eg.Justin Madden was accused of ….. he was removed from ….. position and now holds….. position.

It appears that no action has been taken due to the report.

Business as usual in the Vic ALP

Moved to Northcote after being a member elsewhere for several years. Attended the local branch and joined up. So far so good. Moved states a couple of times and transfered my membership. Came home and was told I was unfinancial, How could this be? I’d taken the precaution of filling out an automatic credit card deduction. Oh well somehow that wasn’t processed. I knew enough about appeals to admin committee to not bother fighting for continuity and just rejoined.

It was around this time that the party went through the bullsh*t consultation process where the only meeting in metro melbourne was at the Whitten oval - in winter! That’s consultation for you. Following her opinion piece in the Age about the need to involve the rank and file, I sent an e-mail to Guillard’s office asking for a better more inclusive process only to receive an automatic advice that my message had been deleted without being read.

I rejoined at my local branch at a branch meeting but when I got my membership (after a long delay) it was a central branch membership. I spoke to my local branch and they got me to fill the form in again. I heard nothing and contacted the state secretariat to be told I was a central branch member. Well I love an arguement but I judged that this was not a fight I’d win so I asked what could I do to become a local branch member? I was told I’d filled out the wrong form and I’d have to resubmit my membership. Ok Please send me the form. Form filled resubmitted - nothing. Ring again and this time I’m told to attend my local branch sign the book and fill out the form there and then. Well I’ve already done that. OK get your branch secretary to write to us and say you’ve joined locally. After a bit of toing and froing he so did. He showed me the letter. Nothing. Tried one more time only to be told a range of repetetive contradictory directions none of which led to me being granted local branch membership.

Moved interstate joined local branch participated fully until I resigned due to what I judged to be a conflict with my job.

Moved back home, new job, no conflict, let’s rejoin. The first thing I found out was that the meetings had moved venues. I was given five different venues none of which were correct. Apparently the state secretariat don’t even know where my branch meets. At one point I was told the meeting was at an address I immediately recognised as the Misso’s office in Capel Street. ‘That’s North Melbourne’ I said ‘not Northcote’ Well that’s what my spread sheet says. was the dull retort.

I went to each of the five venues only to find the party had moved on. I didn’t try Capel street.

Eventually even I tired of this Kafkaesque fairytale and gave up trying to have a direct role in the public life of my nation.

This might be a different story if I was just some mug punter dipping a toe into the ALP for the first time but I first joined in 1993, I hand out or scrutineer at most elections, I’ve been a sub-branch president of two branches for a total of about six years, a conference delegate several times and actively involved in a faction. If I can’t get through the tendencious shennanigans (yes, I call shennanigans on the Vic ALP) stupidity and incompetence of the Victorian party what hope do ordinary interested activist have and what does this mean for a party that once saw itself as a broad-based, progressive party? More vitally how do we maintain a democratic nation with such organs?