Trades Hall succession confirmed as Gary Kennedy calls it a day

Mr Wallace has confirmed a move against Mr Kennedy, but he said he had been “drafted” to the role and had not initiated it himself.

“I’ve been asked to take the job on an interim role until Trades Hall Council elections in August,’’ Mr Wallace said.

“I don’t want to say anything more until Thursday night when the council meets [to vote].”

Mr Wallace initially denied any knowledge of the challenge until told by the Newcastle Herald that three other union officials had confirmed it.

Mr Kennedy has been in charge of trades hall since he replaced Peter Barrack in 2000.

Mr Kennedy, who was born and raised in Scotland, worked for Telstra before rising through the union ranks in the Communications, Electrical and Plumbing Union.

Although he, too, was hesitant to speak about the situation, he said Mr Wallace had  ‘‘shown an interest in the job for a long time” and he would not be recontesting the position in next month’s election.

He had an ageing family in Scotland and had decided to take this opportunity to retire and to “give the job to someone younger than I am and possibly with a bit more energy than me at this stage”.

He said a changeover on Thursday night would give Mr Wallace time “to get his feet under the desk” before the scheduled election.

When the Herald asked Mr Kennedy if he was being pushed from the job, he said there was nothing more he could say. 

Although Trades Hall is the peak body for Hunter unions, Mr Kennedy is not a member of the ALP, which his supporters say has freed him to be independently critical of Labor when necessary.

Mr Wallace, who is also a Labor councillor at Lake Macquarie City Council, had nominated for preselection to replace former federal minister Greg Combet for the seat of Charlton, before standing aside for the head office-preferred candidate, Pat Conroy.

One union source said Mr Wallace’s move to trades hall might have been part of a deal cut at the time, in which Mr Wallace stood aside for Mr Conroy in return for union backing at a later stage.

But Mr Wallace later denied this, saying he had only stood aside after details of a minor criminal conviction against him were released during the campaign.

The union source said Mr Kennedy still had a lot of support from Hunter unions, but the numbers showed that a vote on Thursday would clearly go to Mr Wallace.

The Herald asked whether the controversy over Mr Kennedy’s March in March speech at Civic Park – it made headlines for an aggressive personal attack on Gina Rinehart and Qantas boss Alan Joyce – had played a role in his demise.

 The union source  said that it had not been mentioned.