Madigan will sit as an independent after accusing a person employed in his office of a systematic campaign to damage the party

This article is more than 6 years old

This article is more than 6 years old

The crossbench senator John Madigan has resigned from the Democratic Labour Party (DLP), saying he had come to the realisation that the party’s “own worst enemies are within its own ranks”.



Madigan, announcing his decision to serve out his term as an independent, told the Senate a person he employed as an office manager “systematically ran a campaign of disinformation and disharmony” and made an inquiry to the Liberal party about potential preselection.

But the former staffer, Rachel Carling-Jenkins, said she was simply trying to get a copy of the Liberal preselection material in order to understand the political activities of other parties.

Madigan, a Victorian senator elected to a six-year term in 2010, cited the internal dramas in his speech to the Senate on Thursday.

But given he is the only DLP member in federal parliament, his decision does not change the basic numbers for the passage of legislation in the Senate. The government needs support from six out of eight crossbench senators to pass bills opposed by Labor and the Greens.

Madigan said he was “acutely aware of the historic significance” of his position as the first DLP member in federal parliament for almost 40 years. The anti-communist DLP was formed out of the split in the ALP in the 1950s arising from disputes over the infiltration of trade unions.

“I’ve been a member of the DLP since 2006, so I’ve arrived at my decision today only after deep introspection and consultation with trusted friends and colleagues,” Madigan told the Senate.

“It has become apparent to me that the DLP’s own worst enemies are within its own ranks. Right from my election I’ve witnessed first-hand attempts by those in the party to assume power at any means even if it means the very destruction of the party itself.

“This will not be news to many – a simple internet search will reveal part of what I have been talking about. But more recently that attack moved into my electorate office.

“Earlier this year at the strongest recommendation of senior party members, I employed an office manager. This person already had a relationship with the DLP and was involved with the party’s senior members.

“It has now become apparent that that person systematically ran a campaign of disinformation and disharmony in my office. Attempts by me to undertake normal communication with party members were thwarted. Confidential information was leaked and lies were told. Even more alarming it has emerged that two weeks after joining my staff that person sent an email to the Liberal party asking about preselection in the forthcoming Victorian election.”

Madigan said the “cancer of political intrigue” had infected the Victorian state executive of the DLP.

“That person suddenly resigned from her position in July, three days after being elected Victorian state president of the DLP,” he said.

“I have sought answers from the state executive about these events. I’ve sought a plausible explanation. So far I have none. My commitment to the party has I believe been second to none. So it’s with a heavy heart that with resolution today I will announce my resignation from the DLP to continue my term as an independent senator.”

Madigan said he “could have achieved more with less distraction of party politics, of less distraction from the culture of complaint and disruption and undermining which now exists in the DLP within its senior members”.

DLP policies include tighter controls on foreign ownership, support for manufacturing and opposition to abortion, euthanasia and same-sex marriage.

Madigan said he remained committed to DLP values, including “the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death and at every stage in between”.

Madigan was seeking to table documents in parliament relating to his decision.

The government Senate leader, Eric Abetz, said the Coalition had not seen all the documents.

“This is not a blanket denial [of permission to table the documents] but just subject to inspection of the documents and then we will make our position known,” he said.

Abetz said he sent “best wishes to Senator Madigan in the very difficult decision he’s come to”.