Parramatta federal election 2022: Education, cost of living key to win seat

Major parties are yet to preselect candidates to contend Parramatta but a political pundit has warned that voters want someone to ‘look and sound like western Sydney’.

Now the NSW by-elections are over, the focus is expected to shift more to the federal poll and the battle to win marginal seats such as Parramatta.

The religious discrimination bill debate continues but political pundits doubt it will play a major role in winning voters in Parramatta, which Labor holds with a 3.5 per cent margin and preselection could be as early as this week.

Religion was discussed at the weekend when Prime Minister Scott Morrison addressed Maronite Catholic parish in Adelaide, a similar community to Harris Park’s Our Lady of Lebanon Co-Cathedral.

Mr Morrison and his wife Jenny are no strangers to the community, where they have visited frequently to support the Abdallah family since the death of three of their children and niece at Oatlands two years ago.

At a memorial Mass at the co-cathedral on the second anniversary of the children’s death this month, grief-stricken Leila Abdallah thanked the Morrisons for their support and lauded their faith.

“Our Prime Minister Scott and his amazing wife Jenny Morrison — we love you from the bottom of our hearts,’’ she told the gathering.

“Thank you for your leadership, example of humility, faith and love. We really appreciate all that you do for us. You haven’t left us for the last two years. We love you. Australia is so blessed — we’ve got the best leader in the world — a man and woman of faith.”

However, while the genuine gratitude and respect for the Prime Minister’s faith resonates with many voters, religion is not likely to matter when hitting the hustings on Church St, Western Sydney University’s Centre for western Sydney director Professor Andy Marks said.

Western Sydney University Professor Andy Marks has identified what voters want. Picture: Dylan Robinson

“In Parramatta, rates of religious faiths are pretty high compared to the national average but I wouldn’t rate a particular faith as being central to that,’’ he said.

“If anything in Parramatta rates of Hinduism are highest; in fact, probably the highest of any place in the country so that’s not to suggest other religious groups are in the minority.

“They certainly don’t constitute enough votes in scale to tip the seat one way or another so campaigning to a particular group alone or a particular faith group is probably not the best strategic move for either party.

“They’d want to gauge the electorate more broadly and certainly there’s a very big diversity of religions — Hinduism, Islamic faith, certainly rate very highly.

“I think whichever party comes up with the more progressive policy about education will fare very well in that electorate where it’s highly valued.’’

He said the rates of university qualifications in Parramatta was the second highest in western Sydney, behind Reid.

“You have one of the highest rates of education in Parramatta of any seat in the country,’’ he said.
“It has the highest concentration of PHD-qualified people in NSW — they’re going to want to engage with issues around education, around knowledge, around the economy.’’

Prof Marks said the cost of living, women in the workforce, and the Covid aftermath “are going to be on the mind of voters well far ahead of issues about religious faiths”.

He said Parramatta’s women voters were over-represented in insecure employment, carer duties and other responsibilities.

Labor and Liberal have not yet preselected candidates but Prof Marks is adamant that whoever is chosen should not be parachuted into contending for the 57sq km seat, which stretches from Carlingford to Rydalmere and Toongabbie.

Education is a key issue for voters. Picture: Dylan Coker

Labor’s Julie Owens has held office since 2004 but announced she would retire at the next federal election.

“They will want to have someone who is local, who knows the region and who is of the region become preselected,’’ Prof Marks said.

“The public doesn’t like hearing about things that occur within what the PM calls the ‘Canberra bubble’.’’

A source has said the Liberal Party scrapped its January preselection after being unhappy with its hopefuls Maria Kovacic, Charles Camenzuli and Felicity Findlay, and the move could lead the Prime Minister to pick a candidate.

“Who runs for Parramatta should be decided by the people who live in Parramatta — not by Prime Ministers, not by third party backroomers but by Parramatta residents,’’ Prof Marks said.

“A candidate for Parramatta needs to look and sound like western Sydney, it needs to be someone who can speak to the seat’s multicultural roots, someone who can speak to the fact that the seat is a very dynamic place so obviously we need to see more women as well.

“That’s the case across western Sydney more broadly. For too long we’ve had candidates and representatives — some of them very good — that don’t look or sound like people from western Sydney.

“A candidate for Parramatta needs to look and sound like western Sydney.’’

Labor’s preselection, which some initially thought would be in December, has been delayed but the Parramatta Federal Electoral Council president James Shaw said it could be this week now that the by-elections are over.

Durga Owen, Abha Devasia and Granville state Labor MP Julia Finn are tipped to run for Parramatta, but Ms Finn has “largely ruled out’’ giving it a tilt.

“I would take some persuading,’’ she said.

“I don’t know if it’s the right time for me. We’ve got a state election in 12 months and I’m trying to hold the State Government to account for their failures and the Covid mess.’’

Ms Finn echoed calls for a local, not a “blow-in’’ to be preselected.

She said Ms Owen would be “10 times better’’ than a non-local such as Ms Devasia, a lawyer who works at the Granville-based Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union but lives in West Pennant Hills.

Like the Liberals, Labor head office is said to be lukewarm about the trio.

Labor Opposition leader Anthony Albanese and former NSW Premier Bob Carr unsuccessfully approached Business Western Sydney executive director and former Granville MP David Borger in November to run.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison meets students from Tara Anglican and The King’s at North Parramatta at the start of i4give Week in February. Picture Gaye Gerard

Ms Owen said she spoke to Mr Albanese about climate change in December and he was aware of her intentions to run but has not officially endorsed her.

“Anthony is somebody who respects rank and file preselection and luckily our members choose the candidates in this sort of situation,’’ she said.

“It will come down to the local branch members. People who are interested are quality candidates, so we just wait for the process to kick in. It’s not like a behind-the-scenes thing where we have these chats.’’

Ms Devasia was contacted for comment.

However Mr Shaw questioned whether ballot members would be free to vote using the rank and file method.

Recovering from Covid is still on people’s minds. Picture: Damian Shaw

Instead, the national executive could choose a candidate, a move that Mr Shaw said would rile party members because “these things are usually three people at a Chinese restaurant making a decision not based on merit but who their friends are and who their allies are”.

“It should be the decision of the branch members,’’ he said.

Apart from Liberal Ross Cameron holding office between 1996 and 2004, Prof Marks points out that Parramatta has been Labor heartland.

However “western Sydney’s becoming a very volatile place in terms of where people cast their votes, so at this stage without candidates selected anything could happen”.

“It could go either way’’.

Hopeful wants to curb cost of living

He is a life member of the Parramatta Rugby League Referees’ Association but Anthony Ellard is no longer willing to stay on the sidelines when it comes to tackling politics.

The North Parramatta 44-year-old plans to run for preselection in the race to become Parramatta’s next federal MP and says he is fed up with the delay from his party to pick a candidate.

“As a Labor Party member it’s frustrating,’’ he said.

“We need to have a candidate because the work can’t be done and we need to know who we’re framing this campaign around.’’

The married father, who has two daughters aged three and nine, has been the secretary of the Dundas-Rydalmere branch for 19 years and ran second on Parramatta councillor Pierre Esber’s ticket in the local government elections in December but was not elected.

Anthony Ellard hopes to retain Parramatta as a Labor seat.

He started entertaining the idea of running for the federal seat when speculation of outgoing Parramatta federal Labor MP Julie Owens’ retirement started circulating in July and now wants to keep the seat red.

Mr Ellard, who belongs to the right faction, said he had garnered plenty of backers within the party.

“I am completely overwhelmed with the level of support I’m getting, particularly by people who I would not expect to support me,’’ he said.

“Everyone in the area knows who I am. I’ve run elections. I don’t care about factions the way other people do. I just want to see our area properly represented in terms of party and someone who knows the issues.’’

The Australian Computer Society governance officer, who has a passion for technology, names the cost of living as one of the key issues he wants to address.

“Wages are not keeping up with the cost of living,’’ he said.

“Whether we’re talking about electricity or groceries, people are having to squeeze as much out of their pay cheque, which is not keeping up with inflation.’’

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Originally published as Parramatta federal election 2022: Education, cost of living key to win seat