EXCLUSIVE: O’Connor to run against Plibersek

EXCLUSIVE: O’Connor to run against Plibersek
Image: Federal Liberal candidate for Sydney, Sean O'Connor

Sydney Liberal Party identity Sean O’Connor is to run against Federal Member for Sydney Tanya Plibersek at the next Federal Election, City News can reveal.

Mr O’Connor, a marketing manager at Caltex Australia, will go up against Ms Plibersek at the election, which must be held before November 30 next year.

The Liberal Party will put significant resources behind a campaign to win the seat from Ms Plibersek, who is also Federal Minister for Health.

However, snatching the seat from Ms Plibersek – who has been Member for Sydney since 1998 – would be a tough slog, with a massive swing against the MP required to unseat her.

Despite a swing against her of 5.9 per cent at last Federal Election in 2010, Ms Plibersek won the seat comfortably, garnering 43.3 per cent of the vote, with runner-up, then-Liberal candidate Gordon Weiss, receiving 28.1 per cent.

Greens candidate Tony Hickey collected 23.8 per cent of the vote.

While the Liberal Party has not officially announced Mr O’Connor’s preselection, the budding politician confirmed he would run against Ms Plibersek.

“I can confirm that I’ve been preselected and the party will be releasing a media statement to that effect shortly,” Mr O’Connor told City News.

Mr O’Connor, an openly-gay man, is considered to be part of a coterie of progressive gay men in the party, which also includes former City of Sydney councillor Shayne Mallard, who ran unsuccessfully in the by-election for the state seat of Sydney on Saturday; Adrian Bartels, who ran unsuccessfully in the seat last year; State Member for Coogee, Bruce Notley-Smith; and former North Sydney councillor Trent Zimmerman.

Mr O’Connor ran for the City of Sydney Council in last month’s NSW Local Government Elections on Edward Mandla’s ticket, but did not win a spot on Council.

 

UPDATE – Wednesday, October 31:

Responding to news of Mr O’Connor’s preselection, Ms Plibersek has urged Mr O’Connor to run a campaign focusing on positive solutions rather than negativity.

In a statement to City News, Ms Plibersek said: “I welcome the opportunity at next year’s election to talk about the Gillard Government’s plans for a strong economy and a fair society – big reforms like the National Broadband Network, the National Disability Insurance Scheme and better dental care.

“Whomever the Liberal Party preselects for the federal seat of Sydney must lay out their own positive plan for Australia’s future, instead of the same destructive negativity Australians see from their leader, Mr Abbott.”

 

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