Karen Ehrmann was gaoled for electoral fraud in very special circumstances. She wanted to win Labor Party endorsement. It was a fraud on a political party. The preliminary investigation by the Criminal Justice Commission of allegations by Ehrmann of further fraud will presumably only look at public offences, such as falsifying electoral enrolments or forging signatures of party members. It will not investigate party matters such as paying for memberships or collecting ballot papers.
Political parties are associations of private individuals, but they play a very public role.
Democracy would be the poorer without them. Public confidence in political parties and politicians has been declining across the advanced democracies since the 1960's. The Karen Ehrmann's are the ugly side of a deeper issue. Citizens are more confident and more assertive. This is especially true of previously silent groups, women, greens, gays and so on.