Kristina Keneally loses Fowler to independent Dai Le

In a night when Labor made gains across the country, high profile frontbencher Kristina Keneally managed to lose an ultra-safe seat.

Labor has paid dearly for its decision to parachute Kristina Keneally into the electorate of Fowler in Sydney’s west, with the previously safe seat falling to an independent.

The new MP, succeeding Labor’s Chris Hayes, is independent Dai Le.

As the results came in, Ms Keneally gave a speech that conceded she was in trouble — she said she’d given it “everything I could”.

“To the people of Fowler, I want to say thank you to just the tens of thousands of Labor supporters who have voted for me,” she said.

“I appreciate that. I gave it everything I could. Everyone in this room gave it everything that they could and I loved rekindling the longstanding friendships I have had in southwest Sydney from my time as a premier and minister for disability, minister for planning and also a place to forward so many new friendships.”

Speaking to Channel 10 on election night, Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes sledged Ms Keneally as the early results rolled in.

“We might finally see the back of Kristina Keneally with this loss in Fowler,” she said.

“I think we’re getting very close to being able to say sayonara and she will be back to Scotland Island before you can blink an eye.”

In 2017, Ms Keneally snapped up a $1.8 million house on Scotland Island — an island suburb on the Northern Beaches of Sydney.

One of the analysts on Channel 10 said Ms Hughes’s comment was “cruel”.

Kristina Keneally on election night. Picture: ABC News,

The danger signs ahead of election night

Polls showed locals in Fowler hadn’t warmed to Ms Keneally, who was previously living in the Northern Beaches, despite her high profile as a former New South Wales premier, Labor senator and shadow home affairs minister.

Ms Keneally was installed as the Labor candidate to replace retiring MP Chris Hayes, who held the seat for almost 12 years. Her selection was against the recommendation of Mr Hayes, who wanted local lawyer Tu Le to be his successor.

Incensed by the lack of a local candidate, Fairfield deputy mayor Dai Le decided to stand as an independent.

Ms Le is a Vietnamese refugee who has lived and worked in Fairfield since she arrived in Australia. She has spent a decade on local council and also has the backing of mayor Frank Carbone.

She said she was running to give Fowler residents the chance to vote for a local representative.

Dai Le and Kristina Keneally will battle it out for the seat of Fowler

“I understand what we need, and the issues that are most important to us. I am deeply connected and care for the people and families in our region,” Ms Le said on her website.

In an indication of the seat’s narrowing margin, Labor leader Anthony Albanese made time to visit Fowler in the final week of the campaign.

However, Labor sources still insisted Ms Keneally would be able to get across the line, despite the expected drop in support.

Mr Hayes won the seat in 2019 with a two-candidate preferred vote of 63.99 per cent, and a primary vote of 54.5 per cent.

A poll published in The Daily Telegraph showed Ms Keneally’s primary vote had plummeted to 42 per cent. It was expected she’d need 45 per cent to secure victory in the seat.

Originally published as Kristina Keneally loses Fowler to independent Dai Le