Moments after securing a landslide victory at the 2018 state election, a triumphant Daniel Andrews showered praise on his young campaign director, Sam Rae, who has now been fast-tracked to become a federal minister at just 38 years old.
Rae remains an unknown figure to many outside Victoria, where he wielded political influence and cultivated powerful allies long before entering federal parliament in 2021 as the member for Hawke, on Melbourne’s north-western fringe.
His elevation to minister for aged care and seniors, just like his preselection in Hawke, came after a bruising factional fight. Rae, along with fellow Victorian rightwinger Daniel Mulino, was promoted afterfrontbenchers Ed Husic and Mark Dreyfus were dumped. Labor insiders concede the demotions were brutal.
Rae’s promotion has raised some eyebrows within Labor, including from former prime minister Paul Keating, whodescribed Rae’s Victorian right factionas “demonstrably devoid of creativity and capacity”. Victorian Labor sources insist this criticism is unfair and fails to reflect Rae’s experience.
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Rae worked as a factory labourer, a call centre operator and a childcare worker before becoming an electorate officer and adviser to former communications minister and Victorian right-faction power broker Stephen Conroy in 2015.
In his first speech to parliament, Rae listed Conroy as a mentor along with Labor power broker Don Farrell and the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, who leads the Victorian right faction. On Sunday, Husic accused Marlesof being a “factional assassin”who had orchestrated his demise.
After six years with Conroy, Rae moved to Victorian Labor and ran its research and tactics unit. He then became the state party’s secretary and ran the 2018 Labor campaign, which secured Daniel Andrews a second term. Rae worked alongside pollster Kos Samaras, who was not surprised by his promotion.
“He grew up in a single parent household with two other brothers and worked in factories to get himself through university,” Samaras said. “It’s not exactly been a blessed life. This is the sort of person you definitely want in the cabinet.”
Samaras said Rae had shown “an incredible ability to grasp huge complex logistical problems” during the 2018 state election, which he described as the best campaign he had worked on.
Months after the 2018 election, Rae became a partner at PwC Australia. During this period, Rae worked with James MacKenzie, who is the chair of law firm Slater & Gordon and a board member of the Suburban Rail Loop Authority. MacKenzie is a Labor stalwart who overhauled the Victorian ALP headquarters in the late 1970s.
Rae is “definitely not a political hack,” said MacKenzie, who worked with him on non-government projects. “The factions don’t give out MBAs. The sort of work I engaged with while he was a partner at PwC was akin to serious policy work; that is what he brings to the table.
“I was impressed by his understanding of what is a well-formulated and well-structured policy and his broad business understanding. It’s not very often you come across a ‘political hack’ who understands what the cost of capital is.”
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Rae left PwC Australia after being preselected to run in the seat of Hawke, which also unleashed factional divisions. Some members aligned to former leader Bill Shorten wanted a woman selected. But Rae was selected by Labor’s national executive, not branch members, due to the state branch being placed into administration after branch-stacking allegations.
Several unions argued there should have been a ballot, and unsuccessfully launched court action to overturn the national executive’s intervention.
As an MP, Rae lists campaigning to deliver urgent care clinics to Sunbury and Melton among his greatest achievements. He told Guardian Australia he “was a massive pain in the arse” within the party to ensure the money was allocated.
One former senior Victorian Labor staffer, who worked with Rae but declined to be named so they could speak freely, said criticism of him as an unknown factional player was “unfair”.
“He’s a member of Labor’s national executive, for one,” the source said. “He’s a deep thinker and you don’t lead a landslide victory at a state election without having an understanding of both policy and politics.”
In a statement, Rae said he was “deeply honoured to have been asked to serve as minister for aged care and seniors”.
“It’s a challenging portfolio and I’m proud to take it alongside Labor’s talented team,” Rae said. “There’s a lot of work to do and we’re ready to get started.”