
leader Dave Harrison has called for an emergency ALP state conference with
all office-holder positions being thrown open for re-election.

Democratic Socialist Party Brisbane organiser and Community and Public
Sector Union activist Tim Stewart has demanded that the Labor Party come
clean about its long history of branch stacking and electoral fraud.

“The chickens are coming home to roost”, Stewart told Green Left
Weekly. “Finally, some of the truth is coming out after years of rumours
and accusations. The Labor Party, which claims to be democratic and to
represent working people, is a party riddled with corrupt practices and
lies. Such a party cannot seriously be seen to express the interests of
workers and oppressed people. It is time for the unions to consider disaffiliating
from the ALP.”

Stewart condemned calls by Beattie for the reintroduction of identity
card scheme, a plan originally proposed by the federal ALP government and
blocked by massive public opposition in 1985. He denounced proposals for
the Electoral Commission to oversee preselection procedures within all
political parties as “Big Brother intervention by the state”. “That would
be victimising all parties for the crimes committed by the ALP and the
Libs”, Stewart said.

From GLW issue 430