Retiring MP Joel Fitzgibbon backs gold medallist Daniel Repacholi as Labor’s next candidate

An Olympian and a local nurse are among those vying to replace retiring Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon in the coal mining Hunter region.

The race to replace retiring Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon in the seat of Hunter is heating up with a local nurse putting her hand up to run.

Cessnock registered nurse Emily Suvaal has announced she will spend the coming days talking to local rank and file Australian Labor Party members to seek their support to become the candidate for Hunter at the next election.

Ms Suvaal said as a registered nurse and mother of two young sons living in Cessnock she understood the “critical issues affecting regional families”.

Cessnock nurse Emily Suvaal (right) will seek Labor preselection in the federal seat of Hunter. She is pictured with her husband Jay Suvaal, deputy mayor of Cessnock, and her two sons. Picture: Supplied

“I have witnessed and continue to see challenges brought before the Hunter, particularly in the area of health,” she said.

“Recovery from Covid-19 will present our community with unique challenges.

“I will bring a fresh perspective, that puts families of the Hunter at its centre.”

Ms Suvaal paid tribute to Mr Fitzgibbon as a “tireless worker” for the electorate and said his replacement what be a matter for the “Labor party rank and file members”.

“It is important that we select the right candidate and unite to retain the seat for Labor and form an Albanese Labor Government,” she said.

Ms Suvaal’s partner Jay is the Cessnock City Council deputy mayor.

FITZGIBBON’S WARNING FOR LABOR

Retiring Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon has revealed he wants three-time Olympics sports shooter and former coal miner to replace him in the NSW seat of Hunter.

Mr Fitzgibbon, 59 confirmed his retirement on Monday saying it was a “difficult decision” but he would leave “very happy and satisfied”.

Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon will exit federal politics at the next election. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

He has already named a preferred replacement for the coal mining seat in the Hunter Valley, three-time Olympic shooter, Commonwealth medallist and former miner, Cessnock local Daniel Repacholi.

Mr Repacholi, 39, has represented Australia in various sports shooting events at the Athens, Beijing and London Olympics, as well as winning multiple medals at the Melbourne, Dehli, Glasgow and Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

Daniel Repacholi, who won the gold in the men's 50m pistol event at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, is Joel Fitzgibbon’s preferred replacement in Hunter. Picture: AAP Image/Dan Peled

NSW Right figures are concerned the faction could lose Hunter to someone from the left-aligned CFMEU or the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, however Mr Fitzgibbon has insisted “local members will decide” his replacement.

Mr Fitzgibbon also named Jeff Drayton, Emily Suvaal and Steven Ryan as potential Labor Hunter candidates.

“We have enormous talent in the local branches … There are plenty of good people around who would make an outstanding contribution.”

Fitzgibbon has held the seat of Hunter since 1996.

Mr Fitzgibbon quit the Labor front bench in 2020, warning the party risked alienating voters in regional seats by pushing ambitious short-term climate policies.

But he said he was now “very confident” Labor “can win the next election under the leadership of Anthony Albanese”.

“I feel very confident that Labor has come back to the centre ground, has learnt from the mistakes of the 2019,” Mr Fitzgibbon told Channel 7.

“If it focuses on the things that are really important to people — they are the health and safety of their families, the economic security of their family and, of course, the hopes and aspirations of their family, including of course their children — then Labor will do very, very well.”

Mr Fitzgibbon has represented Hunter since 1996, which was previously held by his father Eric.

He held onto the seat in 2019, despite a significant 9.5 per cent swing against Labor.