ALP still paying off Craig Thomson's cards

THE ALP will put Craig Thomson ahead of four candidates including the Liberal on its how-to-vote card for the NSW seat of Dobell.

THE ALP will put Craig Thomson ahead of four candidates including the Liberal on its how-to-vote card for the NSW seat of Dobell, eschewing the opportunity seized by the Coalition to take a moral stand and preference the scandal-plagued independent MP behind the major parties.

The move comes amid Coalition claims that Deputy Prime Minister Anthony Albanese might have tried to stitch up a "sleazy" preference deal over a drink he had recently with Mr Thomson, and a claim from Mr Thomson's lawyer Chris McArdle that in February NSW ALP general secretary Sam Dastyari promised to pay $35,000 towards the independent MP's legal costs.

Mr Albanese and Mr Dastyari deny the claims.

The Australian can reveal that the Liberals, in an electorally risky move, will preference the Labor candidate for Dobell, Emma McBride, ahead of Mr Thomson on the Liberal how-to-vote card.

The move stems from a strategic decision to demonstrate Coalition distaste for the independent MP, who faces criminal and civil charges for allegedly rorting hundreds of thousands of dollars of union funds, including for paying prostitutes, when he was national secretary of the Health Services Union.

Mr Thomson strenuously denies the claims and is defending them in court.

Ms McBride is a pharmacist and a longstanding member of the HSU, who recently expressed outrage at Mr Thomson's alleged misuse of union funds.

"Like every other rank-and-file union member working for the central coast local health district, I'm disgusted and appalled by any misuse of our membership dues," Ms McBride said.

But, as revealed by The Australian, Ms McBride passed up an opportunity to support a motion censuring Mr Thomson and calling for his resignation as an MP when she sat on Wyong Shire Council last year.

The ALP will put Mr Thomson at No 5 on its how-to-vote card, coming after Ms McBride, Greens candidate Sue Wynn, former cricketer Nathan Bracken - who is running as an independent, and Citizens Electoral Council candidate Greg Owen.

Below Mr Thomson on the card will be Bullet Train candidate Christian Kunde, the Palmer United Party's Kate Angelique McGill, Christian Democratic Party candidate Hadden Ervin, and Liberal Karen McNamara.

Kevin Rudd defended Labor's decision not to put Mr Thomson last on its how-to-vote card.

“He's way down the ticket,” the Prime Minister said of Mr Thomson, adding it was the ALP's “universal practice” to preference only the top three candidates.

A NSW ALP spokesman described the preferencing in Dobell as a "local decision".

He said the rationale for Labor's how-to-vote card was that Labor had agreed a preference swap with the Greens, was hopeful of doing a deal with Mr Bracken, and had decided from there to follow the ballot from top to bottom for ease of numbering, and the Liberals were second-last on the ballot.

The ALP spokesman categorically denied that any deal had been done with Mr Thomson.

A spokesman for Ms McBride said that the preferences were "a matter for the party."

Liberal senator Eric Abetz said Labor's decision to preference Mr Thomson before the Liberals in Dobell "confirms everything the Coalition has said about sleazy deals between Labor and Craig Thomson".

"What Labor is saying is that Craig Thomson, who is facing 173 charges, is preferable to the Liberal candidate," Senator Abetz said.

"If Labor were truly interested in reforming the NSW Labor Party and truly interested in stable government, they would put Craig Thomson and the Greens last."

At the instigation of Julia Gillard, the ALP suspended Mr Thomson from the party last year after the then prime minister said that "a line has been crossed" in the allegations against him, but Thomson is recontesting his seat as an independent.

Dobell is notionally an ALP seat on a 5.1 per cent margin but, as revealed by The Australian last week, a Newspoll survey of Dobell and another NSW central coast seat, Robertson, found a significant swing to the Liberals, putting Labor on 46 per cent and the Coalition on 54 per cent.

However, this time round the contest is more complex, with Mr Thomson expected to have some residual single-digit support, and Mr Bracken running a well-funded campaign bankrolled by businessman John Singleton. This will make the direction of preferences crucial, and what chance Labor might have had of regaining the seat would be dashed without preferences from the Greens, who polled 8.6 per cent in Dobell at the last election.

Mr Thomson did not respond to calls, emails or text messages from The Australian.