Following a protest against Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin at Trades Hall on March 8, Socialist Party organiser Anthony Main has been banned from the building. A group of Jenny Macklin's supporters have falsely claimed that Anthony used sexist and derogatory language on the night. Anthony has denied these claims. The Trades Hall leadership conducted a bogus investigation and then decided to ban Anthony from the buildin...g where he works.
This is clearly a political witch hunt aimed at both Anthony and the Socialist Party. We will not be accepting this and will be defying the ban. Speakers so far include Anthony Main, Indigenous activists Gary Foley and Jenna Tipuamantumirri and NTEU organiser Serena O'Meley.
Come to this public meeting to hear what the ALP wants to keep behind closed doors.
See below the most recent letter sent to Trades Hall.
To: The Investigation Committee
Cc: Trades Hall Executive members
Dear Brian, David, Kevin and Deb,
Following on from Brian’s phone call to me today, I would like to
formally appeal the Trades Hall Executive decision to ban me from the
building.
Once again from the outset I wholeheartedly deny using any sexist or
derogatory language at the protest on March 8. Further to this, the
process that you have used to arrive at your decision has been utterly
undemocratic.
Still to this day I have not been given details about the allegations
against me. In regards to the investigation committee, I have never met
Deb James nor have I had any phone or email contact from her.
I have not been shown any of the written statements that were sent to
you as is usual practice. Also, none of the people that have sent in
statements verifying my version of events have been acknowledged by you
let alone interviewed.
It is common knowledge that the accusers have all collaborated to
concoct their version of events and that they have led people via an
email that has been widely circulated in the labour movement. Despite
this at least two people on the investigation committee have admitted to
me that there are a number of serious inconsistencies in their statements.
Independent witnesses have confirmed that the statement made up by the
Trades Hall women’s officer was false. Disappointingly this has been
ignored, as has the fact that key “witnesses” have colluded with those
who have fabricated stories.
Throughout this process I have only been afforded 45 minutes on one
occasion to put my side of the story. Leaving aside the fact that this
meeting took place in a Souvlaki bar, I was not given any opportunity to
come back and address any of the issues that were raised after you
interviewed the accusers.
When we did meet face to face I informed you of a very serious incident
where I was threatened by a CPSU official, husband of Jennifer
O’Donnell-Pirisi. This official, who is linked to a Trades Hall
affiliated union and the Trades Hall women’s officer, told me he had a
gun in his car and that he was going to kill me. I demanded that this
related incident also be investigated by the committee but this was denied.
While it is your responsibility to investigate the use of bad language
it is also your responsibility to investigate instances where tenants in
the building are threatened with violence by trade union officials.
The fact that you have ignored my request only further undermines the
integrity of your investigation. Given that I have been denied any form
of natural justice I can not accept the Executive decision. Once again I
request that this matter be urgently reviewed. Given that the original
process has been so flawed I think that the only genuine option would be
to set up a truly independent investigation committee.
While I am not keen for this matter to be drawn out, I am determined to
clear my name. I am not prepared to be slandered and banned from my
workplace for something I didn’t do.
I look forward to your prompt reply.
Regards
Anthony Main
Socialist Party