Shorten considers switch to safer seat

The Labor leader confirms he is considering switching from his Melbourne seat following a redraw of electoral boundaries.

Mr Shorten holds Mariby­rnong by a margin of 12.3 per cent. Redistribution reduced the margin to about 10.5 per cent. Party sources said his estimated margin in Fraser would be 19.8 per cent.

Bill Shorten has confirmed he is considering vacating the Melbourne seat of Maribyrnong and running for the newly created electorate of Fraser.

The Opposition Leader admitted he was considering jumping ship from the seat he has represented since he entered parliament in 2007.

The Australian reported the potential move this morning following the rewriting of the electoral boundaries.

“The electoral commission has cut my seat in half, I like the voters on both sides of my seat, we will wait and see what the final maps look like,” Mr Shorten told Perth radio station 6PR.

Senior ALP sources told The Australian yesterday Mr Shorten’s move was under “active consideration” by party strategists after the draft redistribution proposed the western section of Maribyrnong become part of Fraser.

ALP figures said they would also consider asking the Australian Electoral Commission to switch the names of the two seats — renaming Fraser as Maribyrnong and Maribyrnong as Fraser. If ­approved, this would allow Mr Shorten to remain the member for Maribyrnong.

Sources close to Mr Shorten yesterday did not rule out a switch. “The reality is the AEC decision pretty much splits the seat but it’s too early to speculate,’’ a source close to Mr Shorten said. “This is only a draft redistribution.”

Mr Shorten holds Mariby­rnong by a margin of 12.3 per cent. Redistribution reduced the margin to about 10.5 per cent. Party sources said his estimated margin in Fraser would be 19.8 per cent.

While no decision has been made, some insiders say the plan could inflame tensions in the state party which has been divided by a contentious factional deal linking parts of the industrial left to the party’s right.

Fraser is notionally allocated to the left, while Maribyrnong is claimed by the right. Some members of the left believe the deal could go ahead with a simple swap.

One senior Labor MP and party sources confirmed discussion of the plan, which could come to fruition if the AEC proceeds with a proposed redistribution ­released on Friday.

Another MP said the plan had the support of some in the party’s right faction, even though it was likely to have big implications for a new factional deal being brokered in Victoria.

But some expressed discontent, arguing the move indicates a weaker level of confidence in Mr Shorten’s ability to continue winning the seat.

They noted Anthony Albanese’s decision to remain in his seat of Grayndler after a redistribution split the electorate in half and raised the odds against him by adding a string of Greens dominated suburbs to the electorate.

“If Albo decided he was fit to take on that challenge, then why shouldn’t Bill Shorten in the electorate he’s always been in?” a MP told The Australian.

ALP officials are considering a response to the AEC’s redistribution in Victoria and the ACT, which some strategists believe hands Labor three more seats even before a positive swing is taken into account. Both Labor and the Coalition will lodge a submission to the AEC responding to the draft.

Labor is expected to ask for changes to the distribution in the southeastern seats of Hotham, Bruce and Isaacs, to adjust for ­potentially tougher odds in Bruce and Isaacs.

Victorian Liberals are faced with the decision of objecting to the overall distribution or targeting their opposition to the seats of Dunkley and Corangamite, where the redistribution has all but eroded their chances of winning.