Labor Party head office embroiled in vote-rigging claims
The fallout from the charging of former NSW Labor Party boss Jamie Clements with misuse of the electoral roll is threatening to embroil the party in a deepening scandal, with details emerging of widespread abuse of confidential electoral roll information by ALP head office.
Allegations have emerged that party officials misused details they obtained from the electoral roll to rig a community preselection to ensure that head office's preferred candidate triumphed.
Others have claimed that the NSW head office in Sussex Street accessed electoral rolls to provide journalists with contact details for Liberal Party figures, while a senior state Labor figure recently requested – and was provided with – the names and addresses of directors of certain boards.
According to the NSW Electoral Commission's website, "Heavy penalties apply to any organisation or person who uses electoral enrolment information for a non-approved purpose."
On Friday Mr Clements, the former NSW Labor general secretary, was suspended from the party following revelations that he is being prosecuted for leaking electoral roll details to the disgraced former National Union of Workers state secretary Derrick Belan.
But now, in what could prove to be a major distraction for the federal party in the middle of the election campaign, a senior figure from head office has told Fairfax Media that a party official used a database called "Campaign Central", which contains detailed information on voters including electoral roll details, to influence the outcome of a preselection ballot.
In September 2014, Byron Shire councillor Paul Spooner defeated Ballina shire councillor Keith Williams in the ballot to represent Labor in the seat of Ballina.
At the time, then NSW Labor leader John Robertson praised the community preselection method, saying that more than 2300 votes had been cast in the primary-style contest either online, in person or by post. Fairfax Media does not suggest that Mr Robertson had any involvement in the Ballina preselection.
However, it is alleged that the vote was rigged by using electoral roll information to randomly choose members of the public and then use their names and addresses to vote online for Mr Spooner. There's no suggestion that Mr Spooner was involved in the proposed rigging.
One of those involved in the campaign has told Fairfax Media that he was told of the misuse of the electoral roll records and advised against it.
"What happens if that member of the community turns up to vote and finds out they have already voted?" he said he warned at the time.
The official at the centre of the saga claimed to Fairfax Media that while he was directed to perpetrate the fraudulent online voting campaign, he only pretended to do it.
"They asked me to do it . I played along and said, 'Sure, I'll take care of it, it's all sorted' and then I never did it because I wasn't going to do that sort of shit."
At the 2015 state election, Mr Spooner narrowly lost the seat to the Greens' Tamara Smith.
Meanwhile, one of the key figures in the charges involving Mr Clements leaking an address to union official Mr Belan has disputed allegations that he used the material to threaten a rival.
Boxing trainer Lincoln Hudson told Fairfax Media he had "nuffink whatsoever" to do with claims that Mr Belan leaked him the contact details in order to threaten a rival, Craig Wilson.
"People have got their wires crossed. It is hundred per cent wrong," he told Fairfax Media.
Mr Hudson said that although he knew Mr Belan, the union figure had not leaked Mr Wilson's address.
Instead, it was Mr Wilson himself who had contacted Mr Hudson and left a message saying, "Hi Linc, give me a call mate," the boxing trainer told Fairfax Media.
Mr Hudson, who runs the Ultimate Training Centre in St Marys in Sydney's west, said that officers from the electoral commission had spoken to him at least four months ago and that he had provided them with a statement denying that Mr Belan had ever provided him with Mr Wilson's contact details.
Asked how he knew Mr Belan, Mr Hudson said the pair had had "business dealings" that he did not wish to discuss.
The building royal commission examined Mr Belan about his links to Mr Hudson's gym, which had received $200,000 in union funds.
Asked about payments he received from Mr Belan via PayPal, Mr Hudson told the commission he could not remember what the money was spent on.
