Langdon step-down a loss

Former ALSO Foundation president CEO Adam Pickvance has said the gay and lesbian community has lost an ally with the resignation of Victorian Ivanhoe MP Craig Langdon.

In a letter to Southern Star Observer, Pickvance said when he was working for the GLBTI community organisation, Langdon had been helpful behind the scenes, assisting the community with strategies to push for gay and lesbian law reform in Victoria.

“He provided advice on achieving GLBTI law reform, the processes of parliament, access to MPs, including advice

on which MPs to focus efforts on and which ones to watch out for,” Pickvance wrote. “Craig’s work and achievements should be acknowledged and thanked.”

The long-serving Labor MP resigned from his seat last month, three months before the state election, accusing the party of “disloyalty and betrayal”.

Langdon was set to stand down at the upcoming election, having been defeated in a pre-selection vote won by Banyule councillor Anthony Carbines.

Since Langdon’s resignation was announced an ugly stoush has resulted between the dumped MP and the Government, with Langdon claiming Premier John Brumby has not been consulting with backbenchers and unnamed Labor figures hitting back in the media claiming “personal circumstances” meant Langdon had to go.

The Sunday Age said there were elements of Langdon’s personal life that could not be mentioned due to a court suppression order which had contributed to a marriage breakdown.

Langdon revealed on ABC radio he was currently going through a divorce.

“Given his complicated personal circumstances, it was not in Craig’s interests or the ALP’s for him to stand at this year’s election,” a Labor source was quoted in The Sunday Age.

A past Hansard check revealed Langdon was not present to vote on the 2008 Assisted Reproductive Treatment Bill giving IVF access to lesbians and single women, or the Relationship Act in the same year.

It’s unclear if Langdon’s resignation will force a by-election in the northern Melbourne seat, or whether the party can hold on until the November state elections.

The Labor Party currently holds the seat of Ivanhoe by more than 10 percent.

Letters to the editor: page 11