Former federal Labor leader Mark Latham is to help launch a new pressure group to push for democratic reform within the ALPas debate over whether to give rank and file party members more say in state upper house and Senate candidate selection rages before this weekend's annual state conference.
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On Monday night Mr Latham will join Senator John Faulkner in Sydney at the launch of Local Labor – a NSW-based group that will lobby for changes to party rules to deliver more power to branch members.
The group was first formed in Victoria to push for the recommendations of the review authored by Senator Faulkner, former Victorian premier Steve Bracks and former NSW premier (and later foreign affairs minister) Bob Carr after Labor's 2010 federal election loss.
Local Labor's NSW convenor Chris Haviland said that local ALP groups have passed more than 120 motions calling for a range of reforms but most have been stymied by NSW party bosses.
“The NSW annual conference must act on these proposals, rather than rejecting them," he said. "For too long there has been too much power in the hands of trade union secretaries and factional warlords.”
Senator Faulkner will put a motion to next weekend's NSW Labor conference that would allow the state division's 15,000 members the right to elect candidates for the NSW upper house and the Senate.
At present the decision is made by party officials and leaders of Labor-affiliated unions.
On Friday night a meeting of Left faction conference delegates voted to give in-principle support to Senator Faulkner's motion.
But the dominant Right faction is opposed to the change, which means it is set to fail on the conference floor.
Left faction delegates have been given a free vote, meaning they are not required to vote in accordance with the faction's position on the motion.
The vote comes amid opposition from Left faction unions to the change, which would effectively remove their significant influence over candidate selection.
NSW secretary of the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union Tim Ayres argues Senator Faulkner's proposal would disenfranchise union members, who are not necessarily members of the ALP.
"The problem with Faulkner’s proposal is that it is entirely internally focused," he said. "It would disenfranchise 400,000 members of affiliated unions."
Fairfax Media understands that the Rail Tram and Bus Union national executive has also considered putting a motion to the conference calling for rank and file trade unionists to be given the right to participate in ALP preselections for lower house election candidates.
National secretary Bob Nanva said lower house preselections should be opened up to rank and file union members to improve the calibre of candidates.
Mr Nanva said Senator Faulkner's model was "about shrinking the party, not growing it. We should be reaching out to people who have an affinity for progressive politics and not give them another reason for thinking Labor has forgotten them."
