Grill's Treatment: Rough Justice or Corrupt Behaviour

The Silence of the ALP Lambs - Stalinist Rule Changes Set for Nod

The State ALP looks more like Erich Honecker's failed East German Communist Government with its Stasi secret police investigating and purging internal opponents and now the attempt by the hierarchy at this week State Conference to change the rules to give themselves powers to summarily expel ALP members - with no right to put their case and no right of appeal!

It is one years since Julian Grill was expelled from the ALP - for what yesterday's ABC news Bulletin incorrectly described as his donation of $5000 to the National Party of WA.

Under Labor Party rules, any member who campaigns against their own party is automatically struck off the membership list. Showing his support for the purge, Premier Alan Carpenter said he was delighted that the lobbyist Julian Grill has been expelled from the Labor Party.

Grill did forward the donation, but it was made on behalf of a client for whom he was a lobbyist. It certainly wasn't Grill's money and it is doubtful that he recommended such a donation.

Grill was summarily expelled by the ALP, ignoring the clear and comprehensive rules of the ALP. They did not provide Grill with any opportunity to put his case. because that is what the hierarchy wanted.

What is intriguing if you look at the register of donations, Julian Grill is shown as donating $5000 on behalf of Griffin Group and further down the same page Gary Gray MHR the new Member for Brand and Parliamentary Secretary in the Rudd Government, is shown as having donated $5000 on behalf of Woodside to the National Party. Gray of course was a lobbyist working for Woodside at the time (a year ago) - but the ALP conveniently ignored this.

Well any normal person would be embarrassed by these double standards, the failure to extend natural justice to its members and apply the rules fairly - but not Jim McGinty or Alan Carpenter who both want Julian Grill out of the ALP.

This weekends Special State Conference will formalise the Stalinist rule changes.

As Honecker said: "Den Sozialismus in seinem Lauf, halten weder Ochs noch Esel auf".

The Stalinist Left is alive and thriving in the WA Branch of the ALP!