Foot-slogger rises to give Ferguson a fight
VETERAN Labor MP Laurie Ferguson will be challenged by grassroots campaign guru Damian Ogden for Labor preselection in Werriwa.
VETERAN Labor MP Laurie Ferguson, who was Julia Gillard's "vice-captain's pick" to contest the southwest Sydney seat of Werriwa at the last election, will be challenged by grassroots campaign guru Damian Ogden for Labor preselection.
It is shaping as a bitter battle between a Labor MP who prefers to stay in the office and a young gun with support from across the Left faction who believes local campaigning is the key to Labor's revival. And it threatens to embroil the Prime Minister, who, as deputy prime minister, insisted Mr Ferguson be installed in the seat of Werriwa, after his seat of Reid was effectively abolished.
"Voters are not responding to federal Labor's policies in western Sydney," Mr Ogden, 34, said. "The party has lost the trust of voters, who are appalled by the allegations of corruption in the former state Labor government."
Mr Ferguson, 60, said he would contest the preselection but Labor MPs are concerned about his commitment to campaigning in a seat at risk.
"My style of politics is to be in the office all of the time and speak to people there," Mr Ferguson said. "I don't focus on train stations or things like that. But I have a strong interaction with community groups in the electorate."
But Mr Ogden said the party couldn't "take western Sydney seats for granted". "We have no chance of winning seats unless we have candidates who are prepared to campaign on the ground, talking about Labor values."
To contest the seat, the Liberal Party has preselected Sutherland Shire Mayor Kent Johns, who has already begun campaigning.
Mr Ferguson lashed out at his Labor Left faction and the union that he worked for before entering NSW state parliament in 1984.
"There has been a conspiracy against me run by the Miscellaneous Workers Union (United Voice) to get rid of me and impose a candidate on the electorate that they don't want," he said.
Mr Ogden runs the not-for-profit organisation Campaign Action, which has trained 3000 Labor activists in cutting-edge, US-style, on-the-ground campaign techniques.
"This election will be tough for Labor, particularly in western Sydney. We need to end the factional deals of the past and find candidates who are connected to their community," he said. Mr Ogden, who is married with a young son and lives in the seat, is eager to contest a rank-and-file vote.
Mr Ferguson, who has served in state and federal parliament for nearly 30 years, does not live in Werriwa but in Granville, which he formerly represented.
Previously, Mr Ogden was an organiser in the childcare sector and a campaigner for the trade union that formerly backed Mr Ferguson, United Voice. He grew up in the Sutherland Shire and ran for the local council there in 2008. Labor polling in Werriwa shows the party faces a swing of more than 10 per cent, according to sources. "I've heard about party polling and I acknowledge that it is going to be very difficult. This will be my hardest campaign," Mr Ferguson said.
Werriwa, which was held by former Labor prime minister Gough Whitlam, will be lost if the party suffers a swing of 6.75 per cent. Last September, the Liberal Party won the mayoralty of Liverpool Council for the first time, sending shockwaves through Labor's heartland.
In 2010, Mr Ferguson suffered a primary vote swing of more than 10 per cent against him.