THE POLL BLUDGER
New South Wales Legislative Assembly Election 2007

AUBURN
Labor 26.5%

Auburn is located 10 kilometres due west of the city centre, from Homebush Bay south through Auburn and Lidcombe to Regents Park and Greenacre. The redistribution has redrawn its southern boundary with Bankstown, which formerly ran south-west to north-east along the Hume Highway and now runs west to east along Brunker Road. This has resulted in a swap of territory that adds 4300 voters in Greenacre and removes 7000 in Yagoona. Auburn was created at the 1927 election when it was won by the legendary Jack Lang, who was then leading his first Labor government to defeat. Lang led Labor back to power in 1930, and out of it again when Governor Phillip Game dismissed him in 1932. He was eventually expelled by the party in 1942, but continued to hold Auburn for his own ALP (Non-Communist) Party until 1946. Indulgent local voters elected him to the federal seat of Reid in 1946; his state vacancy was filled at a by-election by his son, James Christian Lang. Labor finally recovered the seat in 1950 and have held it ever since.

Barbara Perry (right), a Legal Aid lawyer and Auburn councillor of Lebanese descent, won Auburn at a September 2001 by-election after her predecessor Peter Nagle retired due to ill health. Luke McIlveen of The Australian reported that Right powerbrokers (including Eddie Obeid and Eric Roozendal) had originally backed Talal Yassine, a solicitor and Lebanese community leader. However, the faction instead threw its weight behind Perry to ward off a challenge from Caroline Staples of the Left. These events incurred the displeasure of Muslim community leaders, including Lakemba Mosque firebrand Sheik Taj El Din al-Hilaly. Yassine had also been involved in a dispute with Left faction warlord and federal Reid MP Laurie Ferguson, who accused him of being involved with branch stacking.

ASSESSMENT: Labor retain