Labor Senator and former NSW premier Kristina Keneally is expected to be parachuted into the safe western Sydney seat of Fowler after being unable to secure the numbers to take number one spot on the Senate ticket ahead of the next election.
Despite being Labor’s deputy leader in the Senate and a shadow minister, Senator Keneally was not guaranteed to prevail over fellow right faction member and backbencher Deb O’Neill who has the backing of powerful unions, including the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association.