‘Superstar’ Labor candidate selected for key new electorate

A former Labor Victorian secretary has been picked as candidate for a new key federal seat after a last-ditch attempt to install a woman instead.

Sam Rae is Labor’s candidate for Hawke.

Labor’s former Victorian secretary has been chosen as the party’s candidate for a plum new seat at the next federal election after a bruising factional battle that is still being fought in the courts.

The party’s national executive met on Tuesday to select Sam Rae as their candidate for Hawke, the new electorate west of Melbourne, after a last-ditch attempt by some party figures to install a woman instead.

Mr Rae received 18 of 21 votes from the party’s national executive, with just three members voting for former Maribyrnong mayor Sarah Carter.

Mr Rae is currently a partner at PwC Australia after piloting Labor to its sweeping 2018 state election victory.

Supporters have described him as an “absolute superstar” who will be an asset to the party’s federal team.

Julia Mason, Deepti Alurkar, Rebekah Hogan, Katerine Theodosis, Natalie Hutchins, Brianne Cooper, Sarah Carter, Anya Rasic, Katharine Nikolic and Stephanie Briese campaigned for a woman to be chosen. Picture: Tim Carrafa

But the preselection has been mired in controversy since Anthony Albanese directed the party to fast-track the process, denying members the right to vote as the federal intervention in the Victorian branch — ordered last year after a branch-stacking scandal — remained in place.

Union chiefs launched a Supreme Court action to stop the preselection and challenge the legality of the intervention.

While a verdict is yet to be reached, the injunction was removed last week, clearing the party’s national executive to go ahead with the preselection.

But Mr Rae’s candidacy could still be in jeopardy if the party loses the Supreme Court case in the coming weeks.

Mr Rae was the pick of deputy Labor leader Richard Marles and had the support of his new factional stability pact.

Forces aligned to former leader Bill Shorten had campaigned for a woman to be chosen, with Andrews government minister Natalie Hutchins publicly spearheading the push and even briefly considering nominating herself.

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