New South Wales Labor is being criticised for directing preferences to the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers party in a key marginal seat despite helping to pass a motion that condemned its leader, Robert Borsak, over an alleged verbal “threat of violence” against a female MP.
Material filed with the NSW Electoral Commission shows Labor is directing voters to preference the Shooters party in the seat of Upper Hunter ahead of the state election on 25 March.
Held by the Nationals on a wafer-thin margin of 0.5%, it is one of two lower house seats – along with the electorate of Dubbo, where the Shooters hope to unseat the Nationals MP Dugald Saunders – where Labor has directed its preferences to the minor party.
But Labor is also directing upper house preferences to the Shooters in 15 seats across regional NSW, either as its third or fourth preference, a move it has defended as being necessary to stop One Nation’s leader, Mark Latham, from becoming “the kingmaker of NSW politics”.
Among the 15 seats is Murray, held by the former Shooters MP Helen Dalton, who is now an independent. Although the party has ranked Dalton second in its lower house preferences, in the upper house it recommended voters in Murray put the Shooters third.
It comes less than six months after Labor supported a motion moved by Dalton in the lower house that condemned Borsak for comments he allegedly made in parliament about her.
A recording of a debate in parliament last September appeared to capture someone, alleged to be Borsak, saying “he should’ve gotten up and clocked her”.
Dalton alleged the comment was made in relation to her and moved a motion in the parliament condemning him for making “a threat of violence”.
The motion stated Borsak’s “threat” constituted “dangerous workplace behaviour” and called on him to apologise.
It was supported by Labor MPs, including the shadow minister for families, Port Stephens MP Kate Washington, who said it was “important that this place is a safe place for women – and everyone – to work”.
“Violence and threats of violence against members in this place are entirely unacceptable,” she said during the debate.
The fallout was devastating for the Shooters, with its two lower house MPs – Phil Donato in Orange and Roy Butler in Barwon – quitting to run as independents instead.
Labor’s move has been blasted by the Coalition’s minister for women, Natalie Ward, who said the opposition leader, Chris Minns, “needs to explain why he is supporting Robert Borsak, when his own MPs left the party following his appalling treatment of a female MP”.
While the opposition hopes to see the Nationals unseated in Upper Hunter – one of the few regional seats where the conservative Shooters may still be in play – Labor sources also insist the move was intended to help limit One Nation’s chances of securing a second or third upper house spot.
The prospect of a larger One Nation contingent has grown in the wake of the declining fortunes of other minor rightwing parties such as the Liberal Democrats and Fred Nile’s Christian Democrats.
“That would make Mark Latham the kingmaker of NSW politics – on everything to do from climate change, renewables, public education, anti-discrimination and anti-racism policies,” a Labor campaign spokesperson said.
“NSW Labor has given some preferences – with none in return – to try and stop that super crossbench majority forming in the upper house.”
Both Labor and Borsak said there had been no deal between the two parties. Borsak declined to comment on last year’s controversy.
The election analyst Ben Raue said depending on the way votes in the upper house go, the decision to put the Shooters third and fourth in a handful of seats could help the party on election day.
While the majority of voters do not follow how-to-vote guides, preferences “do make a difference”, he said.
“At the last three elections the final seat changed because of preference flows favouring a particular candidate,” he said.
