Labor moves to shore up Werriwa amid Barton preselection uproar
Labor is in a fight to hold on to Gough Whitlam’s seat of Werriwa as Anthony Albanese risked a Barton uproar with a looming captain’s pick.
Labor is in a fight to hold on to Gough Whitlam’s former seat of Werriwa, with the party poised to throw resources to shore up at-risk incumbent Anne Stanley amid a Liberal onslaught.
It comes as Anthony Albanese risked the wrath of members and union figures as he moved to install a left-faction candidate in the prized seat of Barton, which is dominated by the Labor right.
On Monday, Industry Minister Ed Husic pleaded with Muslim voters not to abandon the party at next year’s poll, a message which The Muslim Vote campaign said would fall on deaf ears.
Labor, however, has larger concerns in Werriwa than in Watson and Blaxland – the two seats most targeted by pro-Palestine political campaigns – where the goodwill accumulated by ministers Tony Burke and Jason Clare has hardened a view that it will likely see off the independent threat.
Neither Watson nor Blaxland is currently on the party’s “at-risk” list of seats, although it is not taking either for granted and would change tack if deemed necessary.
Muslim leaders with local sway are privately concerned that a protest vote for independents backed by The Muslim Vote would rid Labor of its majority or help the Coalition into power.
The ALP is not preparing to utilise that concern or line of campaign attack, believing both ministers have a path to victory, although it would not be afraid to cite that risk if the races tightened.
Labor will, however, throw more resources and campaign staff to shore up Werriwa in a more traditional Labor-Liberal marginal race.
Although it is held on a 5.8 per cent margin by Ms Stanley, results at September’s local government elections – albeit not directly comparable – have concerned senior Labor figures, particularly if council swings translated to next year’s federal poll.
Liberal candidate Sam Kayal was installed earlier this year but Peter Dutton was spotted meeting with Liberal Liverpool mayor Ned Mannoun in October, it is understood, to canvass his support to utilise his local base.
Liberal and Labor sources believed Mr Mannoun would have been a stronger candidate, given his electoral success in the area – he was re-elected in September winning almost all 50 booths – and his vocal support for Palestine, appealing to the area’s Muslim community, even under the Liberal brand.
Sources said Mr Mannoun had toyed with the idea of running for preselection in either Blaxland and Watson, which Labor figures feared could bring both seats further into play for independents, but is understood he has no concrete plans for either, nor for Werriwa.
Liberal sources view Werriwa as a “key seat” on its target list, particularly given the increasingly difficult task of reclaiming those it lost to the teals in 2022.
“If you look at the results of the council elections (of those that make up Werriwa), I’d be worried if I was Labor,” one senior Liberal figure said.
Another Liberal source said: “It’s one of those seats on paper that is always competitive... we’ll pursue it as hard as we can”.
It comes as the Prime Minister risked the wrath of Barton’s right-faction base and unions in preparing to install Georges River councillor Ashvini Ambihaipahar to replace Linda Burney.
In a protracted process, Mr Albanese pounced this week to try to install the councillor via the national executive, writing to Labor national secretary Paul Erickson on Tuesday saying the seat needed an “exceptional local candidate” installed “over the summer”.
Sources said the move had “blindsided” the state party’s dominant right faction, and would break with tradition of the party leader and state branch together recommending the national executive intervene in a preselection process.
No written support from the NSW branch, nor state Premier Chris Minns, accompanied Mr Albanese’s request to the national executive, and a preselection ballot was slated to open on Friday, to be finalised by mid-December.
Uniting general manager Emma Maiden had appeared as the left’s pick and although the leader’s intervention was seen as “inevitable”, it has caused uproar in Barton’s branches, with right-aligned union leaders, who had pushed for an open preselection, questioning whether Ms Ambihaipahar would be able to command branch support.
The seat had traditionally been held by the Labor right until 2016 when it was given to Ms Burney, from Labor’s left, as part of a factional deal.
Australian Workers Union organiser Jack Ayoub was seen as the frontrunner to win any member vote and former NSW MP Shaoquett Moselmane had also been canvassing numbers.
The Liberals are poised to preselect Bayside councillor Fiona Douskou.
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