The party has preselected Fiona Phillips, who came within 1503 votes of beating Liberal Gilmore MP Ann Sudmalis at last year’s election, as its candidate for the next federal poll.

The next election is due in 2019, but could be held at any time – and it is that uncertainty that has prompted the Opposition to hit the ground running in Gilmore.

“This is an early announcement; this is not a sprint, this will be a marathon,” Ms Phillips said.

“We’re around two years to another election, but during that time I’ll be out talking to people around their kitchen tables, at community meetings, at street stalls and town hall meetings.

“I want to prove to people that I have the energy, the fighting spirit and the integrity to represent people in Canberra.”

Ms Phillips’ passion for the Gilmore electorate has been unwavering since the 2016 election; her Facebook page, “Fiona Phillips for Gilmore”, has been frequently updated and she has weighed in on a number of contentious issues, including planned cuts to penalty rates.

On Monday, at her candidacy endorsement in Kiama, Ms Phillips said she was in for the “long haul” and her mission was “a fair go for everyone on the South Coast”.

“That means a fair go for jobs, a fair go for pensioners, a fair go for health and a fair go for education,” she said. 

Ms Phillips said Gilmore had been “neglected by the Liberals for 21 years” and vowed to have Labor’s frontbenchers visit the electorate 100 times between now and the next election. 

Asked if she would do anything differently from her 2016 campaign, where she fell just short of victory, Ms Phillips reiterated her commitment of listening to voters. “I think that was a big part of our last campaign,” she said. 

“There’s going to be a lot more focus on the Gilmore electorate; we are the most marginal electorate in NSW.”

Illawarra Labor MPs Sharon Bird (Cunningham) and Stephen Jones (Whitlam) took Ms Phillips for a walk along Terralong Street on Monday and introduced her to voters.

“She is going to do a great job for Labor here, taking up the issues that matter to the locals,” Mr Jones said. 

The Labor MP said Gilmore was “absolutely critical to the outcome of the next federal election”, hence Ms Phillips’ early preselection.

“We don’t know when the next election’s going to be, so it’s critical if we are going to respect the voters in Gilmore that we have a candidate in the field immediately,” he said. “They’ll be able to get a good look at the person that we want to be the next federal Member for Gilmore.” 

The electorate spans 6342 square kilometres from Shellhabour City Council’s southern boundary to Tuross Head, south of Moruya.

The next election for the federal House of Representatives must be held by November 21, 2019. However, an election may be held at any time before that date.