“The
Man” will contest the inner-city seat of Marrickville, which is held by
Education Minister Carmel Tebbutt, rated the most popular minister in the Iemma
Government.
Mundine’s
move from the boxing ring to the political stage has been motivated by fury
within Redfern’s Aboriginal community over the establishment of a cultural and
training centre in memory of Pemulwuy, the legendary Aboriginal warrior of the
early 19th century.
The
community, a stronghold of the Mundine family, is angry that its commercially
and culturally researched Pemulwuy Project has been dismissed by the
Redfern-Waterloo Authority and replaced by what it believes is an inferior
proposal.
Mundine is
expected to announce his protest candidacy at a public meeting on Thursday
night. The Bishop of Gippsland, John McIntyre, who served as Redfern’s priest
for years before moving to Victoria,
will be there to support him.
Mundine’s
entry into the Marrickville race will alarm Labor powerbrokers as he poses a
real threat to the party’s 94-year stranglehold on the seat; not because he
would be expected to win, but because he would draw voters away from Labor.
Marrickville
Mayor Sam Byrne, of the Greens, polled 40 per cent of the vote in the 2005
by-election in which Ms Tebbutt won despite a 7 per cent swing against Labor.
Mundine, a
cousin of Warren Mundine, president of the Australian Labor Party, could drag
even more votes away from Labor.
Mundine’s
appeal will have to reach beyond the Aboriginal community as only 1.3 per cent
of the electorate’s voters are Aboriginal. Just over 3 per cent are Muslim,
which could help him as he has converted to Islam.
The seat of
Marrickville does not include Redfern, where Mundine’s support is strongest. It
stretches from Newtown
to Marrickville and from Petersham to Dulwich Hill.
Mundine is
a role model for more than Aboriginal people. He has been very outspoken on
injustice to Aborigines and Muslims. He first mooted a move to politics in 2003
as “The Man of the people” after winning the WBA super middleweight
title.
His
immediate focus will be to give voice to community anger over Planning Minister
Frank Sartor, the minister in charge of the Redfern redevelopment, whom locals
accuse of heavy-handedness and lack of consultation.
The
election contest will reignite the bitter feud between Mr Sartor and one of
Mundine’s uncles, Mick Mundine, chief executive of the Aboriginal Housing
Company, owner of the run-down homes project known as the Block.
Last
September, Mr Sartor said in a radio interview that Mick Mundine should
“get his black arse” into the minister’s office to discuss
redevelopment plans. After a public outcry he was forced to apologise.
THE MAN v
THE WOMAN
ANTHONY MUNDINE
Age: 31.
Partner: Danielle; four children.
Lives:
Blakehurst.
Career:
Former rugby league player with St George, St George Illawarra and Brisbane.
Boxing
division: Super middleweight.
World
ranking: 9.
CARMEL TEBBUTT
Age: 42.
Partner: Anthony Albanese, federal MP for Grayndler; one child.
Lives:
Marrickville.
Career:
Marrickville Deputy Mayor 1995-1998; NSW upper house 1998; Marrickville seat
2005.
Boxing
division: Political heavyweight.
Photo: Photo: Craig Golding Protest:
Anthony Mundine is expected to run for a seat in Parliament.
Source: The
Sun-Herald Mundine
squares up to Carmel for political knockout