'I just didn't think I could take that risk': Minns defends Wallsend 'captain's pick'

Premier Chris Minns has defended his "captain's pick" for Wallsend's next Labor candidate bypassing a local sub-branch.

The Premier was in the Hunter seat of Wallsend on Friday to open a new public preschool at Shortland Public School.

The Shortland preschool is one of 12 being built at Hunter public schools as part of the government's $769 million plan for 100 new public preschools by 2027.

The event also served as his first chance to present Emily Suvaal as the candidate to replace MP Sonia Hornery, who is retiring at the March state election.

Mr Minns defended his decision to bypass the local sub-branch with his selection of Ms Suvaal, saying he did so after consultations with colleagues including Ms Hornery.

He said a contested preselection might have produced "someone fantastic", but with polling day close "I just didn't think I could take that risk".

"We're not running a charity," Mr Minns said.

"We're running a political party that will rise and fall based on whether we win elections or not. And we're up against it."

Asked about criticism of captain's picks across the electorate and the state, and whether the branch had been involved, Mr Minns said he had to "cop" it.

"I think that's fair," he said.

"Sometimes you have to make tough decisions."

Mr Minns said One Nation was "running strong, particularly in the Hunter".

Asked whether the Wallsend branch had pushed back on his role in deciding the candidate, Mr Minns said "some have, others haven't".

He said there was an acceptance that Labor could not afford "a big Labor Party brawl".

"If your average voter thinks that we care more about ourselves than we do about them, they will not vote for us," he said.

"I just had to make a decision as the leader of this party that we had an exceptional candidate. We had to get her knocking on doors ASAP."

Mr Minns said he had consulted Ms Hornery before approaching Ms Suvaal and the pair had agreed she was the best person to "step into the breach".

Ms Suvaal has been a Legislative Council member since 2023 and parliamentary secretary for trade and small business.

She said it was a privilege to have the endorsement of both Ms Hornery and the Premier.

"Sonia Hornery has got big shoes to fill. I'm very aware of that," Ms Suvaal said.

A former paediatric nurse and union official, Ms Suvaal said she had experienced the impact of the former Coalition government's public-sector wages cap first hand.

She said she had stood with nurses at John Hunter and Calvary Mater hospitals, and voted in government to repeal the wages cap and to end the sale of essential public assets.

"I'm a proud Hunter local," she said. "I'll fight for the community of Wallsend every day."

Ms Suvaal lives in Cessnock, which sits outside the Wallsend electorate.

She did not say whether she would move if elected. She was asked whether that was hypocritical given Labor's criticism of One Nation's Mike Newman for not living in Cessnock.

Ms Suvaal said she had lived in the Hunter for more than a decade and her priority was to speak to as many Wallsend residents as possible "from today and in the weeks and months ahead

Mr Minns said Ms Suvaal had fought for coal mining communities and train manufacturing in the upper house and "will never take a backward step".

He said the election would be "very difficult" and warned of "chaos" if the Coalition and One Nation were fighting for the steering wheel of the state.

Ms Hornery, who is retiring after 20 years, said she was "really pleased" to announce Ms Suvaal as Labor's candidate.

"You need experience to come into a job like this," she said, pointing to the "cut and thrust" of the upper house.

"I know Emily's already started working hard, knocking on doors."

Ms Hornery announced her retirement on November 3.

She holds Wallsend on a margin of 31.8 per cent and was the only Hunter Labor MP to survive the 2011 election wipeout.

Mr Minns described her as a close friend and "the toughest member of Parliament in Macquarie Street" who put the community "before politics, before party, before anything else".

The Newcastle Herald revealed Ms Suvaal's selection on Tuesday.

During Friday's media conference, the premier also ruled out any return of the PEP-11 offshore gas exploration permit after One Nation said it would look to revive it.

The permit covers an area of the seabed off the coast between Newcastle and Wollongong.

"We won't do that," Mr Minns said, arguing the consequences of getting it wrong "could be catastrophic for our beaches and our natural environment".

He said governments had to make decisions in the best interests of people not just now, but "10, 20 years down the line".

He said the coming election would be fought on policy "whether it's PEP-11" or domestic manufacturing.