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MEAA Federal Secretary Chris Warren to step down at next election

Chris WarrenLong serving head of the union representing journalists, actors and musicians Chris Warren has announced he will not contest an upcoming election, Mumbrella can reveal.

Warren has served as secretary of the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA)  for more than 15 years and has been with the union for 27 years.

He told Mumbrella: “It is a difficult decision, but there comes a time to step down. I think the organisation is in a strong position to move forward and move on.

“You only ever hold these things in trust and from the people who come before you, and you hand them on to the people who come after you,” he said.

The 2015 election comes at a crucial time for the MEAA which has had to weather the waves of journalism redundancies that have seen close to 1,500 journalists depart the mainstream media.

In a note to Federal Councillors of the MEAA, Warren said he was proud of his legacy.

“I’m proud of the fact that in all the time I’ve been at the head of this union, I have been a consistent agent for change and renewal. I know that makes some people uncomfortable, but I wouldn’t act any other way,” he wrote.

“Above all, bringing together creative workers in Australia and New Zealand to build a strong united voice that is rightly placed at the centre of the media and entertainment industries ensuring that we are organisationally sustainable whatever is thrown at us,” he said.

Speculation about Warren’s future has been building throughout 2012.

In light of the announcement morning news editor of the Sydney Morning Herald Marcus Strom is tipped to put his hand for the position as head of the union. Strom recently spent 18-months on leave from the Herald working as strategic campaigner on the MEAA’s future of journalism project, helping journalists who have taken redundancy find other work.

Warren said he would not be endorsing a candidate. “The Federal Management Committee has to go through a process of identifying what they want in a federal secretary and who will be the best person for that role and I will work with them in that process but it is not up to me to choose my successor.”

Nic Christensen

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