Let me take this head on Keneally hits back at criticism over seat switch

Labor senator Kristina Keneally has hit back at suggestions her move into the safe Labor seat of Fowler is a blow to diversity and vowed she will fight for the local community.

Senator Keneally on Friday confirmed she would switch from the Senate to the culturally diverse lower house seat, after months of internal tensions over whether she or fellow senator Deb O’Neill would take the top spot on Labor’s Senate ticket, rather than in the difficult-to-win third spot.

Labor senator Kristina Keneally speaks about her decision to contest the lower house seat of Fowler at the next federal election.Credit:Rhett Wyman

There has been disquiet within Labor about Senator Keneally’s move, with retiring MP Chris Hayes known to favour lawyer Tu Le, a daughter of Vietnamese refugees, to replace him.

On Saturday Labor MP Anne Aly, the first Muslim woman elected to the Federal Parliament, told the ABC: “Labor needs to do better on diversity ... this is a huge failure for Labor when it comes to diversity and inclusion.”

But Senator Keneally - who currently lives more than 40km away on exclusive Scotland Island, on the northern beaches - hit back at that criticism at a press conference in Bonnyrigg on Saturday.

“I’m proud to be part of a party that gets cultural diversity. Let me take this head on because I’m a little bit disappointed in some of the media coverage ... if you look across south-western Sydney you’ve got MPs Ed Husic, Michelle Rowland, Mike Freelander,” she said, also naming a number of state MPs from culturally diverse backgrounds.

“I’m proud to be part of a party that supports gender diversity and that supports multicultural diversity.

“This is a community I will live in, I will love and I will represent. I know how to fight for communities like this - it’s why I’ve gone into politics. And that is why, come the next election, I want to go into the House of Representatives, as the voice of every family, every small business, every faith community in Fowler and stand up for them in every possible way.”

Within the NSW Right faction, frontbencher Chris Bowen is said to have been backing Ms Keneally while fellow powerbroker Tony Burke is understood to have been backing Ms Le.

Senator Keneally - Labor’s home affairs spokeswoman - is also a long-time ally of federal Labor leader Anthony Albanese, who backed her in on Saturday for the seat of Fowler.

“We will have strong candidates in all seats, be that held seats, but importantly, we’ll have strong candidates in our seats across the board,” he said. “I’m very proud to lead a diverse team, an effective team, and a team that will be able to lead our nation through.”

More to come

James Massola is political correspondent for the Sun-Herald & Sunday Age. He won the Kennedy award for Outstanding Foreign Correspondent while posted in Jakarta and wrote The Great Cave Rescue. He was previously chief political correspondent.Connect via Twitter, Facebook or email.

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