Member for Florey Frances Bedford announces plans to run again in 2018, upsetting Labor plans to move Jack Snelling into the seat

LABOR is gearing up for a rare contested preselection, as long-serving MP Frances Bedford bids to block Health Minister Jack Snelling’s plans for a seat shift.

ABOR is gearing up for a rare contested preselection, as long-serving MP Frances Bedford bids to block Health Minister Jack Snelling’s plans for a seat shift.

Ms Bedford plans to run again in Florey, staring down a seat shift from Mr Snelling in the wake of a radical redraw.

Advertiser.com.au today revealed plans afoot within Labor for Mr Snelling to move from his current seat of Playford, after large portions of it fell in the new Florey under a redraw.

Mr Snelling has told The Advertiser that he had “spoken to the Member for Florey and let her know I’ll be nominating to run for that seat”.

“The majority of my current constituents will live in Florey after the boundary redistribution and I’d like to continue to represent those people, as I have done for the last 20 years.”

Ms Bedford said she became aware of the plan last year, and would seek to block a move.

“After becoming aware prior to Christmas that Health Minister Snelling was interested in Florey I subsequently informed senior ALP Party officials and PLP members that I would definitely be nominating, so I’m not sure of the origin of any uncertainty or misinformation,” Ms Bedford said.

Health Minister and Member for Playford Jack Snelling. Picture: Stephen Laffer

“Boundary redraws often present new and sometimes radical changes. It is ultimately up to electors to choose the next Member for Florey to serve them in the Parliament.’

Ms Bedford said there are plenty of issues still to pursue.

“I‘m concerned these issues won’t progress without a strong community voice driving them,” she said.

“I will always represent the best interests of the community I have served diligently for almost 20 years, having entered parliament at the same election as Treasurer Koutsantonis and the Health Minister.’

Member for Florey Frances Bedford will run again in 2018.

If Mr Snelling remained in Playford, and let Ms Bedford have Florey, it would upset broader preselection plans that include giving a seat to former Labor state secretary Michael Brown, who today nominated for preselection for Playford.

“I am doing so because unlike the Liberals, I believe that the north still has a great future ahead of it,” he said today. “A future I want to be part of creating.”

“Should I be preselected, I know it will be difficult to follow great local members such as Susan Close, Jack Snelling and Zoe Bettison but I look forward to working closely with all three in the future.”

Because both Ms Bedford and Mr Snelling plan to nominate for Florey, a party vote will be called to decide the candidate.

Party members living in the new electorate of Florey would get a 25 per cent say, and a special Labor convention of about 200 delegates including unions and MPs would get the remainder.

Mr Snelling would be a hot favourite to win such a ballot and senior party sources today expected he would receive consensus backing from both his Right faction and the Left, as they honoured a newly-minted peace deal which has divided control of seats and other positions.