Now the Stalinist lefties are Gunnin inthe unions,now we really...

Now the Stalinist lefties are Gunnin inthe unions,now we really need a federal royal commission


Union boss Kevin Harkins 'paid for ALP memberships' EXCLUSIVE: Milanda Rout and Matthew Denholm From: The Australian March 17, 2010 4:21PM

ELECTRICAL trades union leader Kevin Harkins has been accused of paying for members of his union to join the ALP.
Mr Harkins, a key figure in Labor's Tasmanian Left faction, today cited privacy reasons for refusing to comment on the allegations, which have emerged three days out from the Tasmanian election.

An electrical worker has told The Australian that his ALP membership fees and those of many of his workmates were `fixed up by Mr Harkins, an assistant secretary with the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union.

The worker, who asked not to be named, said that while he consented to being made an ALP member, funded by Mr Harkins, he did not renew his membership but still received a letter in the post saying his membership had been continued.


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He said his membership and that of many work colleagues at this workplace were organised, renewed and paid for by Mr Harkins.

I didn't actually renew the membership but the ALP Party sent (me a letter) saying I renewed the membership, he said. If they want me to stay a member, then I will stay a member but I didn't want to pay for it.

I don't mind being a member but I probably wouldn't have done it of my own accord. If they asked me to renew it, I probably wouldn't.'

Mr Harkins would not comment when repeatedly asked whether he had paid the ALP membership fees of union members or others.

It would not be appropriate for me to comment about people's personal, private business, he said.

Mr Harkins has been seeking preselection as a Labor candidate for the Senate at the coming federal election.

However, Kevin Rudd has vowed to prevent his candidature, alleging in federal parliament that Mr Harkins is a well known pugilist whose chances of entering the Senate are Buckley's and none.

Mr Harkins was fined $8880 in the Federal Magistrates Court for helping to organise an illegal strike by 81 electrical contractors in 2005.

The ALP earlier today threatened to obtain a court injunction against The Australian to prevent publication of details from Labor membership records.

A separate examination of some of the membership renewal records shows three alleged members cannot be found on the relevant electoral rolls in Tasmania, while two people apparently recorded as members vehemently deny ever being ALP members.

A number of the 2006 and 2007 membership renewal forms seen by The Australian do not have signatures, despite the forms clearly stating that they must be personally signed by the member to be valid or to allow voting rights.

Some are also missing postal address, contact details, date of birth, occupation and whether the member belongs to a union.

An 81-year-old woman who has lived in Tasmania all her life said she had never been a member despite her appearing to be the only person in Tasmania's electoral records with that name.

Not guilty, she said of the question of whether she belonged to the ALP party in Tasmania. I can assure you I have never been a member...and I don't want to be a member.

The 81-year-old said she was a Greens voter and before that she voted for the Liberal Party.

Another woman identified on one membership form - the only woman on the Tasmanian electoral records of that name - says she has never been a member of the Labor Party and she had in fact been a member of the Liberal Party.

ALP state secretary John Dowling said all of the instances raised by The Australian had a rational explanation. There is nothing untoward in those facts, he said.

He listed a range of explanations but would not match these to the people identified in questions put to him without first gaining the consent of those involved - and securing agreement that The Australian would sign a confidentiality deed that would prevent publication of the information.

Some other members whose names appeared on the forms confirmed they were in fact members of the party.