Mayors primed as Labor saviours
MAYORS are being headhunted to run as Labor candidates at the next federal election in a move Anthony Albanese hopes will steal enough votes to claim victory.
The federal Labor leader also conceded he needed to lift his public profile if he was to topple Scott Morrison at the polls.
As the Coalition prepares to make its pitch to voters on Tuesday when it hands down the federal budget, Mr Albanese has opened up about his plans to leverage the standing of community leaders and claw back influence in key seats.
“We are competitive,” Mr Albanese said. “I’m looking for local champions.”
Gladstone Mayor Matt Burnett was last month unveiled as Labor’s candidate in the Queensland seat of Flynn, while mine worker Shane Hamilton was this week announced in the seat of Dawson.
Former Bega Valley mayor Kristy McBain, who shot to fame after parts of her electorate were incinerated during the Black Summer bushfires, also cemented Labor’s hold on the NSW seat of Eden-Monaro in last year’s by-election.
“They won‘t be the last mayors announced as our candidates,” Mr Albanese said. “There are others to come.” Taking a swipe at the federal government’s handling of grants programs, such as the sports rorts saga, Mr Albanese said giving communities funding through locally set priorities was “how democracy should work”.
But while he is spearheading the search for people who can win back disenchanted Labor voters with a plan for a better COVID-19 recovery, the former deputy prime minister in the Rudd government has acknowledged he also needs to boost his own brand.
“I need to do more to lift the personal profile,” he said. “The truth is that most Australians don’t focus on politics each and every day. I haven’t led Australia through an election campaign. Scott Morrison has, but I think my values over a long period of time in public life have been consistent.”
Mr Albanese entered politics 25 years ago after winning the seat of Grayndler in Sydney’s inner west. While he has a profile in Sydney, the opposition leader knows he needs gains in Queensland and Western Australia. The party has also set its sights on northern Tasmania, a few seats in NSW, Victoria and South Australia’s only marginal seat, Boothby.