Labor's star candidate for one of the state's knife-edge seats has quit the NSW election race but denied an alleged assault against his female flatmate that was detailed in an anonymous complaint.
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NSW Labor's candidate review committee was called in to investigate the allegations against Muswellbrook Shire mayor Martin Rush, who was running in the marginal seat of Upper Hunter.
That complaint has since been dismissed. However, a NSW Labor spokesman said on Tuesday that Mr Rush had withdrawn his candidacy for the seat and the party had accepted it.
"Labor will expedite the selection of a new candidate," the spokesman said.
Mr Rush said in a statement that he had focused on the welfare of his friends and family during what had "obviously been a very difficult few days" after details of the claim were published by The Sun-Herald on Sunday.
"At the centre of the complaint is an allegation of an assault. I categorically deny that allegation."
Upper Hunter is one of the Nationals' most marginal seats and one that Labor had been expected to win in the March state election.
Mr Rush's resignation has cast doubt over Labor's chances of winning the seat as it looks to install a new candidate two months before voters go to the polls.
The Newcastle Herald reported that Mr Rush's political opponent, sitting Upper Hunter Nationals MP Michael Johnsen, had passed on the anonymous letter to police.
The letter detailing the alleged incident was sent to NSW Labor's head office and Opposition Leader Michael Daley on December 21.
The letter outlined an alleged incident between Mr Rush and his female flatmate, who he shared a house with along with her partner.
His flatmate suffered bruises after Mr Rush came home drunk and the pair got into a heated argument on September 8 last year, the letter alleged.
A spokesman for NSW Police previously said that, in December, police were "made aware of an alleged incident between a man and a woman who are known to each other, believed to have occurred in September 2018".
"Officers from Hunter Valley Police District conducted inquiries into the allegations, however no statement was provided to police. As a result, no further action is pending."
Mr Rush said in his statement that he had consulted widely about his decision for several days, but had wanted to maintain "a respectful silence until the party office concluded its process".
"Politics should not be about weighing the other side down in smear but about genuine conversations about improving policy, building things, and improving people’s lives.
"Weighing heavily on me over the last few days has been balancing my desire to get up every morning and to try and make the place a little better with the inevitable impact of public life on those around me."
Mr Rush said that his move to withdraw from the race "has not been an easy decision, particularly given the seat’s margin".
The Nationals hold Upper Hunter with a margin of 2.2 per cent. The party fears it could lose the seat, along with Lismore, Tweed and Barwon, to Labor or the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party.
The Coalition only holds a six-seat majority and the loss of four Nationals seats, as well as the possible loss of the Liberal seats of East Hills and Coogee, could put them in minority government.
-with Alexandra Smith
