- From: The Australian
- July 18, 2013
LABOR'S most influential MP in the Cambodian community has
dramatically intervened in the preselection battle for the federal seat
of Hotham, openly backing the National Union of Workers candidate.
Cambodian-born state ALP member Hong Lim has written to party
members in the southeastern Melbourne electorate urging them to support
local councillor Geoff Lake.
Mr Lim's decision is significant
because the local ballot for former federal leader Simon Crean's seat
will rely heavily on up to 250 Cambodian and Vietnamese votes.
It
comes as the Victorian Right edges closer to imploding, with discussions
under way to realign the party, possibly including the marginalised
NUW, in a new power-sharing arrangement, sources said.
Mr Lake's
supporters privately believe they can count on the majority of the
Cambodian votes while the right-wing Labor Unity candidate Rosemary
Barker appears to have secured the majority of the Vietnamese votes.
Labor insiders estimate there are up to 150 members of Cambodian
descent, and about 100 Vietnamese voters. There are about 500 eligible
ALP voters in the local ballot.
The battle for Hotham is one part of a three-part showdown in Victorian Labor that threatens to reshape the Victorian Right.
The
party is brawling over Hotham and the No 3 spot on the Senate ticket
and serious consideration has been given to transforming the Right's
arrangements.
Mr Lim, who is overseas, has written to party
members directly lobbying for Mr Lake. "Geoff Lake is a big supporter of
the Cambodian community locally," he wrote.
"It is very important that you attend the election centre and vote for Geoff Lake."
Mr Lim is known as one of the most important numbers men in southeastern Melbourne, which embraces a diverse ethnic mix.
Described
by his enemies as an ethnic warlord, he is a member of the Right but
aligned with the group of state MPs associated with the increasingly
powerful shop assistants union and the Health Services Union. His
parents died under Pol Pot's regime.
Mr Lim praised Mr Lake's
support for councillors Youhorn Chea and Meng Heang Tak at least year's
Greater Dandenong council elections and declared that Mr Lake
"understands the needs of our Cambodian community".
However, Ms
Barker is effectively the endorsed Labor Unity candidate for the ballot
and enjoys the backing of the Socialist Left.
The preselection
will be made up of an equal share of the local ballot and the central
panel. The NUW is increasingly confident Mr Lake can win but Ms Barker
would secure a majority of votes on the central panel, sources
predicted.
Mr Lake accused right federal MP Michael Danby
yesterday of lobbying against him in the Israeli community. Mr Danby did
not respond to The Australian. Mr Lake said suggestions he was
anti-Israel were "a complete fabrication".
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