By Michael Sinclair
LABOR’S internal pre-selection battles are heating up across Brimbank, with a long-serving MP dumped and calls to reopen a preselection ballot.
State Upper House MP Sang Nguyen was dumped from the plum seat of Melbourne West Province, making way for a candidate who recently failed in his bid to unseat former Labor leader Simon Crean.
Meanwhile, the pre-selection for George Seitz’s state seat of Keilor could be reopened after a local ALP member Les Tarczon claimed a breach of party rules resulted in the 65-year-old MP retaining his spot.
Mr Nguyen was last week reeling after the shock pre-selection result, which attracted criticism from former Victorian Labor premier Joan Kirner.
A senior source within the ALP last week told Star Nguyen’s departure would make way for Martin Paluka, who was recently at the centre of a failed pre-selection battle with former federal Opposition leader Simon Crean.
Mr Pakula, a member of the party’s right faction, is linked with embattled Senator Stephen Conroy and is the state secretary of the National Union of Workers.
The senior insider said: “Sang will not be re-indorsed and basically from 12 o’clock today (Thursday) the national executive has pretty much rubber-stamped the ticket and that’s the end of it as far as the party is concerned – he’s gone.”
Mr Nguyen lashed out at the party following the decision and said he deserved to retain his seat after delivering the vote of the party’s Vietnamese members which paved the way for Bill Shorten to secure pre-selection for the federal seat of Maribyrnong.
“I did everything I could,” Mr Nguyen told The Age.
“I was promised that if I work hard for the faction and the party and I do everything I could I would return to Parliament – I deserve to return.”
Mr Nguyen is not the only member to feel the heat of the party’s pre-selection wrangling, with Mr Tarczon last week lodging a complaint with the party’s administrative committee for contravening a rule governing the age of candidates.
Mr Tarczon has called for George Seitz’s Keilor seat to be reopened for pre-selection, after the administration committee waived a rule.
Under party rules, members over 65 years of age must attract a two-thirds majority of the vote to win pre-selection, but Mr Seitz was given a simple majority in a recent administrative ruling, chaired by soon-to-be Maribyrnong member Bill Shorten.
“The bottom line is the ruling that was made by Bill Shorten is a blatant disregard of the party rules,” Mr Tarczon told Star.
George Seitz said he was confident of retaining his spot.
“It’s any individual’s prerogative to challenge party rules – that’s their democratic right,” he said.
“But I’ve gone through the correct processes and I’ve been endorsed as the preferred candidate.”
According to a senior party source, the rule is automatically waived to avoid breaking discrimination laws.
He said he did not expect the appeal to succeed.
But Mr Tarczon said the rule should be upheld anyhow.
“The rule of the party is the rule of the party – it is a rule that has to be adhered to, irrespective of what legislation or law is outside of the party,” he said.
“Despite what has been agreed to, party rules must be complied with and I believe that in taking in the rules of the party that the decision will be upheld and that they will reopen up Keilor for pre-selection.”
Mr Shorten refused to buy into debate about both Mr Seitz and Mr Nguyen when contacted by Star, saying the matters were now in the hands of the party.
