Joe de Bruyn, national secretary of Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees will reportedly be stepping down from his role after being an influential force in the Australian Labor Party for more than thirty years.
De Bruyn is a right-wing factional leader who has been labelled by some as a gatekeeper for senators and MPs entering parliament. He is known for his opposition to same sex marriage, and reportedly supported Gillard’s position against marriage equality while she was Prime Minister, and was critical of Rudd when he had a change of heart on the issue.
Rainbow Labor members have expressed hope that de Bruyn’s successor will be more supportive of marriage equality.
NSW Rainbow Labor co-convenor Donherra Walmsley had this to say: ““Whilst Rainbow Labor has not always agreed with Mr De Bruyn’s positions, we wish him well in his future endeavours,
“We are hopeful (his) successor will be open to creating a more democratic and representative union movement and Labor Party, through canvassing the views of their members on issues such as LGBTI rights before lobbying for or against them.
“Rainbow Labor calls on the new national secretary to conduct a survey of SDA members to gauge their support for marriage equality.”
Jed Horner, policy officer of the NSW Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby made these comments welcoming the news.
““Joe de Bruyn has been on the wrong side of the equality debate for far too long, defending the indefensible. We hope this will help to usher in a new era in Australian political debate,”
OIP Staff
