ACT Labor is set for a shake up after branch secretary Elias Hallaj announced his resignation to take up a role with the party's national secretariat.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mr Hallaj, who was appointed in 2009, will leave the role on September 30 to work as a project officer with Australian Labor International.
Branch assistant secretary Matt Byrne will serve as an acting replacement from October 1.
Mr Byrne is a staffer for backbench MLA Yvette Berry and confirmed on Wednesday he would nominate to take the role on a permanent basis.
The party's administrative committee will meet to decide the timeline for filling the casual vacancy, ahead of a ballot of delegates to Labor's June conference.
In a resignation letter to ACT Labor branch president Louise Crossman, Mr Hallaj said he had consulted his family and ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher before deciding to take on the new role in the party's international operations.
The father-of-five said he was looking forward to new professional challenges with Labor International, including the opportunity to use his skills in training.
"It will also offer more time at home with my family in the evenings," Mr Hallaj said. "My wife probably would have killed me if I hadn't taken the job."
He nominated working with party members and volunteers as well as Ms Gallagher and the Labor caucus as highlights of his career and reflected on the 2012 ACT election as a tough fight.
"It wasn't easy and I think some people who read The Canberra Times think it was easy for us but there was a lot of hard work behind the scenes," he said.
In an email to members on Tuesday evening, Mr Hallaj praised party volunteers, committee members and Labor's affiliated trade unions.
He said Mr Byrne would bring new energy and innovation to the job.
Ms Gallagher said Mr Hallaj was a dedicated servant of members and she would miss his support.
"Elias has given 150 per cent to this job. I can't speak highly enough of him and he deserves a new career opportunity as much as anybody.
"Elias is a very good campaigner and has a lot of skills around campaigning but he has many other important skills like keeping the party unified and keeping everyone on the same page."
She said the change in leadership, two years before the 2016 election, would provide enough time for the incoming secretary to establish themselves in the role, and predicted the expansion of the Legislative Assembly to 25 members from 2016 would be a challenge.
Ms Gallagher praised Mr Hallaj's efforts in growing the ALP membership base to a record 1400 members and said there was strength in Mr Byrne's candidacy.
The 31-year-old managed Ms Berry's 2012 campaign and has previously worked in Labor's national secretariat and the Chifley Research Centre.
He is a member of the party's left faction.
"I think Elias has done a terrific job over the past five years as an excellent campaigner and a brilliant administrator," Mr Byrne said.
"I think the party is in the best place it has been in a very long time as far as its administration goes. I don't think there's a member who plays an active role who wouldn't have seen a large improvement in the past few years."
