Labor’s environment spokesman, Mark Butler, looks set to become the party’s president, ahead of the July national conference, ballot scrutineers said on Sunday night.
The South Australian federal MP was believed to have beaten a field of four other contenders, after former climate change minister Greg Combet pulled out of the race for personal reasons. Other contenders included Victorian left factional favourite Jane Garrett, and Western Australian rightwinger Tim Hammond.
Butler had the backing of left faction power broker Anthony Albanese and was widely tipped as the favourite after he officially put his hat in the ring for the leadership role in May.
The opposition higher education spokesman, Kim Carr, had thrown his support behind Garrett, one one of multiple candidates who split the left vote and left Hammond with a fighting chance.
Butler stood on a platform of giving branch members more say in who wins Senate preselection, a divisive issue that union leaders say could reduce their influence.
In his first campaign video, Butler, who was previously the president of Labor’s South Australian branch, spoke of the need to unite in order to defeat the Coalition on a federal level at the next election.
“Our party’s got no more important task ahead of us than beating Tony Abbott,” he said. “We all know what we need to do to win the next election. We need to stay united, disciplined and we need to present the Australian people with an exciting platform of ideas.”
His campaign was not without scandal. Allegations that Butler misused the party’s supporter database and therefore corrupted the election process, were dismissed on Wednesday, paving the way for his victory.
Jenny McAllister, from the New South Wales left, resigned as the party’s national president after taking up the Senate spot vacated by retiring Labor stalwart John Faulkner.
It’s believed Butler will retain his place in federal parliament and in the shadow cabinet.
