User:Rebecca/Drafts/Cunningham by-election, 2002
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- Dr Martin announced shock resignation on 13 August, less than nine months after his re-election at the 2001 election, formally resigned on 16 August, citing political burnout ("lost the desire for politics") and unnamed family reasons; had been delayed for a week by order of Crean; came as a complete shock to virtually everyone (had given no indication that he was planning to resign; stated that he believed that he "can no longer do the job to the best of his ability"; talk of a position at UoW - at 54, resigning after 18 years (most in Macarthur until 1993), including three-year stint as Speaker during Keating government and more recent stint as opposition defence spokesperson; serving in trade and tourism at time of resignation - disputes as to whether or not Crean had been told of resignation before it occurred - had narrowly unseated the left's Stewart West in a bitter preselection battle in 1993, winning by four votes - had been a generally popular local member; local paper said "Born and raised in Wollongong, Dr Martin was a great political advocate for this region and a tireless worker in improving its image and reputation. His commitment for hard work on behalf of this region won the respect of the community he served, regardless of their politics." - denied his decision to leave politics was an expression of no-confidence in the Opposition Leader's capacity to win the next election; Crean stated "had valid reasons given to him in a private conversation last week for resigning" - concerns about a backlash against Labor for having Martin retire so early, local ALP infighting, and against Crean's reform agenda in heavily unionised city of Wollongong, as well as Crean's low standing in the polls - held the seat with a safe 10.7 per cent margin at 2001 polls but suffered a 7.1 per cent swing. - repeatedly insisted support for Crean's reforms - described self as "a great supporter" (was one of four opposition ministers from the NSW Right supporting the reforms in contravention of factional hardliners); important ally of Crean in that faction; expressed confidence and support in him - issues that a swing against would be seen as a repudiation of Crean and his reforms - until this time, Cunningham had never fallen out of Labor hands - timing largely viewed as being horrible for Labor
- created immediate power struggle to fill the vacancy in a region already tainted by ongoing claims of branch stacking (AFP describes as "an area notorious in the past as a crucible of branch stacking within the ALP"); early potential candidates included three from right: Joe Scimone, engineering services manager of Wollongong City Council, both aligned with the right; Scimone emerged as favoured candidate; Wollongong councillor Janice Kershaw another possibility; Bird not even raised at early stage; party official Paul Scully another, as well as deputy assistant secretary of NSW Labor Council Chris Christodoulou, only one from the left; right faction believed to have numbers in branches - Scimone was believed to have right faction support in a local rank-and-file ballot, NSW head office bowed to pressure and allowed it - Liberal Party disinclined to run, due to cost and close period to 2003 state election - Peter Andren strongly criticised Martin for resigning so soon, and argued Labor deserved to lose the seat - set short time frame for nominations so as to minimise infighting; Scimone (also member of party's powerful administrative committee) first to declare on the 15th, initial reports viewing him as a strong frontrunner, if not near-certainty - brought out serious tensions within the NSW Right - Mike Steketee - "When it comes to internal ALP reform, Cunningham has it all: union power, branch-stacking, personal fiefdoms and personality clashes that long ago overwhelmed ideological differences. As one senior official of the NSW party put it this week: "We're lucky we have a very loyal constituency because the way we behave down there is a disgrace."" "A sign of just how willing the contest will be is the threat from left-wing unions, representing construction, mining, metal and liquor and hospitality employees, to fund and campaign for independents in the by-election and in next March's state election unless the party cleans up its act. Their demands include a regular rank-and-file ballot for Labor preselection for the by-election rather than the imposition of the apparent head office choice, Wollongong council engineering services manager Joe Scimone." - also issues surrounding former Labor Lord Mayor George Harrison, who had resigned in disgrace - 17 August - Head office votes not to have a rank and file preselection, instead calling an N40 ballot ("a limited ballot of senior branch members and administrative committee members"), citing suddeness of by-election and risk of infighting ahead of lord mayoral election. Sharon Bird, a former political staffer thusfar not even a candidate, defected from the left to the right and was installed as the candidate then and there, reportedly without even her knowledge. Controversy as Scimone had been the favourite thusfar - Papers reporting at time that Scimone would be installed as candidate by end of August. Controversy as Chris Christodoulou was set to announce candidacy, with his supporters saying he had the numbers (on the other hand, Scimone claimed that he did). Alison Byrnes, a Martin staffer, also declares. - Andrew West, Sun-Herald, 18 August - "Put bluntly, the ALP in Wollongong is a nest of vipers. Almost everything Crean is trying to expunge from the Labor Party branch stacking, factional brawling, candidates whose vaunting ambition outstrips their talent exists in abundance in the Illawarra." - Bird (teacher and juvenile justice worker, former Shellharbour councillor, formerly worked for Colin Hollis, considered a chance for state seat of Wollongong) had defected to the right after losing preselection to Jennie George in Throsby in 2001; emerged as the favourite; had sought preselection four times before (twice for Kiama, twice for Throsby, failed) - August 20 - Andy Gillespie, AWU branch secretary in Port Kembla, quits the party and goes to the press over concerns about N40, declaring would run as independent for state seat of Illawarra, a couple of days after senior AMWU member Wayne Philips publicly slammed party and declared would not renew - it was the national office, looking for a woman, who had pressured the New South Wales right into endorsing Bird instead of Scimone - August 20 - Alison Byrnes pulls out and endorses Bird - August 23 - nominations close with only Bird and Christodoulou; Scimone was a last-minute withdrawal after realising he couldn't get numbers - August 24 - LHMWU national secretary and vice-president of NSW ALP Jeff Lawrence demanded national executive intervene and reinstate rank and file vote - August 28 - Bird preselected in N40 vote; Christodolou urges to get behind her - some talk in papers as being a test of Crean's leadership; first electoral test, had been struggling in the polls - September 2 - Crean and Faulkner travel to Wollongong to formally kick of Bird's campaign; Macklin visits next day; Liberals still hadn't declared whether they would run a candidate, Greens hadn't preselected one; Crean tried to make Telstra sale an issue - Sep 14 - Labor loses the Lord Mayoralty of Wollongong after eleven years to conservative independent Alex Darling; Organ (UoW archivist) wins 15% of the vote, shock strong result; gets preselected over next couple of days - September 16 - Milne suggests Labor factional machinations receiving saturation coverage in the Mercury - September 18 - Col Markham states that the party risked losing the by-election if they did not "curb their arrogant behaviour" - September 20 - Libs still umming and arring on candidacy; Howard pushes for it; Kerry Nettle comes to launch Greens campaign - September 21 - Greens campaigning on anti-development, disenchantment with ALP - Independent Meg Sampson had nearly won the seat as the Democrat candidate in 1990 (21 September) - September 25 - Libs opt not to field candidate (after failing to recruit Alex Darling and high-profile solicitor Mark McDonald, who had won a Mercury poll), citing cost in leadup to state election and safeness of seat - September 26 - high profile South Coast Labor Council president (and NSW Teachers Federation organiser) Peter Wilson announces that he will stand as an independent; nominations close, right-wing independent Tim Lewis ruled ineligible after AEC rejected two electoral support signatures; Wollongong's Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union, Maritime Union of Australia, Fire Brigade Employees Union, Transport Workers Union and National Tertiary Education Union; Wilson a former member of CPA, then a member of ACT - further tensions - miners threatening to back Markham bid at state election if disendorsed - campaign issues - health care, early by-election, anti-war, asylum seekers, Sandon Point development at Bulli - James Keene (independent) also contesting over preselection issues - September 28 - Wilson and Organ announce preference deal - immediately raising concerns ALP could lose seat - October 1 - ALP promises $9 million on improvements to multi-media education in the University of Wollongong and the Wollongong TAFE, outlines new industry policy aimed at encouraging new projects and developing new industries; Wilson pledges to revive Maglev fast train project; Greens pledge support for more industrial manslaughter prosecutions; 3 October, ALP pledges MRI machine for Wollongong Hospital - October 1 - AAFI candidate Hughes able to stand despite having spent over a year in jail for making a bomb threat to a FC judge; Moulds a mineworker and butcher shop owner, card-carrying Liberal - October 4 - ALP directs preferences to Moulds and CDP over Wilson and Organ - first week of October - ALP campaign suffers another blow when Martin gets senior academic post at UoW - more talk in Daily Telegraph that Markham issue, in combination with Harrison and preselection issues, signified trouble
"A fourth generation resident of the area, Bird, 39, and soon to resign from the NSW Juvenile Justice Department, is a credible candidate. But the Labor Party and wider labour movement in the area is a seething, explosive mass of discontent. One of the main beefs is the way Bird, portrayed by critics as a seat shopper, was installed by the State party machine.
The ALP here is a case study in what Crean says he wants to fix. Branches have been ruthlessly stacked by the Right (and less successfully, by the Left).
In a July letter to the NSW complaints committee, local chemist Munir Hussain accused two branch members of "fraudulent and corrupt behaviour". In accompanying statutory declarations branch members said they had signed ALP attendance books necessary to vote in preselections without being at the meetings, and that members listed were not present.
Crean justified a head office preselection on the grounds that time was short, he wanted a woman, and a ballot would become a brawl about branch-stacking. Angry locals, especially from the Left, accuse Crean of denying the sort of grass-roots party participation he claims to support, fuelling the desire of some to lash out via an Independent candidate.
The by-election is complicated by next weekend's vote for lord mayor, forcing Wollongong people to the polls twice in five weeks.
An extraordinary saga precipitated the lord mayoral contest. Former lord mayor George Harrison (who ended his career an Independent, to save Labor expelling him) went into bankruptcy after court actions which started over a $20,000 debt he refused to pay a former business associate, Delcie Schipp. During the legal cases, in which he was condemned as a liar by one judge, this grew to $1.2 million. (8 Sep)"
ramifications - Labor Right learns lesson. 138 words 24 October 2002 Daily Telegraph
| Cunningham by-election, 2002 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| First Preferences | |||||
| Labor | Sharon Bird | 25,671 | 38.1 | -6.1 | |
| The Greens | Michael Organ | 15,505 | 23.0 | +16.4 | |
| Independent | David Moulds | 9,147 | 13.6 | N/A | |
| Independent | Peter Wilson | 7,107 | 10.6 | N/A | |
| One Nation | Geoff Crocker | 2,696 | 4.0 | -0.6 | |
| Christian Democrat | Owen Nannelli | 2,566 | 3.8 | +1.3 | |
| Australian Democrats | Linda Chapman | 1,514 | 2.3 | -4.9 | |
| Australians Against Further Immigration | David Hughes | 889 | 1.3 | N/A | |
| Independent | Meg Sampson | 671 | 1.0 | N/A | |
| Non-Custodial Parents | John Flanagan | 556 | 0.8 | N/A | |
| Independent | James Keene | 483 | 0.7 | N/A | |
| Socialist Alliance | Chris Williams | 399 | 0.6 | N/A | |
| Citizens Electoral Council | Hal Johnson | 120 | 0.2 | N/A | |
| Two-Party Preferred | |||||
| The Greens | Michael Organ | 35,160 | 52.2 | N/A | |
| Labor | Sharon Bird | 32,164 | 47.8 | -12.8 | |
| Turnout | 72,971 | 89.5 | -6.3% | ||
| The Greens gain from Labor | Swing | ||||
