Kristina Keneally lands Dastyari Senate seat
Two union leaders have pulled out of the race for Sam Dastyari’s Senate seat, clearing the way for Kristina Keneally.
Former NSW premier Kristina Keneally will take up the Senate seat vacated by Sam Dastyari, with her two feared opponents for the seat, Transport Workers Union boss Tony Sheldon and United Voice union leader Tara Moriarty, yesterday deciding not to run.
In return, Mr Sheldon now has the chance of a six-year Senate spot at the next federal election in 2018 or 2019 while Ms Moriarty is set to be endorsed on the Labor upper house ticket at the next state election, Labor sources said.
With some union leaders opposing Ms Keneally’s ascension following her loss in the Bennelong by-election, the candidacy of either Mr Sheldon or Ms Moriarty was seen as the biggest stumbling block to her being backed to take over from Mr Dastyari.
Ms Keneally is now set to be endorsed by the Centre Unity or NSW right faction on January 30, with the party’s administrative committee to rubberstamp her candidature on February 2.
“I have today indicated to the Labor Party my interest in the Senate vacancy,” Ms Keneally said. If successful, she would be in the Senate until the federal election after next, due in 2022.
Ms Keneally will first have to fight off other candidates who have nominated for the casual Senate vacancy, including former state minister Virginia Judge and former state MP Barry Collier, but with Ms Moriarty and Mr Sheldon pulling out, it is understood Ms Keneally will win the support to snare the seat.
Ms Keneally’s path into the Senate, revealed by The Australian online yesterday, will be reward for her standing at the December 16 Bennelong by-election at the request of Bill Shorten, in a race caused by the dual citizenship imbroglio.
Ms Keneally won a 4.84 per cent swing against Liberal John Alexander in the by-election, resulting in the former premier finishing with 45.12 per cent of the vote on a two-party-preferred basis.
There was speculation yesterday that part of the deal might include Ms Keneally taking her place in the Senate but running again for Bennelong at next year’s federal poll, thereby freeing up her Senate seat; while this seems unlikely, it was not completely ruled out by Labor sources.
Labor sources said Mr Sheldon, a senior figure in the NSW Labor right, had tried to use his union numbers in the dominant faction to bolster his demands for Mr Dastyari’s seat.
It is understood that NSW Labor general secretary Kaila Murnain argued not only that Labor should have someone of Ms Keneally’s calibre, as a former NSW premier who had stood in the recent Bennelong by-election, but that the party needed more senior women to meet its affirmative action targets.
Ms Murnain is known to be close to Ms Keneally, having worked on her staff when the latter was NSW premier.
Under negotiations this week to settle the Senate vacancy in Ms Keneally’s favour, it is understood that Ms Murnain indicated to Mr Sheldon that he may be given a NSW Labor Senate seat when one becomes next available. The two were seen in animated discussion at Trades Hall on Friday.
The federal Opposition Leader, who strongly backed Ms Keneally in Bennelong, is understood to have stayed out of the preselection. A Labor source said: “Bill obviously rates Kristina very highly but the processes are entirely in the hands of NSW Labor.”
Ms Keneally is known to want a cabinet position in any future Shorten-led Labor government but it appears unlikely she would be immediately promoted to the shadow ministry.
Earlier this month, Health Services Union leader Gerard Hayes opposed Ms Keneally for the spot, calling for fresh blood in the seat.
“We have got a real interest in workers’ representation going forward and we need to be thinking broadly into the future as opposed to thinking about what we can do that’s easy. Let’s make a difference,” he said.
His opposition came after Ms Keneally looked set to become the second NSW former Labor premier to be parachuted into the Senate in recent years, following Bob Carr moving in there to serve as foreign minister.
Mr Dastyari has yet to formally resign from the Senate but has indicated he will by the end of the month, after a scandal over his associations with Chinese Labor Party donors.
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