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Confirmed, the Corporate 'Fix' killed NSW Labor
by Jared Owens via stan - The Australian Monday, Mar 28 2011, 8:35am
national / social/political / other press

Sartor blasts his old comrades as 'donation' addicts

Former NSW Labor minister and Lord Mayor of Sydney, Frank Sartor, confirmed last night what everybody knows -- the Corporates had effectively taken control of the party via huge donations. And so ENDED any future viability for the once peoples' party of NSW/Australia.

Former NSW 'right' faction power broker, CIA lackey and Corporate friendly, Mark Arbib

FORMER senior NSW Labor minister Frank Sartor has launched a vicious attack on his former government, calling it the undemocratic domain of factional warlords and party officials hooked on corporate donations.

Speaking to ABC1's Lateline last night, the former minister said the rot set in in the administrative wing of the ALP during the Carr years, and migrated to the parliamentary branch under Morris Iemma.

"When Eric Roozendaal was general secretary the attraction to big donations from the business sector - donations that were obscenely large in some cases - and taken at a time when the government was dealing with their projects was just stupid. Totally stupid," Mr Sartor said.

"There were times when I was planning minister and there were party officials collecting obscene donations that I later discovered and it was making my job impossible.

"What got rid of me as planning minister was that the developers were angry because they obviously weren't getting what they thought in their heads they were going to get."

Asked why he didn't resign, Mr Sartor said "you take the view that you're part of a team and you're there for the long haul".

"I did (speak up) internally. I refused to kiss and fundraise. The public never saw that."

Mr Sartor described Labor's factional kingpins, such as Joe Tripodi and Eddie Obeid, as "new warlords who set up their own lolly shops" inside the party.

On the day the cabinet of former premier Nathan Rees was sworn in, Mr Sartor recalled "Joe Tripodi got up and said: 'Look, I need to explain to everyone, this is not a meritocracy, this is about politics'.

"Everyone queued up (for the lollies)."

Mr Sartor recounted how the party machine tore down successive Labor premiers Morris Iemma and then Mr Rees.

"In fact I got up in the right-wing caucus and said let's defer this for discussion and they got up - a factional warlord and (minister John) Della Bosca - and said 'No, we're doing this right now'.

"There was no opportunity for discussion, there was no contest, there was no ballot."

Mr Sartor said he could see the same forces gathering to install new Blacktown MP John Robertson as ALP leader.

"The fact that the fix has been on and has been ordained months ago, I think is a really bad sign," he said. "And secondly he has to explain his role in tearing down Morris Iemma."

Federal Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek last night suggested Mr Robertson was not the best option to lead the party in NSW.

"There are several very good candidates there and I think they need to give some thought to who's going to be there for the next four years and the four years after that," she said on ABC's Q&A.

Ms Plibersek spoke highly of deputy leader Carmel Tebbutt and former education minister Verity Firth.

"Everyone I spoke to, even those who weren't voting for Verity or Carmel, spoke highly of them: their integrity, their decency, their hard work," she said.

However, Fairfax newspapers report today that Ms Tebbutt has ruled out standing for the job.

Mr Sartor argued NSW Liberals' victory would assist federal Labor, since it no longer needed to deal with the disastrous state government.

Mr Sartor, 59, served as a minister in the Carr, Iemma, Rees and Keneally governments.

© 2011 News Limited

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