Workers’ Party: WTF
VUWSA President Jasmine Freemantle has officially been expelled from the Workers’ Party, who sent out this press release yesterday:
Workers Party Statement on the expulsion of Jasmine Freemantle
Current VUWSA President Jasmine Freemantle has been expelled from the Workers Party. Freemantle contested the VUWSA election last year on a Workers Party platform. Since then, however, she has acted entirely as an individual rather than abiding by Workers Party policies and decisions.
A number of Workers Party principles have been breached, most particularly around the VUWSA Staff Collective Agreement which she drew up and which represented an attack on VUWSA employees’ rights, and around her role on Anzac Day where she failed to support action by WP members. In the case of Anzac Day, while she failed to consult in any way with the Party, she consulted with the RSA, seeking their endorsement of motions for a Student Representative Council.
Her actions indicate outright rejection in practice of basic WP – and basic left-wing – principles.
The WP first suspended her from membership due to the VUWSA contract and her failure to act as a WP member. After the Anzac Day events, she was expelled by a unanimous vote in the Wellington branch.
Since she was elected as president of VUWSA running on the WP platform, we believe she should resign from her position of President of VUWSA and seek re-election on her own record and platform.
Jasmine wrote an 8271-word blog post in reply here.
The post provides an interesting insight into Jasmine’s personal and political life. It also delivers a shocking account of VUWSA and the Workers’ Party.
For those who care about student politics—especially recent developments at VUWSA—it is a must read.
Salient has used Microsoft Word’s AutoSummerise function (set to 4%) to glean the important facts from the piece: According to WP National Organiser Philip Ferguson: VUWSA Presidency The WP has had members on the student Executive at Victoria University since 2002. Joel ran out of the meeting. Marika was of course one of the 3 other WP members elected to the 2009 VUWSA Executive. Nowadays Joel busies himself interviewing VUWSA staff members in a pathetic attempt to compile dirt to pass on to WP members and Unite. Actually I am the employer of the VUWSA staff, as were the previous WP members who served a term as VUWSA President. Anyway, Joel and various WP members turned up to VUWSA’s SRC on 6 May, where Joel proceeded to read out a brief statement on behalf of the WP on the subject of Anzac Day. Not long after, Joel and other WP members set fire to the New Zealand flag. I will not be resigning as the VUWSA President.
In an interesting twist, Joel Cosgrove (the same one who was the president last year, wore the penis t-shirt, smells funny, burnt the flag etc etc) sent this email out to the Workers’ Party mailing list: To: ACAXXXXXX@XXXXX.com My suggestion is that we put it on Indymedia and leave it there. Salient
From: joel.XXXXX@XXXX.com
Date: Tue, 12 May 2009 12:26:16 +1200
Subject: Re: [ACA-activists] Draft Press Release: Expulsion of Jasmine
will find it, but I don’t want them being able to make any sort of
ownership of the ’scoop’. Salient is not the paper of students and we
shouldn’t see it that way. Right now there are thousands of Salients
outside VUWSA, as no one is reading it this year, even though it’s free.
We owe them nothing.
Wow. Just wow, Joel. If anyone who reads this thinks Salient isn’t representing students then come talk to me. WP members included.
This is a serious case of bad communications management. In case you guys hadn’t noticed, Salient is pretty much the only media outlet that pays these muppets any attention. Why? I’m actually beginning to wonder that myself.
Also, Joel’s claims that there are thousands of Salients outside VUWSA is an outright fib. There are definitely fewer than 1000 copies there. Mainly a collection of our first nine issues—there because I am too lazy to bring them up to the office… Oh, and so students can grab copies.
Sadly for Joel, our readership and pick-up rate of both the print magazine and website is way up on the last two years. One pales at the predicament Salient would be in were he editor.
No doubt we’ll hear more about this communist cluster fuck. Jasmine seems to have turned commenting off on her blog, so feel free to comment here.
90 Comments
18 May, 2009 at 11:13 am
This blog post seems neutral on Freemantle, negative on Cosgrove. The only criticism of Freemantle you could take out of it is that her blog post was really, really, long…
18 May, 2009 at 7:46 pm
z z z z z z z z
The Worker’s Party is an oxymoron (student allowance and/or other welfare payments such as dole, sickness or invalid benefits does not make you a “worker”)
Show us your tax returns, faggots!
Jasmine Freemantle is just a moron.
Joel Cosgrove is a little less intelligent than the flag he set fire to.
Sounds like the end of the “reach around revolution” to me. Well, boo-fucking-hoo! Can’t we all just get along?
18 May, 2009 at 11:33 pm
Jasmine’s accountable and honest with her dealings, thats the difference between her and Joel Cosgrove. She’s direct but at least she makes it clear where she stands. Cosgrove on the other hand owes VUWSA members at least $1200 for travel to Melbourne last year, he wrote a report that was plagirised. Pay up JOEL. Jasmine works in a mainstream context for ALL students. She saved three jobs that Joel tried to cut at VUWSA last year. Jasmine and her VPs are actually doing the work and cleaning up the mess left by Joel and Co. By the way the moaning staff there need to be bought under some control – the students are THEIR EMPLOYERS after all.
19 May, 2009 at 11:06 am
Oh go away Nick Kelly.
19 May, 2009 at 12:30 pm
I thought the blog actually encouraged people to go and read Jasmine’s side – in her own words, no less. Sure, its negative towards Cosgrove, but no more so than his emails are to Salient.
Kerry, I don’t understand how you can possibly view this as sniping at Jasmine? Seriously – where in the post does it even remotely suggest that JJW has anything other than interest in what she has to say on the matter?
Personally, I think equating Jackson’s writing to Cosgrove’s is ridiculous. I’ve subbed Jackson’s stuff too, and in a feature-length piece I found maybe 5 or so errors – mostly just transposed letters (ie: dind’t). I think the quality of Jackson’s writing during his tenure at Salient far outweighs the fact that in typing out articles he occasionally makes a spelling error – especially when there is a whole team of people whose sole job it is to correct spelling and grammar on production night. Compare this to Joel’s apparent inability to even construct a simple report on his own, and I think the facts speak for themselves. Also, when Joel brings a point up in his email that is untrue, Jackson is just supposed to let it stand without refuting it? If that’s your policy, why did you take to the comments to refute things you believed to be untrue? I support the commenting, by all means, but if you’re going to hold somebody to a standard, at least stick to it yourself.
You’ve obviously got some grievance; so come out and say it, blatantly and openly. Nobody agrees with what you’ve said so far, nobody. All you’ve done is call JJW out for ‘muckraking’ – untrue. Then you praised Jasmine for fixing the errors of the last few years – belittling Cosgrove. Then you say that editorial commentary (in his own personal blog) has no place in this context.. and then proceed to add your own commentary!
Langdon did a pretty decent job but I’d love for somebody to fisk your replies in a public forum, because watching somebody besides you try and reach the conclusions you do from the arbitrary points you make would be entertainment worth paying for. Sando – are there any Comedy Fest spots left open??
19 May, 2009 at 2:07 pm
“In case you guys hadn’t noticed, Salient is pretty much the only media outlet that pays these muppets any attention. Why? I’m actually beginning to wonder that myself.”
Ha ha yeah stop reporting what these dicks are getting up to!
19 May, 2009 at 8:36 pm
In my opinion, running VUWSA is difficult to as it is, with problems with staffing, budgeting and people ripping it off (Joel) etc.
Political parties on campus like the Workers party and their politics do the students a disservice, more interested in bickering and their own egos than running an effective, representative organisation. 90% of students think they are a joke and couldn’t give a shit about their petty politics. They represent everything that is wrong in politics and provide a poor example to students, and quite honestly they put me off ever wanting to run for any type of student service.
Leave the ideologies at the door, as they are only distractions and get in the way of serving students. The only way to run VUWSA well is to run it as a pragmatist
I mean seriously? VUWSA is real fucking small time in the greater scheme of things.
19 May, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Investigative journalism has a long way to go in this university, if none of you have any idea of the facts, nor the spin that has been put with a few unrelated ‘facts’ that Jackson has added to the story. Did nobody bother to find out any background to this story?
This is not Jackson’s personal blog, it’s the Salient blog, and used to be written by the paid news & feature writers – Laura & Nicola were the last two to have that priviledge (as described in the job descriptions that failed to materialize in full that year, or since, to my knowledge) and it’s another indicator of the way the paper is failing to follow accepted, well-documented office procedures which were disrupted in 2007, and have been incompletely restored since then.
I subbed Jackson in 2007 & 2008, there was a lot more to his work that needed re-working than just a few typo’s. Obviously, if you’ve found less to worry about lately, then either his standards have improved, or the kind of stuff I pick up isn’t being noticed by current subeditors.
The ASPA’s last year spring to mind, when Salient got it’s worst results for a decade or so, due to poorly subbed work being printed in the latter half of 2008.
Jasmine has been criticised in Salient, across many issues, for poor management, which is false.
Joel left a lot of problems when he finished up as President, which Salient has even reported on in past issues – I suggest some of you research a little by reading back through the bound copies, as not all stories are kept on the website.
Sloppy research habits and a tendency to write off the top of his head are Jackson’s most repeated journalistic traits (including, with Conrad, plaigirising other political journalists in Wellington, by repeatedly cutting and pasting material last year – I’m amazed Tracey Watkins never sued.) and none of these are good, or even adequate journalism.
Salient used to be a team of young, enthusiastic writers, from many disciplines, covering issues that mattered to students on campus; not a vehicle to glorify one aspiring political/journalism student at the expense of others on the staff.
19 May, 2009 at 10:17 pm
Must be quiet on the activism front at the moment huh Kerry
19 May, 2009 at 10:22 pm
I don’t care to comment on the substance of your post Kerry but I just wanted to say that I certainly would not like to be a friend of yours. It seems as if you keep a mental journal of all the fuck-ups your friends and acquaintances make, and then use them as public ammunition when it suits you.
19 May, 2009 at 10:25 pm
Perhaps the reason Tracy never sued, was because I wasn’t plagiarizing? Seriously Kerry. Play the ball not the man. But well, fair play has never been your strong point (stealing, and then ripping up democratic petitions must do that to you).
Anyway, why would I want to plagiarise – there’s enough crazy stuff in my head without resorting to Watkins’.
19 May, 2009 at 10:26 pm
Oh – and Kerry, I cant take anything you say seriously. This year you accused me of being an SIS spy – sent to investigate your life.
I wouldn’t wish such a fate on my most mortal enemies.
19 May, 2009 at 10:37 pm
“I subbed Jackson in 2007 & 2008, there was a lot more to his work that needed re-working than just a few typo’s.”
I think it’s nicely ironic that “typo’s” is a typo. You must have been a great sub-editor.
19 May, 2009 at 10:49 pm
OMG CONRAD IS SIS FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK
19 May, 2009 at 11:01 pm
Kerry. You have totally missed the point.
Please refrain from personal attacks. If you have issues with the way that Salient is run then you are more than welcome to contact me.
Please refrain about commenting on confidential matters. Parts of your previous comments have been removed for reasons of confidentiality.
19 May, 2009 at 11:11 pm
“salient got it’s worst results”
19 May, 2009 at 11:14 pm
“have that priviledge”
19 May, 2009 at 11:15 pm
when are your going to un-moderate my comment?
Krazy Kerry is allowed to post. Double standards ahoy!
19 May, 2009 at 11:15 pm
“plaigirising”
19 May, 2009 at 11:16 pm
wankerising more like it
19 May, 2009 at 11:19 pm
Ah, the wonders of the obliviously ignorant. Don’t give up your day job, Kerry, whatever it is (unless it’s sub-editing for a publication, in which case, give up your day job as soon as fucking possible).
20 May, 2009 at 1:25 am
Investigative journalism has a long way to go in this university…
If this means Nina Fowler and Sarah Robson have been dawdling along in second gear up ’til now, then wow, I can’t wait to see what they produce when they’re in third or even fourth gear. Their work thus far has been accessible, entertaining, strident and informative. They’re both fine writers, and their very presence in the pages of Salient has been a joy to read. So, no, you’re completely wrong.
… and it’s another indicator of the way the paper is failing to follow accepted, well-documented office procedures which were disrupted in 2007, and have been incompletely restored since then.
I’m guessing you haven’t read Andrew Mendes’ pieces on the US political scene? You should. They’re gorgeous to read. They’re like sitting in a cosy bar somewhere quiet drinking something smooth—and what’s more, a small (but growing) number have been blogs. Yeah, sorry, but wrong again.
Jasmine has been criticised in Salient, across many issues, for poor management, which is false.
The Freemantle presidency has been one of the most fairly and accurately covered VUWSA presidencies in recent memory. I get the feeling here you’re hoping that if you say something loud enough and often enough it’ll come true. You’re wrong. Again.
Salient used to be a team of young, enthusiastic writers, from many disciplines, covering issues that mattered to students on campus; not a vehicle to glorify one aspiring political/journalism student at the expense of others on the staff.
Still is. Some old names (Wood, Oliver, Robson, Dean, Drinkwater), but many, many, many new ones. Salient has been revitalised under Jackson’s guidance; it has been rejuvenated, and a large reason for that is that the editor cares enough about the quality of the magazine to not hog the limelight (certain cover pages aside). Have you even seen a word in Salient this year about the editor’s Mt. Albert campaign? Nope. Not a word.
You’re wrong. Plain wrong. End of story.
20 May, 2009 at 7:30 am
Always watching, always waiting Shitkicker.
Dun dun…
20 May, 2009 at 7:39 am
Two very enthusiastic thumbs up to Matthew Donaldson’s riposte – you’ve said it all.
Kerry, i’ve gone out of my way to defend you in the past when people have made personal attacks on you, but I am astounded at the level of vindictiveness you are expressing here. I agree with Jackson – you’ve missed the point of this blog entirely, and you’ve resorted to blatant lies and slander to back up your position.
Some examples:
“Jasmine has been criticised in Salient, across many issues, for poor management, which is false.”
The only example of this that I can find that is directly related to Jasmine’s Presidency is the web-only article published in early January regarding the changes to the Salient budget for 2009. This was a genuine concern based on actual proposed changes and said nothing about ‘poor management’. Unless you are referring to the coverage over the ANZAC Day issue (which was, in my view, relatively impartial), you are blatantly lying. Conversely, you have a series of well-written and admirably impartial eye on exec’s that have been produced this year which have reflected very admirably on Jasmine’s hard work.
“Joel left a lot of problems when he finished up as President, which Salient has even reported on in past issues – I suggest some of you research a little by reading back through the bound copies, as not all stories are kept on the website.”
Is anybody refuting this? If you read both Jackson’s article and the subsequent replies you will see an overwhelming amount of support for Jasmine and a unanimous condemnation of Joel. By resorting to your usual “I suggest some of you research a little” line over a completely ireelevant argument, you are being both condescending and slanderous.
“Salient used to be a team of young, enthusiastic writers, from many disciplines, covering issues that mattered to students on campus; not a vehicle to glorify one aspiring political/journalism student at the expense of others on the staff.”
This is just a downright low blow. As Matthew Donaldson has said, clearly you have not read the articles being produced by this year’s feature writers, which have been both thorough and easy to read. The fact that Nina, Sarah and Andrew can immerse themselves in such diverse subject material each week and write as if they’d spent years researching each topic amazes me.
If you have personal issues with Jackson (and, by the sound of it, Conrad as well), please refrain from airing them through the use of unmitigated and unwarranted vitriol.
Cheers, Matt.
20 May, 2009 at 8:42 am
Kerry stop defending Jasmine. She back stabs you at every oppotunity. She isn’t a “feminist” sister of yours, she’s a perversion of several contradictory persona, she’s mostly a wannabe Stalinist at this point – there are obvious traits coming through in her character and method – she is perfecting this on a daily basis.
20 May, 2009 at 12:40 pm
I can’t add anything more to what the Matthews have said, except to applaud and agree with them.
I’m curious, Kerry, but if you feel that Salient has been desperately lacking (which multitudes are disagreeing with, in case you hadn’t noticed), why do you continue to write for it? Furthermore, if you feel it is investigative journalism that’s lacking, why aren’t you writing and submitting that as opposed to reviews?
I also think its appalling that you’ve criticised the subbing team, and the feature writers. They are doing an incredible job and I think the tone and standard of Salient is getting better with every issue.
You’re also exhibiting sloppy research habits of your own, having not bothered to check if any of the wild, personal accusations you’ve made are true or just part of your own personal vendetta.
Congratulations, though, you’ve managed to attract all the attention from this blog (written in Jackson’s name, not Salient’s. The same way your articles are written in your name, not Salient’s) and onto yourself. Activism at its finest; focused on the person not the issue. Oh wait..
20 May, 2009 at 2:39 pm
Ah wash dear wos a werrkerrs parthay bachk un Aberdeen, den mah Dahd woulden have got thaa sachk fer wagglin hus cock at traffic during rush hoaur. waht els is ah winder wahsher sposed tah do i ahsk?
20 May, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Me thinks that someone is pissed off with JJW for his “reactionary radicals” rant in the aftermath of the anzac shit. Kerry seems to be the typification of a RR:
“People who blindly follow some vague ideology with no actual basis. Who protest for change but are afraid of changing themselves. Polemicists.
People like this mess with democracy by simply yelling the loudest—marginalising those who speak sense. ”
You say JJW needs to grow up but he is more mature than you will ever be.
You say JJW shouldn’t attack people – when he hasn’t – and you attack him
You say salient needs to learn what investigative journalism is – you obviously haven’t read it this year.
You say you’re the perfect sub editor yet you can’t even write a comment without making a mistake.
You say a load of litanies against the current editor and staff and even take a poke at last years crew – you transpose your obvious hate of men, authority and people who are more intelligent and rational than you onto these people and it just makes you look like the fool you know you are, kerry.
What you need to do is calf the fuck down. You are a sad, sad person, kerry. We don’t want to hear about it.
21 May, 2009 at 2:28 am
I wonder if Kerry will snap one day and start shooting people. And if she does, I wonder if people will be doing quizzes on the internet 20 years later about which of Kerry’s jumpers they are.
21 May, 2009 at 7:45 am
READ HERE:
workersparty.org.nz/2009/05/20/statement-on-jasmine-freemantles-expulsion/
22 May, 2009 at 6:05 pm
I think this is quite strong evidence, that Kerry, like Margaret Thatcher and The Queen, is a reptilian shapeshifter. Obviously.
*Slaps forehead*
24 May, 2009 at 5:53 pm
This munter’s already spent over $20,000 of VUWSA money (i.e. ours) on a solicitor in order to defend her tactics, she has unilaterally – without warning ignored legit processes by sending staff home on full pay (also ours) for the flimsiest of reasons – the executive, sorry “MY executive” as she puts it are kept ignorant – so they don’t even realise what’s actually going on. ROLL HER TODAY.
27 May, 2009 at 9:00 pm
Clearly the VUWSA/Workers Party split shows that both organizational radical outfits are in deep crisis. The level of Opportunism is a product of degeneration, that the blind forces of VUWSA/Workers Party have become integrated into, the national milieu.
“The Fourth International alone embodies and represents these principles. It is possible for a national group to maintain a constant revolutionary course only if it is firmly connected in one organization with co-thinkers throughout the world and maintains a constant political and theoretical collaboration with them. The Fourth International alone is such an organization. All purely national groupings, all those who reject international organization, control, and discipline, are in their essence reactionary.”
http://marxists.org/history/etol/document/fi/1938-1949/fi-1stcongress/ch13.htm
4 Jun, 2009 at 11:00 pm
amya -
you’re clearly not paying attention. Salient reported the amount spent on legal fees They were at the meeting. It’s a couple of hundred over $14k. Mostly due to a couple of disputes from earlier execs that weren’t addressed by former Presidents (mostly Joel and Geoff), as well as the legal costs incurred from Joel fucking around, not paying back the $1200 owed to the association re the Australia trip, and then the rest is general legal fees from the good running of the association, so it is not liable (because trust me, if they didn’t use legal advice for such things, it would cost much more when the shit hit the fan).
It’d be terrible if Jasmine was a legal expert/lawyer who used legal fees. but grow up, she’s not trying to cover *her* ass, she’s covering the association’s ass. it’s pretty standard. are you a fucking first year or something? because you dont seem like you know shit about anything.
you’re a fucking idiot. shut the hell up, no one cares for the lies you are spouting for god knows what ulterior motive. anyone with half a brain can see what a fucking excellent job jasmine is doing as president – in fact, i think we’re all a bit staggered by it.
if anyone is a threat to the waste of students’ money, it’s fuckwits like you.
5 Jun, 2009 at 12:25 pm
’she who must not be named’ – she uses lawyers for everything, even meetings where there is no real need to, she just needs to get over her fear and issues of wanting to control everything… and things would be smoother and easier for her…
5 Jun, 2009 at 2:56 pm
my guess is she wants a lawyer there to make sure everything’s done right the first time so that her successor doesn’t have to.
5 Jun, 2009 at 3:56 pm
What even for regular staff meetings? She uses a lawyer for EVERYTHING…
5 Jun, 2009 at 4:05 pm
how about a big cuppa cum
5 Jun, 2009 at 4:17 pm
You’re all fucking self-righteous idiots.
5 Jun, 2009 at 4:35 pm
controlfreax / amya:
I spoke to Jasmine this morning, and what you are saying about the excessive reliance on lawyers is simply not true.
Most of the legal costs from this year have resulted from having to deal with leftover issues from 2007 and 2008 that were never dealt with by Geoff Hayward or Joel Cosgrove (such as the outstanding Collective Agreement from 2008 which, despite Joel’s claims to the contrary, was never finalised). She ahs actually taken it upon herself to perform much of the legal legwork, such as writing letters and the like. In fact, the issue over Joel’s misappropriated funds from 2008 has largely been handled pro-bono, thanks to the help of Chris Bishop.
The following are Jasmine’s own words, which are fairly thorough:
“I am aware that there are rumours that VUWSA has spent too much money on lawyers fees this year (including claims that VUWSA has spent $100,000 on lawyers). To date, this sum is a little over $14000. Almost all of this money (bar about $500 which was spent on clearing proposed constitutional amendments, which is mandated under the Constitution, and a small amount on clubs liabilities) has been spent on HR issues directly related to former Presidents. These include, for instance, settling grievances from 2007 and 2008 which should have been done way before I even took office. This also includes the VUWSA staff collective agreement, which expired last year on 31 July. Unfortunately, Joel left the collective (as with many other things) in such a state that I have had absolutely no choice but to seek legal advice. In fact, VUWSA would be left wide open to serious problems if I had not taken the steps that I have. To be quite honest, VUWSA could have spent considerably more money on lawyers this year. The reason that VUWSA hasn’t is that I have done all the ‘legal groundwork’ myself – arranging sessions at the Department of Labour’s mediation service, meeting with Helen Kelly (President, CTU), writing dozens of memos to Unite, convincing Matt McCarten (National Secretary, Unite) to fly down to Wellington and meet with me so that we can sort out the collective in a professional way. None of these steps were taken by Joel (nor by Nick or Geoff). In a ‘normal’ situation, they probably don’t need to be. However, the mess that I have inherited is extraordinary, and does require such steps to get the Association back on track.”
Cheers, Matt.
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