Outgoing general secretary of the National Tertiary Education, Union Grahame McCulloch has endorsed a ticket in the contested Victorian branch election. Mr McCulloch is backing candidates led by state secretary Colin Long, in office since 2010, who is running for a third term. Dr Long is, “one of the union’s most dedicated and effective senior leaders with a track record of high quality collective agreements … he has been responsible for leading big membership growth and a substantial increase in union influence,” the general secretary states.

Dr Long leads a full ticket for the state branch leadership which is opposed by RMIT industrial relations academic Melissa Slee and colleagues.