The combination of Labor and union influence, has always advocated public ownership, social conscience and a reasonable redistribution of wealth to benefit Australia's most marginalised groups.

After dozens of shearers union leaders were arrested and charged with conspiracy in the Queensland town of Clermont in 1891, the newly formed NSW Labour Electoral League in June won 36 seats and claimed the balance of power in the NSW Parliament.

The NSW Trades and Labour Council endorsed candidates at the time publicly pledged to serve the interests of workers all over the colony.

League members accepted the political platform drawn up by the Parliamentary Committee of the Trades and Labour Council and endorsed by delegates from all NSW unions.

Members of the labour movements' industrial wing, the unionists who enjoyed the benefits of working under award conditions won for them either by union action or political intervention by elected Labor Governments, reached agreement on the payment by union members of electoral campaign levies to the union's political wing.

Recently, I have read with interest and some level of concern that individuals in "the highest of the levels of the ALP" are moving to end the agreement with trade unions to accept campaign donations to the Labor Party, in return for Liberal Party agreement to ban donations from corporations and other third parties and associated entities.

While there is a clear need for probity and transparency on all sources of political donations, I suggest that for Labor to dump its most reliable source of funding will not only fail to bring about either probity or parity in election funding for the major parties, but for Labor appears to be the first step in a process of self-destruction.

It is an obvious paradox for the ALP, the political wing of the trade union movement which even goes so far as to require proof of union membership to everyone who seeks to hold an ALP ticket or to attend party conferences where policies are formulated.