Steve Whan, the New South Wales opposition police spokesman, has become the second person to put his hand up for the job of Labor leader following the resignation of John Robertson earlier this week.
Whan, who holds a seat in the NSW upper house, follows Labor’s treasury spokesman, Michael Daley, who confirmed he was running for the leadership on Wednesday.
Whan would need to win a seat in the lower house to become the Labor leader, and has signalled that he will re-contest his previously-held seat of Monaro, which he lost in the 2011 state election.
“I also have the guts to run and win, if I can, a marginal seat,” he said on Friday. “I’m not asking for a safe seat.”
He said he thought his history in Monaro, a seat that borders both the Australian Capital Territory and Victoria, gave him “a broad perspective of the state”.
The next NSW election will be held in March.
Senior Coalition figures criticised Whan’s decision to stand. “That’s pretty arrogant and cocky given that he hasn’t got a lower house seat,” the NSW treasurer, Andrew Constance, told Australian Associated Press. “This has become a game of pin the tail on the donkey.”
News Corp quoted an unnamed party source saying Whan had “some support within the [ALP] ranks” but not saying whether that support was enough to win.
It is expected that fellow upper house MP Luke Foley would also join the leadership race. He has reportedly said he would consult with friends and family before officially throwing his hat in the ring.
The deputy opposition leader, Linda Burney, would not be drawn on whether she too would stand for the role.
“I am not saying anything about that at the moment,” she told ABC radio this week. “I’m feeling very sad about the loss of John.”
Robertson stood down from the leadership position after it was revealed he had passed on a letter to the Department of Family and Community Services on behalf of Sydney siege gunman, Man Haron Monis, asking for family visitation rights in 2011.
Robertson, who had been leader since Labor’s crushing electoral defeat in the last state election, said it had become apparent he had lost the confidence of his colleagues over the incident.
The leadership ballot to replace Robertson will take place on 5 January.
