Illawarra trade union boss Arthur Rorris will go head-to-head with sitting Wollongong MP Noreen Hay, running as an independent candidate at next month’s NSW election.
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The South Coast Labour Council secretary – who will temporarily step down from the role during the campaign – has announced his resignation from the Australian Labor Party.
‘‘These are personal decisions that I have taken after very careful consideration,’’ he said of the choice to abandon his 20-year membership.
‘‘Decisions that have been heavily influenced by the growing chorus of concern in the broader community that Wollongong may be condemned to another four years of ineffectual and controversial representation in Macquarie Street.’’
A rift between Mr Rorris and Ms Hay has been evident for some time, but came to a head in December when he was physically escorted off the premises and refused a vote in Labor’s controversial Wollongong preselection ballot.
The lead-up to the preselection was plagued with allegations of branch stacking, doctored minutes and dodgy attendance books, as well as reports Sussex Street was ‘‘pulling out all stops’’ to protect Ms Hay.
The ALP’s NSW head office backed the decision to deny Mr Rorris a vote, saying he didn’t satisfy the rules to qualify for a preselection vote.
But the snub appears to have been the final straw for the trade union official.
‘‘We, the citizens of Wollongong deserve better, much better than the humiliation that has been unfairly bestowed on us by politicians that arrogantly assume that they own seats,’’ he said.
Announcing his candidacy at Flagstaff Hill on Wednesday, Mr Rorris said he was ‘‘not running to change my tune’’ and encouraged voters to look to his public record over 15 years as a union leader.
He said he would not be renouncing his previously held views – such as his opposition to asset privatisation – during the campaign, noting his decision to run had been encouraged by a number of Labor members.
‘‘Let me make it clear. I’m not resigned from the labour movement, I’ve simply resigned from the Labor Party,’’ he said.
‘‘That’s where my heart and soul is – working people. I’ve been their voice and I want to continue being their voice in the halls of power.’’
He also denied his decision to run was fuelled by any personal vendetta against Mr Hay.
‘‘I’m not running against any candidate – I’m running for Wollongong,’’ he said.
‘‘We need to do a very big thing here in Wollongong and say that we’re going to go for a change.
‘‘People need to ask themselves, who’s got the motivation, who’s got the character and who’s already got some runs on the board to be able to do the job to represent Wollongong ... without fear or favour.’’
Ms Hay said Mr Rorris was entitled to exercise his democractic rights to nomiate as a candidate, but believed it was a shame he had ‘‘spat the dummy’’.
‘‘At a time when the Labor movement is getting itself together to fight the Liberal government and privatisation of poles and wires, Arthur is pursuing his own agenda and that’s a shame, but there you go,’’ she said.
‘‘I think its a great shame that Arthur couldn’t get his act together to qualify for a vote in the preselection, and he didn’t run in the preselection.’’
Also running for the seat of Wollongong are Liberal candidate Cameron Walters and Mitchell Bresser for the Greens.
Arthur Rorris’s views on:
Federal Budget 2014:
‘‘The budget works against the interests of ordinary people. It seeks to give a hand up to the big end of town, the big corporations that don’t need it, and it wants the poor and the workers and the sick and the students and the rest of us really to pay for it.’’
State Budget 2014:
‘‘They appear to have ring-fenced the Illawarra from significant announcements and commitments. The story gets worse when you compare the outcomes here with our sister region in the Hunter that has just received another $100 million on top of their $200-$300 million from the state government after their port privatisation.’’
Port Kembla port privatisation:
"Governments need to understand that the people elect them to manage our assets and services, not flog them off. We need to end the madness of privatisation – we’d hope they would back off from selling poles and wires.’’
Education cuts:
"You couldn’t do a worse thing for young people if you tried – it’s the battlers that will be hit most, and we all know we have a lot of battlers in this area. The last thing we need is $1.5 billion in cuts, the last thing we need is to muck around with our vocational education and training systems and reduce the opportunities for young people.’’
Youth unemployment:
‘‘The decline of some of our industries we have previously depended on for employment growth has meant not only an increase in retrenchments of existing workers, but also a reduction of opportunities for young people entering the workforce. Previously we’ve had a TAFE system that has been resourced a lot better than it is now, and a system that encouraged and required young people to train, particularly at times when they did not have jobs to go to.’’
Marriage equality:
“We support any moves to end discrimination against people. You can’t defend the rights of working people, and then say ‘well everyone except for people who choose to love people of the same sex’.’’
2008 ICAC inquiry:
‘‘Like others in our city I feel shocked, betrayed and angry with recent events. We want our city back.’’
Boxing Day trading:
"We think getting a day on Boxing Day for those that work in retail is pretty important, and that outweighs the need for people to shop 364 days a year.’’
● Editor’s note: Mr Rorris’ wife, Louise Turk, is a journalist with the Mercury. Ms Turk covers the property market. She is not involved with our political coverage in any capacity.