Union lawyer Abha Devasia rumoured to run for Labor in Parramatta federal seat

The ALP is tipped to bring in a candidate who doesn’t live in a key western Sydney seat for the upcoming federal election but the rumoured hopeful insists she has plenty in common with the community.

A Left-wing union lawyer from the Hills district is touted to win preselection for the federal seat of Parramatta, upsetting some local members over a choice not to endorse a homegrown candidate in the marginal seat, tipped as one to help decide the next prime minister.

Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union lawyer Abha Devasia, who is a member of the Hills’ Labor branch and lives at West Pennant Hills, confirmed she had expressed interest in the seat, which sitting Labor MP Julie Owens holds by 3.5 per cent and will vacate when she retires at the next election.

Granville state Labor MP Julia Finn and solicitor Durga Owen were favourites to run for preselection but it is understood Ms Finn remaining in her job would save a by-election headache and more instability.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese approached Business Western Sydney executive director and popular Parramatta man David Borger to run for the ALP but Mr Borger has ruled it out.

Abha Devasia has put her hand up to run for preselection for the federal seat of Parramatta.

A senior Labor source said the party was upset an outsider was being considered for the job.

“I don’t know why they would shoehorn somebody in,’’ the source said.

“There’s plenty of local people here who want to have a go. I don’t know why they would feel they need to bring somebody from outside.

“They’re called local members for a reason — they’ve got to be local. It’s quite embarrassing for the local branches.’’

The move has echoes of the ALP parachuting former NSW premier Kristina Keneally into the southwest Sydney state seat of Fowler instead of young Vietnamese Australian lawyer Tu Le, an endorsement that sparked backlash for the party being hypocritical about its diversity push.

Unlike Ms Keneally, Ms Devasia can boast a diverse background. She is of Indian descent, was born and raised in Ethiopia and migrated to Australia with her family when she was nine.

Her mother and father were teachers overseas but their qualifications were not accepted in Australia and they worked as a postal teacher and factory worker at Clyde and on Parramatta Rd respectively when they moved to Liverpool.

Labor Senator Kristina Keneally’s running in Fowler sparked backlash. Picture: Flavio Brancaleone

The 45-year-old has hit back at suggestions an outsider would not have a connection to Parramatta, saying it “deserves a candidate that reflects its population’’.

“I think I’m an ordinary person who has been in and around Parramatta for a long time,’’ she said.

“I work in Granville, I look at the community, I wanted to give something back so put my hand up. It’s not exactly like I’m from Queensland and I’m being parachuted in.

“Parramatta was the city I was allowed to hang out in when I was a kid. I used to come here all the time. I remember I had my first grown up coffee at City Extra when it was still around, so it’s a place I’ve been in for a long, long time.’’

The mother-of-two has been a member of Labor for three years and believed she could represent Parramatta.

“I think there’s a perception that you have to be in an area for a really long time to talk about it or be part of it and that’s not the experience for many people in Parramatta,’’ she said.

“Such a large part of that community are new migrants, if not people who were born in the area.’’

Ms Devasia said she would move to Parramatta if elected and named jobs and climate change as key issues.

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