
Issue No 9		16 April 1999

News

Carr’s Faction Call Music to Costa’s Ears

Labor Council secretary Michael Costa has won the Premier's support for a special conference to debate the future of the faction system ahead of October's State ALP Conference.

Bob Carr has agreed to co-sponsor the conference, which would nut out ways of winding back the institutionalised faction system, following this week's cabinet meeting in Newcastle.

Carr told his new Cabinet that Labor had to break through the rigid faction system and put an end to branch stacking if it wanted to broaden its electoral appeal.

The sentiments reflect Costa's call to put aside outdated factional divisions and reform the process of preselection and policy formulation.

Under the Costa plan, the high-level conference would discuss new ways of organising Party affairs including:

- relevance of the proportional representation rule which underpins institutionalised factions

- the structure of branches

- the method of preselection

- the possibility of term limits for MPs

- membership being linked to induction courses and ongoing training to limit branch stacking

Party officials have indicated that it may be possible to provide half a day at the annual state conference to canvass the factional issue.

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Issue 9 contents

Interview: Ms Plibersek Goes To Canberra
The new MP for Sydney talks about her new job, new ideas and why she won’t be writing a book about them.

Unions: More Jobs, Better Pay?
Peter Reith shears the Pastoral Industry Award, making a mockery of his election rhetoric.

History: Work and Community
This is the story of a little corrugated iron factory. In a lane. In Rozelle.

Review: Tailing Out
When BHP left Newcastle steelworks, it also left a rich working culture. A ground-breaking project is now honouring what has been lost.

International: ILO Warns Danger Evolving With Technology
The ILO estimates over 1 million work-related fatalities each year -- and the danger spots are changing.

Labour Review: What's New at the Information Centre
View the latest issue of Labour Review, Labor Council's fortnightly IR newsletter for unions.

» Public Speaks: We Are Not Monsters!

» Qantas to Dump Aussie Accents

» Carr’s Faction Call Music to Costa’s Ears

» But Thumbs Down to Small Business Labor...

» Blow for Reith's Anti-Unionism

» Un-Reconstructed Unionists on Study Tour

» Unionists to Celebrate May Day

» Tanner to Bragg with Billy