One of Albo’s top lieutenants is set to be booted out of Parliament this election according to a grim new poll

One of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s key ministers is in grave danger of losing his seat at the May 3 federal election. 

A shock new poll has made grim reading for Labor, revealing that climate change and energy minister Chris Bowen could be booted from parliament by his own constituents.

The top challenger in Mr Bowen’s western Sydney seat of McMahon is IT millionaire Matt Camenzuli.

McMahon has always been held by Labor, where Mr Bowen has been the local federal MP for more than two decades.

He received almost 48 per cent of the primary vote at the 2022 election, which has since more than halved to just 19 per cent. 

The Compass poll conducted last weekend shows Mr Bowen well behind independent – and former Liberal – Mr Camenzuli, who has more than double the support on 41 per cent.

Even more astonishing is that not only is Mr Bowen trailing the wealthy businessman, he’s also behind the Liberal candidate Carmen Lazar who polled at 20 per cent.  

If Ms Lazar is knocked out before Mr Camenzuli, the distribution of her preferences would decide the outcome on election night, and that is far more likely to favour the independent than Mr Bowen. 

Despite being a Labor stronghold, McMahon is home to a multicultural population where many constituents hold conservative social views. 

One of Anthony Albanese’s ministers is in grave danger of being voted out by their own constituents on May 3.

Federal minister Chris Bowen (pictured on Monday) remains confident that he will retain his seat, despite a new poll revealing otherwise 

Constiuents rejected both the Indigenous Voice to Parliament in 2023 and also rejected the same-sex marriage plebiscite 2017.

Labor and Mr Bowen backed both same-sex marriage and the Voice to Parliament. 

Such rebuttals of core Labor policies has led to the Liberal Party targeting western Sydney seats as a potential path to power.

Making matters even more complicated for Labor in McMahon is that Ms Lazar is a former Labor councillor who fell out with Mr Bowen when he backed another candidate for the state seat of Fairfield at the 2023 election.

Mr Bowen is confident he will retain his seat, reminding The Australian that Mr Camenzuli is a former a Liberal Party member while Ms Lazar is a former Labor member turned Liberal.

‘I’m the only one with consistency,’ he said.

The Compass survey also found that grocery prices were the biggest concern in western Sydney, at 85 per cent, followed by energy at 72 per cent.

Health (61 per cent), fuel (54 per cent) and housing (50 per cent) were the next highest priorities, it found.

Climate concerns – which is Mr Bowen’s ministerial portfolio – rated at just 26 per cent – and LBGTQ issues were the lowest ranking concerns in the poll.

The top challenger to Labor in the western Sydney seat of McMahon is tech millionaire Matt Camenzuli (pictured)

Opposition leader Peter Dutton, who campaigned in the McMahon electorate on Wednesday, was asked if his policy of cutting migration could stop the Liberals from making gains in western Sydney, which has a huge migrant community. 

He replied that Ms Lazar’s family, who are Assyrian, showed how migrants were an asset to Australia.

‘I’ve said repeatedly that we are a great beneficiary of the migration program in our country,’ he said.

‘Look at Carmen’s family story, look at many other candidates that we have running at this election, people who have worked hard. 

Mr Bowen is also trailing the Liberal candidate Carmen Lazar (pictured), according to a new poll

‘The migrant story, particularly, I think we’ve pointed out on many occasions, of people who have come here since the Second World War period, people who have started with nothing, amassed a fortune, or people who have come here as builders and bricklayers and tilers and the rest of it.

‘We are a net beneficiary of that, but I think the concentration, at the moment, is on how can our migration program work best for us?

Mr Camenzuli, whose website says he is ‘sick of politicians’ has been busy campaigning on cost of living issues.

‘I spend a lot of time in the electorate and you see people putting food back from their trolleys and buying smaller bags of food because there’s just not enough money to feed the kids,’ he said at his campaign launch.

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