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.