Michael Ronaldson (Victoria, Liberal Party, Shadow Special Minister of State and Scrutiny of Government Waste) Share this | Hansard source

I want to speak on this report of the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters and draw honourable senators’ attention to the recommendations, which were bipartisan and, in my view, subject to further inquiry in relation to some of the legal issues—a sensible move-forward proposal. I do want to make some comments this morning in relation to the comments of Senator Hutchins. Why Senator Hutchins would choose to approach this matter the way he did, given that we are talking about this report, is beyond me. But with him having done so and having opened this up, I might have some comments to make as well.

I am sure Senator Hutchins is listening, and I ask him to reflect on the TWU official who assaulted a Liberal booth worker at the St Clair High School booths before the 1996 Lindsay by-election. I agree entirely with Senator Ryan’s comments on this matter. Any behaviour of the sort that was brought forward in this report is inexcusable, and in no way would we support that. We will not sit here and cop it from people like Senator Hutchins, whose own union completely and utterly owns him, when a TWU official was out there assaulting a Liberal booth worker. What a nerve Senator Hutchins has to come in here today and talk about ills and wrongs—what an absolute nerve!

Maybe Senator Hutchins will reflect on the comments he made today, because they invite further discussion about another man who may well be here shortly, and that fills me with absolute horror. It clearly does not fill the Prime Minister with horror, because I think that today your national executive, Mr Acting Deputy President Bishop, will make a decision to bypass the views of local people in Herbert and put in place a poll-rorter by the name of Mr Tony Mooney. This rorter, who was fingered by the Shepherdson inquiry, will apparently be the next candidate for the Labor Party for the seat of Herbert. Is that the quality of people that this Prime Minister wants?

It is absolutely fascinating that the Prime Minister is prepared to let Mr Mooney go through because he is a serious Labor powerbroker, but that it is a different matter in Tasmania. I notice in this morning’s Australian that Mr Kevin Harkins has been paying for the ALP memberships of workers. That is a nice how-do-you-do, isn’t it? Is that the way the Australian Labor Party plays the game—by a third party paying for memberships? The Australian quoted one of these workers as saying:

“I didn’t actually renew the membership but the ALP sent (me a letter) saying I renewed the membership,” he said. “If they want me to stay a member, then I will stay ... but I didn’t want to pay for it.

“I don’t mind being a member but I probably wouldn’t have done it of my own accord. If they asked me to renew it, I probably wouldn’t.”

No, he would not, because someone else had paid for it. Is Senator Hutchins proud of that sort of behaviour? He has just come back into the chamber, which I am very pleased about. He should come back into the chamber, in light of the comments that he made.

But let us return to Mr Mooney. What is the impact on the locals of someone being named in the Shepherdson inquiry? What is the view of the locals of someone being imposed on them from on high? I will tell you what the outcome is: there will be a new political party formed in North Queensland, a fact that is alluded to in a letter received by one of my colleagues. Is it a conservative party? Is it a Pauline Hanson style party? Is it a new National Party or a new Liberal Party? No. Guess what it is. It is a new Labor Party. It will be known as the North Queensland Labor Party—NQLP. The letter says:

Following recent events within the ALP there is now a move on by the grassroot members of the Townsville ALP to form its own political party to be known as the North Queensland Labor Party (NQLP).

This push comes as a result of the constant bypassing of the wishes of the grassroot members of the Townsville ALP by the mandarins of the ALP in both Brisbane and Canberra.

In the last two years the mandarins of the party have bypassed the local members to appoint candidates for both the Council and the State seat of Townsville. It now seems certain that the chief mandarin himself Kevin Rudd will appoint the candidate for the seat of Herbert once again bypassing the local membership.

What is the difference, I wonder, between Mr Harkins and Mr Mooney? According to the Australian today, the Prime Minister has vowed to prevent the candidature of Kevin Harkins. According to this report, the Prime Minister alleged:

… in federal parliament that Mr Harkins is a “well known pugilist” whose chances of entering the Senate are “Buckley’s and none”.

So the Prime Minister wants to knock back a ‘well-known pugilist’, but he is happy for a rorter to be preselected. He is happy for a rorter to bypass the locals in Herbert and be appointed by the national executive, forcing the local ALP members to form their own branch. That letter further reads:

The bottom line is that the local membership have now gathered the trenchant impression that they are only in the party to hand out papers and have no say whatsoever as to what occurs within the ALP.

Therefore following these recent events in particular the assets sales by the Bligh Government the disaffected ALP members of Townsville have no other alternative but to form their own political party. A party where its members have a say, input and one that wholly represents North Queensland in Brisbane and Canberra, not to be there just to make up the numbers for the mandarins.

At this point it is expected that … 200 disaffected local ALP members will defect …

The party will campaign on a diversity of issues such as the asset sales, Kevin Rudd’s big Australia, which only serves to put more pressure on home affordability, the constant flow of boat people courtesy Kevin Rudd’s policies.

I repeat that:

… the constant flow boat people courtesy Kevin Rudd’s policies.

The letter goes on:

And above all a party that fights to return the economic wealth generated in North Queensland to North Queenslander’s, not to the hip pockets of southerner’s …

The party also plans to run a high profile candidate at the forthcoming Federal election for the seat of Herbert and other North Queensland seats. It will also target State seats and Council seats, not just in Townsville but right across North Queensland as a party that wholly represents North Queenslander’s.

The time has come and it’s long overdue for North Queensland to have a voice down south not just whimpering yes men, which is presently the case.

Here we have the local ALP branches in North Queensland so upset about the behaviour of the Prime Minister and the powerbrokers that they will now be forced to form their own political party.

Is it any wonder that the ALP members in Townsville and the community of Townsville will look at the appointment of Tony Mooney as an imposition of someone who was named in the Shepherdson inquiry for rorting? How are they going to view the Australian Labor Party in relation to this matter? My view is that they will look at the behaviour of the Prime Minister, the national executive and the Labor Party at a national level and say, ‘We are not prepared to tolerate the likes of Tony Mooney, with a nod from the Prime Minister, getting a seat in parliament.’ Tell me the difference between Kevin Harkins and his behaviour and Tony Mooney and his behaviour. I will tell you what the difference is: the factions are pulling the strings in relation to Tony Mooney and they are not going to pull the strings— (Time expired)