Dreyfus was dumped. If he quits, party bosses want the PM’s election guru to replace him

Mark Dreyfus’ seat would be gifted to Labor’s election mastermind Paul Erickson once the former attorney-general leaves politics in a plan mooted by party powerbrokers.

Dreyfus, the member for Isaacs in south-east Melbourne, was unceremoniously dumped from cabinet last week in a factional deal overseen by Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles.

Labor campaign guru Paul Erickson is from the Victorian Left faction. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

It is not clear if Dreyfus will resign from his seat, which he has held for 18 years. He has not spoken since his removal from cabinet to free up a cabinet spot for other Right-faction MPs. His office was contacted for comment.

Erickson, who has run two federal Labor campaigns and is unlikely to take charge of a third, is not angling to be parachuted into Isaacs or any other parliamentary position. He declined an offer to replace senator Linda White when she died from illness early last year.

Four senior Labor sources, unable to speak on the record about private conversations, said Labor’s top brass wanted to reward Erickson for successful election campaigns, particularly the May 3 record landslide.

Isaacs could be the first vacant seat available, although Dreyfus was re-elected with a 4.8 per cent swing towards him. Erickson, who will deliver a post-election summary at the National Press Club next week, declined to comment.

The Australian Workers Union associated with Dreyfus has rights to the seat of Isaacs in Labor’s factional carve-up. But the national executive body, where the prime minister can exert his will, could pick Erickson.

Erickson is from the Victorian Left faction and did not grow up in Isaacs.

Labor MPs said Erickson’s clinical style would not necessarily lend itself to parliamentary politics, but added that he was widely respected and was viewed as a future cabinet minister if he decided to run for elected office.

As the party’s national secretary and campaign boss, Erickson played a critical role in formulating the winning strategy for the past two elections. Erickson briefed the Labor ministry in late October, outlining a campaign strategy focused on investment in Medicare, convincing voters Labor was trying to bring down living costs and an attack on then-opposition leader Peter Dutton’s character and record. From January, Erickson began working with the prime minister’s office on daily tactics and messaging.

Mark Dreyfus on Friday at the first caucus meeting after the election.Credit: James Brickwood

His Coalition opponents, on the other hand, were still developing policy and messaging in the first weeks of the campaign. Reports in this masthead and others pointed to a strained relationship between the office of Peter Dutton and party headquarters.

Dreyfus, a 68-year-old KC with extensive legal experience, is said to be unhappy after losing his position as attorney-general, especially because Marles ignored his attempts to speak in the days leading up to the contentious call.

Sources close to Dreyfus said he would not have contested the election if he had known he would be cut from the ministry. Dreyfus is associated with a grouping within the Right linked to former leader Bill Shorten, whereas Marles runs the more dominant part of the Right that was underrepresented in cabinet.

The sources added that Dreyfus did not want to become a judge or take up a diplomatic posting because after the death of his wife last year, he was keen to spend more time with his children and grandchildren in Australia.

The other minister dumped in last week’s coup, Ed Husic, shunned last week’s caucus meeting and savaged the Albanese government in an interview on ABC’s Insiders. Dreyfus chose to attend caucus.

The seat of Isaacs, which takes in the Melbourne suburbs of Mentone and Moorabbin, swung to Labor at the election, with the two-party preferred margin growing from about 9 per cent to 14.5 per cent.

A few weeks before polling day, Labor categorised Isaacs as a seat it needed to spend money in to defend as it grew concerned about a swing towards Dutton in Melbourne’s suburbs. The eventual swing to Labor in Isaacs confounded the party’s expectations.

The Australian Workers Union would probably be angered by an attempt to place Erickson in the seat. John Curtin Research Centre head Nick Dyrenfurth, who like Dreyfus is Jewish, and former staffer to Shorten, Steve Michelson, a business owner who lives in the seat, have been mooted as potential replacements for Dreyfus, as has state MP Tim Richardson.

Anxiety might be partly eased if the Right was allowed to take back Erickson’s position of national secretary via the elevation of highly rated assistant secretary Jen Light.

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