A NEWCASTLE man who found himself at the centre of a Labor bullying controversy fell into a "pit of depression" and started "self harming" after feeling a "deep sense of injustice" at being charged with disloyalty under the party's laws, supporters say.
The man, who has a disability and is supported by the NDIS, was one of seven people charged under the party's rules by Wallsend branch president David Norris with offenses ranging from disloyalty, defamation and not meeting party standards to be a candidate.
Documents seen by the Newcastle Herald reveal the man, who was on the executive committee of the newly formed Maryland-Fletcher-Minmi branch, was charged with bringing the party into disrepute and disloyal conduct for distributing branch meeting minutes and an approved motion to other Newcastle Labor branches, committees and MPs.
Mr Norris lodged the charge with NSW Labor head office on February 5, describing the man's actions as "grubby" and asking that he be suspended from the party.
According to the charge sheet, Mr Norris took exception to a motion that was circulated via email and detailed in the meeting minutes.
He also brought charges on the same day against three other members of the Maryland-Fletcher-Minmi branch alleging disloyalty relating to the same motion.
"Using branch processes to spread such material is an abuse of power...," Mr Norris wrote in the charge against the man.
"Distributing slanderous and untruthful material is [sic] wedges and weaponises members. It is disloyal and causes division. It is not Labor."
The motion that Mr Norris took objection to was passed unanimously in January at the first meeting of the breakaway Maryland-Fletcher-Minmi branch, which is loyal to Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery.
It references Newcastle councillor Liz Adamczyk and deputy lord mayor Declan Clausen, alleging the pair were opposed to and delayed the formation of the branch for "spurious reasons". Cr Clausen said he was unable to comment on internal party matters and Cr Adamczyk did not respond to the Herald's questions about the motion.
The charged man's supporters said distributing meeting minutes to other Newcastle Labor branches, committees and MPs was part of his job.
They said it would have been inappropriate for the man, who declined to comment due to party rules, to alter the meeting minutes or remove the motion, and they were "perplexed" why he was targeted with a charge, which can lead to expulsion from the party.
As previously reported, six of the people charged by Mr Norris at the start of February lodged a complaint alleging the party's charge system was used as a "weapon" to bully them during the preselection process for Newcastle council.
All of the charges were dropped a day after it was known that lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes' team, besides councillor Carol Duncan, won preselection.
The man's supporters said he felt an "extreme sense of injustice" and struggled to make sense of the "ridiculous charge that appeared to be brought for no other reason than to bully him".
They said worrying over facing possible expulsion from the party and feeling "unfairly targeted" compounded other stresses in his life.
The man was also the subject of another Labor charge brought earlier in the year alleging he was behind an anonymous Reddit account that posted comments critical of Newcastle councillors. The charge was dismissed by Labor's Internal Appeals Tribunal in June.
A friend said the man's mental health declined further after the Labor party backflipped on a decision to conduct a full investigation into the bullying claims, as recommended by Labor's external complaints manager.
"The whole situation caused a great deal of stress and things really spiralled downwards for him," the friend said.
"He found himself in a dark place. He just couldn't get over the injustice of being charged in the first place about the minutes and then felt let down again when they reneged on the investigation. He had other things going on in other parts of his life as well. Things weren't going well and it was just all too much."
It's understood that NSW Labor's head office was made aware of the man's declining mental health and self-harm attempt, but no-one has reached out to check on his welfare.
NSW Labor declined to answer the Herald's questions about the man, instead pointing to a previous statement that said the complaints process was confidential.
Premier Chris Minns also declined to answer the Herald's questions about the man's treatment.
"NSW Labor holds responsibility for handling matters like these, so I refer you to their response," Mr Minns' spokesman said.
The man's supporters said he recognised that he was slipping into a "pit of depression" and sought medical help.
"It just doesn't make any sense why he was targeted," a friend said. "A charge is a very serious thing and he just didn't deserve to be treated like that."
The same motion was used by Mr Norris to charge three other members of the Maryland-Fletcher-Minmi branch with disloyalty and bringing the party into disrepute.
All four of the charges were lodged on February 5.
The president of the branch Bert Moonen, who did not speak to the motion, was charged for presiding over the meeting where the motion was passed.
Another member was charged for bringing the motion and yet another member was charged for seconding the motion.
A Newcastle Labor member not authorised to speak publicly said over decades he had never seen charges brought before over "something so trivial".
"People need to be able to talk openly in the branch structure," he said. "I have never seen charges before over something like this, it looks to me to be a campaign."
Mr Norris said he was unable to comment due to party rules.
- Support is available for those who may be distressed. Phone Lifeline 13 11 14; Mensline 1300 789 978; Kids Helpline 1800 551 800; beyondblue 1300 224 636; 1800-RESPECT 1800 737 732.
