Two Independent council candidates expelled from the Labor party after trying to resign say they are disappointed in the party's lack of response to issues they raised.
Lord mayoral candidate Ross Kerridge and ward four candidates Tahlia Kelso and Julie Davies submitted their resignations to the Labor party after losing pre-selection battles and opting to run as Independents in the September local government election.
But the trio received notification recently that their resignations were not accepted and they were instead expelled from the Labor party.
Labor party rules state that members can't stand for public office against an officially selected party candidate. Members who breaches party rules will be expelled.
A member's resignation also won't be accepted if the administrative committee believes the person resigned to avoid the consequences of membership conditions being broken.
A member expelled for breaking the rules cannot be readmitted to the party unless allowed to do so by the review tribunal and loses party rights that are maintained by those who resign.
Dr Kerridge said he was "unsurprised" he had been expelled, and accepted it was party rules.
But Ms Kelso and Ms Davies said they were disappointed after raising issues in their resignation correspondence that they felt were not addressed, including allegations of racism, harassment, bullying and misuse of complaints handling.
"It's concerning that these complaints aren't getting any acknowledgement, meanwhile if you announce you're running on an Independent ticket they'll respond," Ms Kelso said.
"It seems head office is prioritising electoral chances."
"They really were not interested in the behaviours we witnessed," Ms Davies said.
A Labor spokesperson said the party couldn't respond beyond saying "all complaints are confidential".
