Rudd running crusade on corruption
Kevin Rudd is on a war-path to stamp out corruption in the Labor party, starting in New South Wales.
The returned Prime Minister will ask the ALP national executive to take over the NSW Labor Party Branch for 30 days, while investigations are undertaken and new standards of reporting and transparency imposed.
The NSW branch has been targeted for its long-running rumours of intense control by wealthy property developers. Mr Rudd says punishments will be ruthless; any finding of corruption against a member of the ALP will lead to immediate expulsion from Labor for life with no appeals.
Allegations and disclosures of corrupt behaviour by NSW Labor members have tarnished its name in the state, something the PM hopes will turn around once the rats have been run out of the pantry.
Mr Rudd has warned his war-path against political dodginess is not limited to one state, he intends to take the fight across borders and reform his party nation-wide. Cynical commentators have said weeding out corruption in politics is “like searching for a needle in a pile of needles,” but the PM is committed, expressing his distaste for what he’s heard reported so far; “I am revolted by what I have seen unfold through the ICAC inquiry. I am revolted that this could've been seen to have been acceptable practice. I will therefore be having a very deep discussion with cabinet colleagues of an entirely political nature about the new direction for NSW and more broadly, where we go on the overall remit of party reform nationwide."