Don’s Party

In the past week the power and influence of the Catholic Boys club of the ALP Right faction has been subject of much discussion. The Right faction began as a group of four devout Catholics in a Chinese restaurant in the 1980s. The story of how such an unrepresentative group has managed to become the dominant force in SA politics is an interesting one. As a former member of the faction, I am able to provide significant insight into this issue.

From the outset, it must be stated that changing demographics of the workforce in SA combined with the party structure of the ALP is a major determinant of the Right faction’s rise to power. The Right faction controls the Shop Assistants Union, the largest union in the State. The influence that a union has over the ALP is determined by the number of members it has. While the manufacturing sector struggles to compete with cheaper overseas competitors, the retail sector continues to grow. Formerly powerful unions like the AMWU are forced to go, cap in hand, to the Right faction for protection, becoming “outsiders” within the Right’s all encompassing tent. (As I have mentioned before in previous articles, the structure of the party and the disproportionate influence of unions is a major cause of the rot within the ALP.) The welcoming of “outsiders” into the Right has been the most clever (or devious) tactic responsible for its current strength.

While the core of the Right faction is devout Catholics, they have always painted themselves as a “broad church” welcoming people of opposing views. In 2000, when I first joined the party, the Unity faction had recently welcomed in an influx of former members of the Centre-Left faction, the former dominant faction of the 80s and 90s. The Centre Left split in three ways, with the more conservative joining the Right, the more radical joining the Left, and a small number (John Hill, Mike Rann) remaining unaligned. My first contact with the Right faction was through progressive, former Centre Lefties that were now “Right faction” members. A high percentage of this group was intelligent and progressive women. As an atheist with moderate left wing leanings, the Right seemed like a safer option compared to the more radical and scary Left. Over the next ten years, however, I came to realize that while the core of the Right welcomed the numbers and effort of the more progressive, ultimately the spoils of power were handed out those with the traditional conservative background.

During this period, I witnessed various talented progressive members of the Right faction being passed over for pre-selection at the expense of either conservative Right members or those that are unlikely to make waves. At a Federal level, Kate Ellis and Amanda Rishworth are possible exceptions, coming from the more progressive movement of the Right. At the State level, star candidates such as Chloe Fox are examples of “outsiders” being pre-selected. It should be noted, however, that none of these women hold seats that would be considered “safe” in a traditional sense. Dana Wortley was an “outsider” but only received number 3 spot on Senate ticket. The most prominent example of an “outsider” trying to disobey the core of the faction was Senator Linda Kirk, a progressive and free thinking Senator that made the mistake of crossing Don Farrell’s wife. Periodically, when the natives get restless, a bone is thrown to appease them. The AMWU, for example, had former official Paul McMahon appointed to the IR Commission and Alan Sibbons elected. I suspect these moves were made to appease a restless manufacturing union. Again, however, none of these positions could be considered plum and safe postings.

The fate of Linda Kirk is analogous to the fate of pro-life women as a whole within the Right faction. When I joined the Right, as I mentioned earlier, there was a plethora of intelligent and progressive women. These women are now engineers, lawyers, economists, psychologists and journalists. They were lost to politics, I suspect, in large part due to the heavy handed approach at Young Labor by the more conservative elements of the faction. The Left faction at AYL would often cleverly drive a wedge between the Right by moving pro-life motions. It only took a few feverish scripture based rants by SDA organizers to either disenchant these young women. Switching factions within the ALP is not really an option, so the party is abandoned entirely.

The deterioration of talent in the ALP, through pre-selections, ministerial staffing and the exodus of women, is now evident on a major scale for the first time. During the life of the Rann Government, the only senior and high profile acolyte of the Right was Michael Atkinson. It is arguable that he was one of the most unpopular Ministers in recent memory. The recent reshuffle has elevated four dyed in the wool Catholic Right SDA boys, Jack Snelling, Tom Kenyon, Bernard Finnigan and Tom Koutsantonis. It will soon be readily apparent how the public reacts to the social and political views of these men.