THE POLL BLUDGER
New South Wales Legislative Assembly Election 2007

SMITHFIELD
Labor 26.9%

Smithfield covers Sydney's western suburbs from Prospect and Greystanes out to Erskine Park and Mount Vernon. The redistribution has added new territory both in the west (5000 voters around Erskine Park from Mulgoa) and east (nearly 6000 around Greystanes from Wentworthville, which is now called Toongabbie). Its corresponding losses are in the south-east, where 6500 voters around Fairfield Heights go to Fairfield and 2500 at Holroyd go to Granville. The seat has had two Labor members since it was created in 1988 – Janice Crosio, who became the federal member for Prospect in 1990, and Carl Scully. Scully variously served as minister in the transport, housing and police portfolios, and was one of two front-runners to replace Bob Carr when he resigned in August 2005. He was outmanoeuvred in the ensuing leadership contest by Morris Iemma, having been damaged by the emergence of a pamphlet he wrote in 1992 querying the value of immunisation. In October 2006 he was forced to resign as Police Minister after twice misleading parliament over a report into the 2005 Cronulla riots, which led the party to conclude he would be a liability going into an election campaign. Scully announced in January he would not stand at the coming election, though there have been reports he is hoping to enter federal politics through a move against Julia Irwin in Fowler. Labor's new candidate is Fairfield councillor Ninos Khoshaba (right), who won preselection with the backing of Morris Iemma.

ASSESSMENT: Labor retain