NSW Labor boss Bob Nanva to be parachuted to replace dumped Khal Asfour
A phone call from Labor leader Chris Minns is believed to have convinced NSW Labor General Secretary Bob Nanva to run for parliament. But it requires waiving as rule.
State Election
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NSW Labor boss Bob Nanva will be parachuted onto the party’s Upper House in an extraordinary move that will require a key party rule to be waived.
Labor Leader Chris Minns on Wednesday confirmed that he asked Mr Nanva to run for the vacancy caused by dumped candidate Khal Asfour, who pulled out last week over an expenses scandal.
Mr Nanva is now set to resign as Labor’s general secretary to run for parliament, in a move which will require rules anti-corruption rules to be waived.
In a statement, Mr Minns praised Mr Nanva as someone who introduced “strong corporate governance reform” to NSW Labor.
One measure of that reform was to ban general secretaries from running for office within five years of their appointment.
That rule will be waived to allow Mr Nanva to run for parliament.
The rule was recommended by an independent review of Labor’s governance by former Attorney-General Michael Lavarch conducted amid an Independent Commission Against Corruption investigation.
In his review, Mr Lavarch said that the general secretary role should not be seen as a “stepping stone” to “quick parliamentary office”.
The move is a backflip for Mr Minns: last September, The Daily Telegraph revealed that the Labor Leader had refused a bid from Mr Nanva to run for Upper House preselection.
However, Labor sources said that putting Mr Nanva on the ticket will avoid a factional war within the party.
Labor’s left and right factions were both vying for the vacancy caused by Mr Asfour’s withdrawal.
Mr Nanva took over as general secretary in 2019.
Mr Asfour withdrew after the Telegraph revealed he had claimed back money for a massage while on a trip to Tokyo, luxury clothes, and alcohol.
Labor sources said the party could not afford any more embarrassments over candidate spending, and that Mr Nanva is guaranteed to be “squeaky clean”.
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