Barr to Ministry, Gallagher to Deputy Chief Minister

Areaman it appears that you lack the capacity to see the wood for the trees you might just be a little to close to it all to see whats going on.

There are always to dominant factions in the ALP the Fwits and the Non Fwits, its just that some from both factions hang out with what was called the left and some hang out with whats called the right its really about who you like to have a drink with.

The substantive debates in the ACT ALP for the last couple of years have been between the unions and the Ministry (pay parking, ACTTAB, Security of payments etc).

The real fights have been between a united (left and right union caucus) against Lord Stanhope of Belconnen and his boys (and girl) at the cabinet round table.

viable, not vibale….fat fingers

KG couldnt find her bottom with both her hands….as we watch the good ship Canberra sail merrily into a financial black hole that no amount of creative accounting can hide.

They were handed a budget in the black. This financial year we will end up with a shortfall that binoculars will struggle to see the length of.

The ‘left’ faction of the Canberra ALP reminds me of the People’s Front of Judea….or was it the Judean People’s Front? The perpetuating factional (which reminds me a bit of little kids clubs) fighting of the ALP at town council and Federal level means no vibale voting option until well after the next federal election. Pack of ass clowns

No serious person believes either female candidate was less capable, including even you.

No, i do put that forward, now that may not be what the choice was made on but I do think they would be less capable.

No, this was decided on factional lines.

Except that niether faction with more than one member voted as a block, hardly done on factional lines.

Areaman, there’s a major difference between lip-service and action.

The CT says Gallagher was universally supported for deputy, so presumably she could have got it easily without the 2 remaining Hargreaves votes. As for glass ceilings, I’m afraid it looks glaringly like the Left, in collaboration with the anti-union faction, have imposed a glass ceiling themselves – a token woman in cabinet, and leave it at that. No serious person believes either female candidate was less capable, including even you. No, this was decided on factional lines. That’s just the political reality, but you have to wonder what the price was.

“And none of it matters because Brendan and his mob are so inept that they make the federal ALP look cohesive” or it just isn’t an issue they could be bothered to get involved in given there might be other issues to focus on… as they say factions are distractions (away from what really matters).

Mal, I’d say the left did get something, the deputy leader position.

The Left’s self-proclaimed reputation for championing women’s rights is now in tatters after supporting a bloke over not one but two more experienced female options.

There is a major difference between championing women’s rights (ie the right to reproductive freedom, the right to equal pay for equal work and so on) which is what you said, promoting female talent and breaking through glass ceilings which is what I think you might have meant and voting for less capable people just because they’re women.

Looks rather ominous, doesn’t it? Mind you, if you believe the CT article, both the Left & the Hargreaves faction must have split during the ballot as well – it claims Berry refused to toe the Left line in voting for Barr, and Mary Porter from the Hargreaves faction actually ran against him. Not exactly a vote of confidence.

It looks like a pattern similar to the Federal Labor caucus is seaping in in the ACT ALP: careerist hacks promoted over capable talent, a lack of renewal (chief of staff to minister is hardly new blood), a breakdown in factional discipline due to disgust at continual opportunism & expediency, etc.. I suppose time will tell if the rot has truly set in.

Surely the Left faction must be hanging its head in shame today, areaman. The way these votes normally work is that they would have got something from their support, but you’ve got to wonder at what cost. The Left’s self-proclaimed reputation for championing women’s rights is now in tatters after supporting a bloke over not one but two more experienced female options. You’d expect Berry to win some cudos for not having a bar of it (pardon the pun) but not with the factional establishment. Stay tuned to see if the Left attempt to discipline him, & how successful they are.

Ahh the dreaded factions, providing the Coalition with so much free ammunition with which to attack the ALP that they don’t actually have to work at it. One day factional infighting is going to result in the ALP eating it’s own head.

I love it when the rights fight each other, check out the last couple fo lines from the CT story:

A senior source from the party’s right Unity faction, of which Ms MacDonald is the only member in caucus, claimed that Mr Barr’s result was “stunningly” unjust and warned of retaliation when MLAs sought preselection next year.

The faction commands the support of several large unions in the ACT.

“There are going to be far-reaching implications from this,” the source said.