FACTIONAL leaders today ruled out a return to parliament for Theo
Theophanous after he nominated for preselection in his upper hosue seat of
Northern Metropolitan.
The nomination indicates that the veteran MP, who is facing a committal
hearing on rape charges, is eyeing a return to politics if his defence of the
charges succeeeds. The decade-old rape claims against the former industry
minister and veteran ALP figure are being heard in a commital hearing at
the Melbourne Magistrates Court before magistrate Peter Reardon.
Despite Mr Theophanous' nomination, and the presumption of innocence,
factional chiefs are believed to already be in the process of allocating his spot
on the ticket to someone else. “He won't be accommodated,” one factional leader
said. “No one is supporting him.”
However, others say there is a remote chance of Mr Theophanous making a
successful comeback if the case against him is thrown out reasonably soon.
Mr Theophanous stood down from his ministry once it became clear he was
being investigated by police over the claims but remained a member of
parliament and is steadfastly defending the allegations.
The deadline for nominations for state upper house ALP preselections closed
at 1pm today. It's believed Right-faction powerbrokers are backing plumbers'
union official Nathan Murphy to replace Mr Theophanous, while there is a
counter push for Premier John Brumby's policy chief Nick Reece to be
accommodated in the upper house.
The final decision on upper house preselections was referred by Mr Brumby
to the ALP's national executive amid a factional brawl and concerns that
stacked branches would deliver “inappropriate” candidates.
The views of both faction leaders and the Premier are expected to be taken
in account by the executive in making their decision.
Written By: Rick Wallace, Victorian political reporter
July 16, 2009
The Australian
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