NSW Labor leader Luke Foley has picked out the man he wants to replace outgoing Wollongong MP Noreen Hay, announcing he will forgo a rank and file vote to install Paul Scully as the party’s new candidate.
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Speaking exclusively to Fairfax, Mr Foley said on Thursday he was “taking charge” to stop “nonsense” and “shenanigans” within the party.
“I’m taking charge of Labor’s preselection for Wollongong and insisting that Paul Scully be the Labor candidate,” he told the Mercury.
“It’s my call as Labor leader, this is about renewal for the city of Wollongong and for the Labor party itself.”
Mr Scully ran against Ms Hay in Labor’s preselection vote in 2014, a process dogged by scandal due to allegations of branch stacking and doctored minutes.
Mr Foley said reported “irregularities” in party records, as well as statements from “senior party figures” about continuing problems within Illawarra branches had played into his decision.
“I’m not going to put up with nonsense,” he said
“I’m not going to have some soap opera playing out here inside the Labor Party with people engaged in shenanigans. I will not tolerate the party turning inward when what we ought to be doing is listening to the people of Wollongong.”
Mr Scully was one of four people who had told the Mercury of their their intentions to run for preselection, with councillor Ann Martin, lawyer Deb Langton and nurse John Rumble coming forward.
Asked what he would say to those members who will now be denied a chance to vote for their candidate, Mr Foley said he wanted the party to stop “naval gazing” and focus on the Wollongong community.
“Paul is the person I want on my Labor team, a team focused on the future of Wollongong,” he said.
“He’s a young man born and bred in Wollongong who is working at the Innovation Campus of the university.”
Mr Foley said Mr Scully’s position as a manager at UOW’s Innovation Campus meant he was well-placed to talk about Wollongong’s jobs future and diversifying the region’s economy.
“Paul’s perfectly placed to lead that conversation, as somebody working at the Innovation Campus at the university,” he said.
Mr Scully recently joined Mr Foley at the Dapto Dogs, a week before Ms Hay announced her decision to retire. However, the opposition leader denied Mr Scully had long been marked as the future Wollongong candidate.
“I’ve only made this decision today, to take charge here and insist that the party renew itself, focus on the future and engage with the community rather than obsess about its internal workings,” he said.
“But I have observed Paul Scully over a number of years, I find him impressive – and he stood up inside the party, courageously, for proper process and maintained his activity in the party after a significant setback.”
Asked if he was pleased about Ms Hay’s decision to resign mid-term, Mr Foley said her retirement was “the right decision for Noreen and for the Labor Party”.
“I respect her contribution, I wish her well. The party has to look to the future here and we have to focus on the future of Wollongong and the needs of the people of Wollongong.”
Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
