Labor heartland in Peter Dutton’s sights as Opposition circles Western Sydney
The Opposition Leader has doubled his visits to Western Sydney in the past year, in a bid to snatch seats from Labor’s traditional stronghold — and he has a secret weapon in the region.
NSW
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Peter Dutton has launched a brazen bid to snatch seats from Labor’s Western Sydney heartland.
The results of last month’s council elections – in which swathes of Western Sydney turned away from Labor – have rung alarm bells at the ALP.
The federal Opposition Leader, meanwhile, has ramped up visits to the region – visiting Western Sydney more times so far this year than the last two years combined.
Mr Dutton has taken eight trips out west in 2024 – compared to four last year and two the year before.
The Liberals have also named Parramatta and Werriwa – Labor since 1934 and the former seat of Gough Whitlam – as key targets.
Mr Dutton confirmed his party wants to win Labor’s Western Sydney heartland.
“Western Sydney is an economic powerhouse, but it’s a region that clearly the Albanese government has ignored. For many years now, the modern Labor Party has neglected Western Sydney – once its traditional base,” he said.
“The Liberal Party has Western Sydney’s back, whereas the Albanese government has completely failed Western Sydney.
“And we’ll be continuing to prosecute the case to the people of Western Sydney that we need to get our country back on track – because Western Sydney can’t afford another three years of a bad Labor government.”
The Coalition’s renewed focus on the region comes in the wake of damaging results for Labor at last month’s council election, a pattern analysts say began with independent Fowler MP Dai Le’s shock win in 2022.
Ms Le – who had campaigned on a humble platform of making the ultra-safe Labor seat of Fowler marginal at that 2022 federal election – claimed victory in a surprise result over Labor’s high-profile pick of former NSW premier Kristina Keneally.
Key results from the council vote, announced this week, include Fairfield Mayor Frank Carbone, an outspoken independent, increasing his mayoral vote to a staggering 82 per cent – with Labor’s pick receiving just 18 per cent.
In South Granville, a ward of Cumberland Council, Labor’s vote collapsed from 65 per cent to 21 per cent, with the party losing a councillor – a result one Labor insider said “blew me away”.
In Liverpool, Liberal Mayor Ned Mannoun was re-elected with an increased margin – despite the state government’s push to place his council into administration.
Mr Carbone and Ms Le have also formed a political party, Western Sydney Community, with the pair planning what seats to target.
Multiple Labor sources said concerns were growing following the council results, highlighting Bennelong and Werriwa as vulnerable.
Another party source said Australia could follow America’s lead, likening Sydney’s aspirational western fringe with blue-collar, working-class conservative voters in the United States.
“I think over time that makes a lot of those seats really vulnerable,” they said.
The Liberals late last year held a shadow cabinet meeting at Penrith, while in March Mr Dutton appointed Lindsay MP Melissa McIntosh as the shadow spokeswoman for Western Sydney.
Mr Dutton also had dinner with Mr Carbone and Ms Le in April, at a restaurant in Chris Bowen’s seat of McMahon.
His itinerary so far this year has included three trips to Parramatta, held by Labor’s Andrew Charlton, a visit to Werriwa, and two trips to Lindsay, held by Ms McIntosh.
Rumours abound that Mr Carbone could have a run at next year’s federal election, cashing in on his huge local polling figures by running for the Senate.
“My focus is delivering for the community that just elected me, and that is the Fairfield community – no matter what position I’m in,” Mr Carbone said of any federal ambitions.
A federal Labor source said: “Over the last two years Labor has helped families in Western Sydney with tax cuts, energy rebates, cheaper medicines and cheaper childcare. The cost of living pressure that Western Sydney is under would have been worse under the Coalition who opposed all this relief.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was in Western Sydney on Friday, when he announced Labor’s candidate for Fowler, Tu Le.
“The new political landscape for Labor is that no seats are safe,” Redbridge Group’s Kos Samaras said.
“Labor do understand they have a problem in Sydney … lower income, diverse working class communities no longer have that automatic bond to Labor.”
Dr Zareh Ghazarian, head of politics and international relations at Monash University, said the swing at council level could herald similar results at the federal election.
Anne Stanley, Labor’s Werriwa MP who holds the seat with a 5.8 per cent margin, said: “I don’t take any vote in this electorate for granted … I think we’re all marginal seats.”
SEEKING ADVICE OFF REGION’S GURU
Liberal leader Peter Dutton has held talks with Western Sydney mayor Ned Mannoun on how he can win community support amid growing tensions flowing from the brutal conflict in the Middle East.
Such is the overwhelmingly support for Mr Mannoun that the Liberal mayor was returned to the top job after winning every one of the almost 50 booths in the Liverpool council area at the recent local government elections.
The result came despite the Minns government initiating an investigation into the council amid allegations of widespread dysfunction and maladministration.
The Liberal Party has preselected Sam Kayal for Werriwa but hope Mr Mannoun can persuade his supporters to vote Liberal at the federal election.
Some Liberals believe the party should have put more effort into wooing Mr Mannoun to run. If his strong support can be harnessed, it will deliver Mr Dutton the federal Labor-held seat of Werriwa, which sits over the council area.
A source familiar with the Wednesday meeting have told The Sunday Telegraph that it was organised by federal Liberal MP Jenny Ware and also attended by state Holsworthy MP Tina Ayyad, who is Mr Mannoun’s wife.
While the talks covered several topics such as infrastructure and housing, it can be revealed “social harmony” and “Middle Eastern affairs” was a key item on the agenda.
The Sunday Telegraph understands Mr Mannoun raised the importance for his community to feel like they were being represented.
It is understood Mr Mannoun also emphasised “the importance of getting Australians out of Lebanon”.
“It was clear this was a fact-finding mission,” the source said. “Ned’s gone through shit, but people are still voting for him. If Dutton wants to win Werriwa and other Western Sydney seats, he needs to know how Ned’s done it.”
According to the last Census, more than one in 10 voters in the electorate declared their religious affiliation to be Islam, with Arabic being the second-most common language spoken at home after English.
Mr Dutton has been driving the national agenda on the escalating overseas conflict, this week accusing the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of retreating from longstanding bipartisan support for Israel.
Mr Mannoun, who has also been visited by Mr Albanese and Premier Chris Minns, would not comment on the specifics of the meeting – his first with Mr Dutton – but described it as “cordial”.
— by LINDA SILMALIS
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