A NSW Young Labor Right “shit sheet” has inadvertently unveiled the membership cancer at the heart of the NSW ALP at the same time elder statesman John Faulkner slams the party’s “anaemic” culture.

At a NSW Young Labor Youth Council meeting on Wednesday night, addressed by opposition leader John Robertson, a flyer complaining about the Left’s proposals for the direct election of the party’s general secretary and all-powerful administrative committee was circulated. It revealed the party’s base has collapsed in the traditional Labor Right strongholds of western Sydney, which according to the document maintains just 18 branches.

That number is one less than the 19 branches in the whole of western NSW, despite its far sparser population. By contrast, the document says there are 68 branches in the inner city, inner west and eastern suburbs, a region traditionally dominated by the party’s Left.

In south-western Sydney, the situation also seems grim for the Right with only six branches remaining, a few of which belong to the soft-left power base centred on Liverpool. And the Hunter, north coast and New England — regions not mentioned in the flyer — maintain a substantial Left presence.

The document argues that direct election would skew representation towards inner-city branches, many of which are controlled by the Left. Currently the general secretary and admin committees are elected by state conference, which broadly reflects the factional makeup of the party — 60% controlled by the Right.

“It’s pretty clear why Sussex Street doesn’t want one-vote, one-value for any party position,” one Left insider told Crikey.

Young Labor Right president David Latham disputed that there were any factional implications in the plea against the proposal. “That’s totally incorrect,” he told Crikey. “The fact is the Labor party has a proud history of representing inner-city, outer-metro and rural and regional members.

“The fact is that party representation should be equal across the board … members of all factions should have an equal voice.”

In his book Power Crisis, former NSW government minister Rodney Cavalier revealed the party had just 15,385 members across the state and that the spine of the party’s grassroots branch structure had well and truly snapped.

At this year’s state election, insiders described a dire situation in western Sydney where polling stations in Right strongholds were unmanned. Allegations persist that the faction has indulged in years of branch stacking, mismanagement, patronage, neglect, and N40 preselections. The notorious N40 rule allows the head office — controlled by the Right — to run preselections by snagging 50% of the vote away from local branches.

A senior NSW ALP Left source confirmed the quoted branch numbers were accurate but membership in some Right-controlled branches was higher than in smaller but more numerous Left-controlled branches centred on old industrial areas.

At Wednesday’s Youth Council meeting, Robertson told activists he was a supporter of a trial for primary preselections, but did not express an opinion on the direct election of the administration wing.

The factional situation in NSW over membership remains poisonous. Crikey understands that for many years well-regarded former assistant secretary and current MLC Luke Foley was denied access to the membership records of his own party, despite serving as its second most senior elected official.