Jacinta Allan faces backbench jitters over preselection
There is also no obvious justification for Allan to seek to have preselections called in. One MP suggested the premier did not have the internal power to override the factions, while another said it provided an opportunity to stamp her authority.
On Monday, Allan repeatedly refused to say whether she wanted all her MPs to be re-endorsed, but said she supported her team.
'I'm not going to comment on internal party processes that are still being worked through,' Allan said. 'What I will say is I have a great, strong Labor team who are working hard every single day out and about in their local community.'
One MP said they were feeling exposed but that it was 'in the hands of the Victorian ALP factional gods'.
'We all know what we sign up for – at times uncertain, at times brutal, but always united thereafter.'
Another MP said some of their colleagues were reluctant to fundraise for their 2026 campaigns until they were sure they would be endorsed to run again.
However, another Labor figure said the concerns were just 'nervous energy'. They did not believe there was a serious push to renew the party room by forcing MPs out.
Preselections for the upper house are expected to be particularly messy, with MPs elected in the second ticket spot in 2022 at risk of losing their seats if Labor endures a swing. Jostling could result in some MPs being shuffled to safer positions.
Labor factions are expected to hammer out the details of a new power-sharing arrangement or stability deal over coming months, which carves out seats and upper house spots to different groupings.
This is expected to prompt some wheeling and dealing, involving discussions about moving younger MPs into safer positions on upper house tickets.
To do this, factional swaps would be required that could push other MPs into second or third ticket positions, which would be considered less safe.
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A future stability deal will also have to account for MPs who are part of the Australian Workers Union, who were shut out of the current arrangement but have since reunited with the broader Labor Right.
A handful of ministers and backbenchers are also expected to announce in coming months they will not contest the November 2026 election.
The Age last month revealed a push to overhaul the way gender quotas are calculated in Victorian Labor's preselections, sparking anger that the number of women selected for winnable seats could go backwards. The draft motion was ultimately withdrawn following internal outrage.
Victorian Labor declined to comment.
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An unusual by-election is looming as the first real test of an opposition leader's ambitions to become premier of his state. NSW Labor on Thursday confirmed former journalist and union official Katelin McInerney as its candidate bidding to win the coastal seat of Kiama on September 13 and inch the party closer to majority government. But the by-election, triggered by former MP Gareth Ward being jailed for rape, has heralded the first test of the Liberal leader Mark Speakman's electoral chops. Mr Speakman will hope to stave off internal challengers by winning over voters who backed Ward in 2023 after he was banished from the party. Five by-elections have been held since the last election but Kiama is the first true Liberal-Labor battle, election analyst Ben Raue told AAP. "Speakman has struggled to break through and so there could be implications for him, in terms of his leadership if they don't do well," Mr Raue said. "By-elections, historically, have often been triggers for changes in party leadership." The importance Labor is placing on the contest was reflected by Thursday's visit to the seat by Premier Chris Minns. He unveiled Ms McInerney, a Kiama local, as the candidate trusted by party officials to turn the former safe seat red for the first time since 2011. Ward edged out Ms McInerney by fewer than 700 votes in 2023 but a large swing to Labor in upper house polling places it in the box seat to win it back. The government has not run a candidate in any other by-election since 2023. "We're nervous about the by-election, but we're also determined to fight for every single vote in the next few weeks," the premier said. The police investigation into Ward sparked his exit from the Liberal Party in 2021 and his suspension from parliament in 2022, before voters re-elected the charged man in 2023. "The people of Kiama have had uncertainty for the better part of five years ... people are telling me they want a strong voice in parliament," Ms McInerney said. Mr Raue said electoral baggage from Ward's status as a long-time Liberal MP would likely harm the opposition's chances. Mr Speakman downplayed his party's chances ahead of unveiling the Liberal candidate on Friday. The Liberals ran a candidate in 2023, but garnered only one in eight votes with many local branch members refusing to try to dislodge the incumbent Ward. "I'm prepared to take the fight up to the government and, more importantly, to give the people of Kiama a choice," Mr Speakman told ABC Radio Sydney on Wednesday. Ward is in prison awaiting sentencing for offences including sexually assaulting an intoxicated political staffer after a parliamentary event in 2015. He was also found to have sexually abused a drunken 18-year-old man in 2013. Ward intends to appeal his convictions.
