The Minns government may be forced to cull a number of male MPs before next year’s election to avoid breaching internal affirmative action rules requiring equal representation between men and women in the parliamentary Labor Party.
Despite most Labor preselections for next year’s election unlikely to begin until after the party’s state conference in July, some MPs are already jockeying to secure their spots because of a looming gender problem within the caucus.
Labor’s internal affirmative action rules have required a “minimum percentage” of seats to be held by women for several years. The quota has been ramping up since 2022, and last year reached a 50 per cent gender split for the first time.
Across both houses in NSW Parliament, Labor has 32 men and 29 women. That would mean one or potentially two male MPs could be forced to make way to reach parity.
The gender arithmetic could become more complicated if independent speaker Greg Piper retires, meaning his seat of Lake Macquarie could be counted as a “held” Labor electorate. Piper has not indicated his intentions for another term.
While that could be met through natural attrition, wrangling over potential upper house candidates, and a view held by some senior Labor figures that the government benches need a more significant overhaul, could prompt a larger shake-up.
The gender shortfall could most easily be corrected in the upper house, where the party hierarchy and unions have greater control of preselection. But both the right and left factions have already earmarked potential male candidates for winnable spots.
On the right, multiple sources said Unions NSW secretary Mark Morey is considering nominating for a seat in the upper house, and would likely have significant backing.
On the left, former union official and Byron Bay councillor Asren Pugh is also being supported for a winnable spot.
And with Labor on track to easily regain government in 2027 based on current polling, some senior figures within the party believe the time is right for a larger refresh within the lower house caucus.
Most of the government’s most talented ministers — Treasurer Daniel Mookhey, Energy Minister Penny Sharpe, Transport Minister John Graham and Housing Minister Rose Jackson — are in the upper house, and Labor figures have long been concerned about a lack of depth in the more high-profile lower house.
“There’s a few in here on big margins who are just making up the numbers,” one MP said. “And not just blokes either by the way.”
The 50 per cent quota rule also has the potential to cause some headaches for aspiring candidates.
According to the party rules, the quota would need to be met separately for “held”, winnable and all other seats. Winnable seats are considered electorates with less than a 5 per cent margin.
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Max Maddison is a state political reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.From our partners
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
