NSW Labor divided over sitting minister's preselection fight
Fair Trade Minister Anoulack Chanthivong is in trouble. Local party members are backing his rival in Macquarie Fields.
NSW Labor faces a dilemma in the Macquarie Fields seat. Fair Trade Minister Anoulack Chanthivong is losing ground to local rival Masood Chowdhury.
Chowdhury is deputy mayor of Campbelltown. Chowdhury is also president of the largest local branch.
He is gaining backing from local party members. Party leadership has been reluctant to step in.
The Ingleburn-Macquarie Fields branch has faced accusations of branch stacking. The branch added 149 new members in five years.
Chowdhury says he is not manipulating membership numbers. He says his branch respects party membership caps.
Chanthivong has upset key stakeholders during his time as minister. Party sources say if he survives preselection, he will not return as minister.
This is true even if Labor wins the March election.
- Deputy mayor of Campbelltown
- Chowdhury's role
- March
- Election timing
- Macquarie Fields
- Seat name
Why it mattersThe standoff reflects tensions within Labor over branch integrity. It shows how internal party divisions can threaten a sitting minister's seat.
AustraliaMacquarie Fields, a safe Labor seat in south-west Sydney, faces an uncertain preselection that could reshape the electorate's representation.
