First woman puts hand up for Labor Canberra preselection
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Without formal factional backing, Ms Payne is likely to face an uphill battle when it comes to winning over the party’s voters later this month. Her candidacy also depends on how the party’s affirmative action rules are interpreted. Federally, the party has committed to preselecting women in 50 per cent of winnable seats by 2025, while in the ACT at least 40 per cent of candidates must be women, and at least 40 per cent must be men.
The ACT rules don’t specify if only winnable seats are to be included in the calculations, which means the second Senate seat, which the party is unlikely to win, would also be included when dividing party endorsement along gender lines.
It has been widely assumed within the party if incumbent MPs Gai Brodtmann and Andrew Leigh are preselected along with former senator Katy Gallagher, the party would be required to put forward a man in Canberra.
Even without a faction, Ms Payne has high-profile support, having been encouraged to run by Labor’s shadow assistant secretary and member for Fenner Andrew Leigh. Also unaligned, Mr Leigh praised Ms Payne on Tuesday, saying “Alicia’s long commitment to Labor and social policy nous are a rare combination. She isn’t in a faction and will be asking everyone in the ALP for support. If chosen, Alicia would be an amazing representative for the new seat”.
Lobbyist Simon Banks has also confirmed his candidacy, with the list of candidates now growing to five. Charity boss John Falzon has won the endorsement of the party’s Left faction, while greyhound lobbyist Kel Watt and staffer Jacob Ingram are both seeking endorsement from the party’s Right faction. Like Ms Payne, Mr Banks is factionally unaligned.
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