HIS political career might be dead and buried, but Charlton MP Greg Combet is hoping that ‘‘one of the most talented people’’ he has ever worked with will fill his shoes.
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Mr Combet announced on Thursday he was backing his former deputy chief of staff Pat Conroy for Labor preselection for Charlton.
Labor is expected to hold a rank and file preselection within weeks to select a candidate for the seat after Mr Combet, the former climate change minister, announced on Saturday he was quitting politics to spend more time with his family.
Mr Conroy, 34, is a former national economist for the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU).
Other candidates include electoral council president Bert Moonen, Lake Macquarie councillor Daniel Wallace, Wallsend MP Sonia Hornery and community activist Chris Osborne.
Mr Combet threw his support behind Mr Conroy declaring that he had the ability to ‘‘play a high-level role in a Labor government’’ and ‘‘contribute at cabinet level’’.
He said all of the candidates were ‘‘good Labor people’’ but could not ‘‘deliver’’ what Mr Conroy could.
‘‘He is one of the most talented people I have ever worked with ... he is an exceptionally talented person and they do not come along very often,’’ he said.
‘‘He is very committed locally and as a Labor person.’’
Mr Conroy, who is married with one daughter, said he wanted to build on Mr Combet’s work and securing funding for the second stage of Glendale Interchange was his top priority.
Mr Combet holds the seat by a margin of 12.7 per cent.
He spent Thursday in Lake Macquarie launching a program designed to slash commercial electricity consumption by 20per cent.
The Save Watts program was developed by the Business Growth Centre with a $353,000 grant from the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism.
Participating businesses will install a live energy monitoring system to track usage patterns and identify areas to save money.
Lake businesses can register interest by phoning 4942 3133.
![Greg Combet in Cardiff on Thursday. Picture: Dean Osland Greg Combet in Cardiff on Thursday. Picture: Dean Osland](/images/transform/v1/resize/frm/storypad-X7j23GmiySnGzG4anCYb2j/8512b08a-596a-43f8-a938-1529532826eb.jpg/w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)