Embattled Labor leader Rebecca White’s state conference is overshadowed by the political elephant in the room this weekend, Madeleine Ogilvie.
After having absolutely no position at all this week, Ms White’s challenge is to step up at the conference and tell Labor party members she wants Ms Ogilvie back.
Particularly when David O’Byrne has already announced his position on Ms Ogilvie earlier this week. **
Ms White’s refusal to confirm she wants another Labor member on the parliament floor suggests she is terrified Mr O’Byrne is already counting Ms Ogilvie’s vote for a leadership spill.
The conference is a big test of Ms White’s faltering leadership, and her recent claim to be moving back toward the political centre away from the Greens.
But it’s clear her claim is smoke and mirrors, with extreme Left motions on the conference agenda and the fact that this year Labor has voted with the Greens 90 per cent of the time in Parliament – a new record!
And while Labor’s conference in Burnie is a shallow attempt to reconnect with the north-west, it will take far more than that for regional Tasmanians to ‘forgive and forget’ Labor’s disastrous job-destroying deal with the Greens.
**“She’s been a long time member of the Labor Party, she’s got Labor Party heritage running through her veins you might say, in terms of her family members, so of course she would be welcome back.” - David O’Byrne ABC Radio, 6pm news 27 August 2019