ALP at odds on Garrett

Bitter preselection battle

THE FUTURE of former Emergency Services Minister Jane Garrett has emerged as the main sticking point preventing a party-wide deal on the ALP’s federal preselections in Victoria.

Labor powerbrokers in Victoria have spent recent days attempting to a nut out a deal that would avoid local votes in federal preselections being cancelled and the decision taken instead by the party’s national executive.

The national executive push is being spearheaded by Socialist Left senator Kim Carr with the support of former senator Stephen Conroy of the Right who are both determined to prevent Ms Garrett being given a seat in either the state or federal parliaments.

Ms Garrett was until recently in the Socialist Left with Senator Carr, but earlier this year she was part of a breakaway group now called the Industrial Left that is now in alliance with Right Wing powerbroker Adem Somyurek.

Mr Somyurek has made finding a seat for Ms Garrett — either in Canberra or Spring St — a condition of his support for any deal on preselections.

Under one deal under discussion, state MP Lizzie Blandthorn would vacate the seat of Pascoe Vale for Ms Garrett in return for the federal seat of Maribyrnong. That seat is currently occupied by Opposition Leader Bill Shorten, who would instead move to the newly-created seat of Fraser.

Ms Garrett is currently not preselected anywhere after being defeated in a bid to move from her seat of Brunswick in state parliament’s Lower House to a seat in the Legislative Council.

Senior Victorian Left figures yesterday blamed Senator Carr’s opposition to Ms Garrett for splitting their faction.

“There’s a way she could have been accommodated,” one figure said.

Another Left factional powerbroker said finding a spot for Ms Garrett was the key to factional peace in Victoria.

“Unless I’m missing something — there isn’t another ask,” the figure said.

However other Labor figures remain opposed to finding space for Ms Garrett.

One source said there was no way she would be parachuted into Pascoe Vale.

“They’re lying,” the source said. “The Labor Party needs to concentrate on winning elections, not settling scores inside the party.”

When asked yesterday whether he would support the push for the national executive to take control of the preselection process, Mr Shorten said he was “going to leave the Victorian preselections to the Victorian Labor Party and the Labor Party officials”.

“One thing I will make clear though . . . I back my sitting members. If I have got sitting members who want to keep contributing, I want them on the frontline,” Mr Shorten said.