NSW Labor killed off an independent investigation into complaints of bullying and harassment lodged by supporters of Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery against loyalists to lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes over what's been described as a "highly coordinated and politically motivated" attack during the preselection battle for Newcastle council.
Documents obtained by the Newcastle Herald reveal that the party's general secretary Dominic Ofner took steps in the dying hours of the process last month to communicate that the planned investigation into the murky power play would not proceed.
The investigation was requested after charges were brought by one person against seven people, described as "supporting" Ms Hornery, over three days in February under the party's laws, with offences ranging from disloyalty, defamation and not meeting party standards to be a candidate.
But a day after it was revealed councillor Nelmes' team, with the exception of councillor Carol Duncan, had won preselection, the charges, as they are known within the party, were dropped.
Charged under party rules
The charges were brought by the same person against the seven members between February 5 and 8, just days after rival tickets were nominated for Labor preselection in all four council wards on February 1. All charges were dropped a day after the preselection results were made public in May.
After six of the charged members complained that they had been falsely accused as part of a campaign to bully them, Labor's external complaints manager, Sydney-based lawyer Brad Baker, of Griffin Legal, recommended a full investigation.
"The secretary has agreed with this approach, and we are currently considering who will be best suited to undertake the investigation," Mr Baker wrote to the complainants on April 30. "Once we have decided on an independent investigator, I will provide a further update and will confirm the process for forwarding on your information to the investigator."
A month later, after an offer of mediation was rejected by the charged members, Mr Baker confirmed the investigation would proceed.
"Dominic Ofner, secretary, has confirmed with me that the party will be moving ahead with an independent investigation imminently," he wrote on May 31.
But, in an about-face, Mr Baker informed the charged members last month that "at this stage there is no further action to be taken".
"Based on the information outlined above, the secretary has determined that an investigation is no longer required to resolve this matter," Mr Baker wrote.
One of the reasons given by Mr Baker for not proceeding with the investigation was that "commitments have been made that behaviour of this nature will cease".
"By way of an update, the secretary has advised me that all the charges that were made against the charged individuals have been withdrawn and commitments have been made not to bring forth charges in the same manner ...," Mr Baker wrote on July 8.
'Ross will split the Labor vote'
The last-minute decision to backflip on the planned investigation has sparked concerns the allegations have been "swept under the rug" by Labor's head office to give Cr Nelmes and her team clean air in the lead-up to the September 14 election.
Labor sources said former life member Dr Ross Kerridge's decision to quit the ALP last month to lead a group of independents against Cr Nelmes' team meant the party could not afford to lose any ground.
"There is obviously concern that Ross will split the Labor vote and we could be vulnerable in some areas," a longstanding Labor member said.
Mr Baker is not a Labor party member and is tasked with operating as an independent third party under NSW Labor's Complaints Handling Policy.
The updated policy was introduced earlier this year in the wake of the Broderick review into NSW parliamentary workplaces and the Jenkins review of federal Parliament's workplace culture following the Brittany Higgins rape allegation.
Operation Bluehaven
Among the untested issues identified in the report to Mr Baker were two charges linked to councillor Elizabeth Adamczyk.
After the charges were lodged, six of the charged people submitted a 104-page dossier with Mr Baker, authored by their "support person" and fellow Labor party member Andrew Piper, labelled Operation Bluehaven.
The dossier alleged a range of misconduct, including that the charges were brought by Wallsend branch president David Norris within days of each other at the start of February to bully and harass people running against, or opposed to, Cr Nelmes' team, who are supporters of Ms Hornery.
It was also alleged that one of the charges submitted by Mr Norris had Cr Adamczyk's electronic signature on it.
Cr Adamczyk is the Wallsend branch secretary and will lead Labor's ward-four ticket at the election, replacing fellow councillor Deahnna Richardson, who has been relegated to second position.
In an email to Mr Baker on May 8, Mr Piper detailed a phone call with Labor head office a few days earlier.
"I received a call from head office, informing me that the assistant secretary had spoken to councillor Dr Adamczyk about the nature of the charges," he wrote.
"I was told that the withdrawal of the charges was now likely and would 'probably occur' that same day ... during this phone call, I was also made aware that in one of the charge sheets, Elizabeth Adamczyk's electronic signature had been used instead of David Norris's signature."
Two of the charges submitted under Mr Norris's name had screenshots of online content provided as evidence where Cr Adamczyk's Facebook page, email account or Microsoft Word account can be seen open in the tabs section at the top of the computer screen.
One of these charges was brought against Mary Harrington, who unsuccessfully ran as a candidate against Cr Adamczky for preselection in ward four.
The charge related to Ms Harrington's activity on Facebook where she had been critical of the Labor councillors for the Scott Neylon letter-writing scandal and the "privatisation" of council's inland pools.
"The timing of the charges against her, coinciding with her nomination for preselection, suggests an attempt to punish her for standing against councillor Elizabeth Adamczyk," the Operation Bluehaven document alleges.
In the same email to Mr Baker on May 8, Mr Piper questioned Cr Adamczyk's involvement in two of the charges brought by Mr Norris.
"As established in the Bluehaven document, screenshots within the charges show that Ms Adamczyk's computer was used to capture screenshots related to the charges," he wrote.
"It is concerning that Elizabeth Adamczyk did not disclose her involvement at any stage."
Cr Adamczyk declined to answer the Herald's questions this week.
"The NSW Labor rules prohibit me from talking about any internal charge matters," she said. "It is a requirement to maintain the confidentiality of complaints, as I have done, and continue to do. I'm focused on working hard for the residents of my ward and will continue to do so every day."
Mr Norris said he was unable to comment about the charges due to party rules, but said the issues started a long time before the preselection and had nothing to do with the upcoming election.
"There was a disagreement in a branch and these people are still trying to cause trouble," he said.
The Herald understand Ms Harrington, who declined to comment this week, brought code of conduct complaints alleging bullying and harassment against Mr Norris and Cr Adamczyk in September 2022, but they have not been investigated.
The Operation Bluehaven document also detailed several other unrelated charges that have been dealt with by the Labor's powerful administrative committee, an influential decision-making body made up of 44 senior factional heavyweights from across the NSW Labor Party, known as the IAT.
The report made 26 recommendations and called for an independent investigation of the claims, a review of the party's charge process and for Labor to foster a culture of "open and respectful dialogue".
Investigation abandoned
A NSW Labor spokesman declined this week to comment about why the independent investigation was abandoned, or what involvement Mr Ofner had in the decision.
"All complaints are handled by an independent complaints manager in accordance with the ALP's complaints handling policy," he said. "Every complaint is treated confidentially."
The policy states that Mr Ofner is responsible for actioning complaints.
After learning that the investigation had been scrapped, Mr Piper - who declined to comment this week due to party rules - wrote to Mr Baker on July 12 expressing his frustration.
"These events have created a fundamentally unjust situation where party processes have been manipulated and weaponised, individuals have been harmed, and serious allegations of misconduct have not been adequately addressed," he wrote.
"This outcome impacts those directly involved and undermines the integrity and credibility of the Labor Party as a whole, raising legitimate questions about its commitment to the principles of justice and fairness it claims to uphold."
He said the charges "reflect a broader pattern of bullying and harassment in the region, not an isolated incident".
"These issues stem from deep-rooted regional problems that warrant thorough investigation," Mr Piper wrote.
He went on to say that "effective leadership should welcome scrutiny and commit to addressing misconduct, even when it's uncomfortable or politically inconvenient".
"By preventing an investigation, the secretary prioritises short-term political expediency over the long-term health and integrity of the party," he said.
Long-running feud
The Operation Bluehaven allegations are the latest chapter in a long-running feud involving charges and counter-charges by party branch members and elected representatives in Newcastle.
Much of the infighting relates to grudges and rivalries which have been fermenting inside Newcastle Labor circles for years as powerbrokers fight to wrest control of key seats held by Ms Hornery and Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp.
The Herald has reported at length about a bitter public feud between Ms Hornery and the Labor councillors over the "privatisation" of the city's five inland pools and the Scott Neylon letter-writing scandal involving City of Newcastle chief executive Jeremy Bath.
At the root of much of the intense bickering is a war between the hard Left faction, Cr Nelmes, and the soft Left faction, Ms Hornery, in Newcastle and Wallsend.
Insiders fear the decision to scrap the Operation Bluehaven investigation could deepen the divide in Newcastle's ALP ranks.
"It makes no sense that an investigation was promised and then denied," a Labor member not authorised to speak about internal party matters said.
"This is just going to make the infighting and division worse. Maybe if this whole mess was fully investigated and both sides were held accountable for their actions, things could actually move forward."
Last year, amid bullying claims by both sides, members loyal to Ms Hornery split from the Wallsend branch to form a new branch in the Fletcher area.
This happened after forces loyal to Ms Hornery lost control of the party's Wallsend State Electorate Council.
The majority of charges detailed in the Operation Bluehaven report were brought against members of the newly formed Maryland-Fletcher-Minmi branch.
The report alleges an attempt to use the IAT, which is tasked with hearing charges that can result in expulsion from the party, against the breakaway branch members as a weapon to bully and harass to gain political advantage.
In an email to NSW Labor's operations manager Monika Tanaka in March, Mr Piper described some of the charges as "unmistakably highly coordinated and politically motivated attacks".
He claimed "many of the individuals being charged" were "political adversaries" of the people bringing the charges, or their supporters.
Mr Norris brought charges against the seven party members, including president of the Mayland-Fletcher-Minmi branch Bert Moonen, Ms Harrington, Georgetown-Waratah branch secretary Justin Davis and Darren Potts, within days of each other.
Five of the people charged are members of the breakaway Maryland-Fletcher-Minmi branch and two are members of the Georgetown-Waratah branch.
Mr Piper said the charges appeared to be "baseless, politically motivated, and part of a coordinated campaign to silence dissent and influence internal party processes".
Earlier this month, the Maryland-Fletcher-Minmi branch passed a motion calling for a "thorough, transparent and unbiased investigation into systemic bullying and harassment of multiple members in the Newcastle area".
"The political position of any member found to be in breach of party behaviours is irrelevant and needs to be dealt with in line with party rules," the motion read.
"Party rules regarding vexatious and unfounded charges with no evidence needs to be tightened to prevent future frivolous but harmful charges as well as the introduction of rules for time limits to be applied on charges being investigated or withdrawn. Currently there are no timeframes and charges can last for years."
Another unrelated charge identified in the Bluehaven report, which has been dealt with by the IAT, was brought by Cr Nelmes' then chief of staff Matthew Murray.
Mr Murray, who resigned as Cr Nelmes' chief of staff in April, charged Mr Potts with publicly criticising the Newcastle councillors on social media.
"Next year at the election lets get rid of this toxic council," Mr Potts wrote.
He was found guilty of disloyal conduct and suspended from the party for six months.
In its decision, the committee took aim at Mr Murray for the way he brought the charge.
"The Tribunal wishes to express concern at the tone of the allegations made against Mr Davis," the decision reads. "The level of venom is, to say the least, unfortunate."
Mr Davis had earlier accused Mr Murray of being involved in an attempt to stack the Georgetown-Waratah branch in August last year with four new members aligned to Cr Nelmes.
The Herald has previously reported that there have been a series of charges and counter-charges involving Mr Davis, deputy lord mayor Declan Clausen and Mr Clausen's partner, Steven Moore, revolving around a Wallsend Labor state electorate council election in August last year.
In a further sign of internal instability, NSW Labor head office lost its patience with its feuding Newcastle members in April, freezing membership applications across the city.
NSW Labor's administrative committee took the drastic action after more than 30 members applied to join the Lambton-New Lambton-Kotara branch in one day in February.
In a letter to party members, NSW Labor leadership said the decision to stop members joining branches in the Newcastle and Wallsend electorates was due to prolonged infighting in the city.
All of the charged people contacted by the Herald said they could not comment due to party rules.
- Donna.page@newcastleherald.com.au
