Stephen Jones moves on

A new Executive Committee team led by Nadine Flood (National Secretary), Louise Persse (Assistant National Secretary), Michael Tull (National President) will now take up the reins.

My best wishes to the new team. I have every confidence that Nadine and the rest of the Executive will continue to lead our union with passion and commitment.

As some of you would know, I have been preselected as the Labor candidate at the next federal election for the seat of Throsby (NSW), the area where I grew up and received my education.

Although the federal election is likely to be held some time in the second part of the year, leaving now will ensure the new leadership team can focus on the task of representing members’ interests.

This is a big decision for me personally as I love the union and the members we work for.

I am proud of the things our union has achieved in my years as a member, organiser and official.

In my time with the union we faced many vital challenges:

• keeping the CPSU alive and focused on supporting members when it was under attack from the Howard Government’s privatisations, contracting out and massive job cuts
• running fantastic campaigns including Telstra, One-Tel, Centrelink and of course the Your Rights at Work campaign.
• I’m also proud of the way the CPSU members have embraced a new positive and progressive Agenda for Change which is our vision for the future.

But this is not pride in any personal achievement; everything that’s been done during my time as National Secretary is due to the collective actions of members, delegates, organisers and officials who make up our great organisation.

If I am successful in my new endeavor, I will continue to be a strong voice for the public sector and the industries where CPSU members work.

It was my great honour to accept a life membership award from Governing Council, which means I will remain a member of the CPSU family forever.

I hope to stay in touch with many of you over the coming months as I start this new journey in life.

You can reach me at stephen.jones@australianlabor.com.au or by visiting my website at www.stephenjones.org.au  where you can sign up for online updates to keep track of my progress.

My sincere thanks for all of your interest and support over the past 17 years.

Stephen Jones