Labor outrage after party makes Olympic shooter Daniel Repacholi a captain’s pick for Hunter

Local rank and file Labor members have been sidelined by the party’s executive, which has made former Olympian Daniel Repacholi its candidate for the federal seat of Hunter.

Labor members in the crucial NSW federal seat of Hunter will not get a say in their candidate for the next election, after the party’s executive unanimously endorsed former Olympic shooter Daniel Repacholi in a captain’s pick.

Labor’s national executive approved Mr Repacholi’s preselection bid on Friday, following two weeks of uproar from local branch members who wanted the candidate to be chosen by rank-and-file vote.

Australian shooter Daniel Repacholi signs autographs following the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Picture: AAP

Mr Repacholi was backed by Labor leader Anthony Albanese and retiring Hunter MP Joel Fitzgibbon to run in the seat which Labor held with just a 3 per cent margin at the 2019 election.

His endorsement has angered women in the party who are upset about Mr Repacholi’s past social media activity, including following Instagram accounts featuring scantily clad women posing with rifles.

Mr Repacholi also described India as a “shit hole” following the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

He has apologised for the social media posts.

It was previously revealed NSW Labor general secretary Bob Nanva asked Mr Albanese for more time to appropriately vet Mr Repacholi during a meeting last week, which had been called primarily to deal with the fallout from the decision to parachute Kristina Keneally into the Western Sydney seat of Fowler.

Sources familiar with the meeting confirmed Mr Nanva made the suggestion about vetting, and that Mr Albanese rejected the advice.

Meanwhile, former union leader and one-time preselection candidate Daniel Wallace has threatened to run as an independent candidate against Mr Repacholi if the party denies rank-and-file members a vote on Labor’s candidate for Hunter.

ELLIOTT TO NATS: VAX SAFER THAN ‘VIAGRA’

As the MP for one of the most highly vaccinated electorates in NSW, it’s no wonder the Nationals invited Police Minister David Elliott to address some of their members at a conference last week.

Elliott, who is the member for Baulkham Hills, was asked by the party’s Southern Highlands branches to discuss the operational side of managing the Covid situation in his capacity as police minister.

David Elliott lays out the hard and fast facts on Covid vaccinations. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

But representing an electorate that has been almost 70 per cent fully vaccinated — with 96 per cent having had their first dose — Elliott also took the opportunity to address vaccine hesitancy, especially among men.

While spruiking the merits of getting a jab, Elliott put his own spin on the NSW Health vaccine message.

“I told them there was a bigger risk to men’s health taking Viagra than the Covid vaccine,” he said.

Whatever works, we say.

IN HUNT FOR AWARD

Health Minister Greg Hunt may have had his hands full over the past 18 months dealing with the Covid crisis, but his work in other fields has not gone unnoticed.

The Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) — a global organisation that represents the world’s major cancer societies — this week short-listed Hunt for an Outstanding Contribution to Cancer Control award.

Greg Hunt is in the running for a prestigious cancer award.

The award recognises those who have led the way in setting a country’s policies that have an impact on national cancer control.

In Hunt’s case, this includes Australia becoming the first country to shift to cervical screening based on HPV testing, a move that — along with vaccination and cervical cancer treatment — puts Australia on a path to eliminating cervical cancer by 2035.

The organisation has also noted Hunt’s championing for equity of outcomes from cancer through government investment into areas such as brain cancer, rare cancers, and genomics.

“He is a passionate advocate against smoking and for improving outcomes from lung cancer, establishing the recent inquiry into lung cancer screening in Australia, and banning nicotine vaping without prescription,” Hunt’s award bio states.

“He is committed to putting the patient at the centre of cancer care, and most recently has funded the development of a national Australian cancer plan.”

However, Hunt has some stiff competition for the award.

His two rivals in the category include Rwandan President Paul Kagame, whose achievements include 93 per cent coverage of the HPV vaccine for girls, and US President Joe Biden, whose son Beau’s fight with cancer “has inspired the mission of President Biden’s life — ending cancer as we know it”.

SHAKY GROUND

With the recent media coverage about dodgy buildings, it is no surprise NSW Nationals Parks and Wildlife Service deputy secretary Atticus Fleming felt slightly alarmed when his eighth-floor city apartment began to tremble last week.

Fleming had been on a work Zoom call when his Zetland tower began to sway.

The trembling was so violent one of the meeting participants on the call asked if he was OK.

“It seemed to go on for a while,” Fleming said. “Which is not great when you’re on the eighth floor.”

Fleming was relieved to learn the shakes were not man-made, but emanated from the earthquake in Victoria.

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