The book, co-authored by Misha Zelinsky, an Australian Workers' Union official who is attempting to unseat federal MP Sharon Bird in her Wollongong-based seat, is being used by her supporters to claim his union-backed challenge is "misogynistic" in nature.

ALP reform advocates, including trailblazing Hawke government minister Margaret Reynolds, are questioning the "look" of an official from Bill Shorten's former union seeking to roll NSW Labor's second-highest ranking elected female.

His challenge, which has been endorsed by AWU national secretary Scott McDine, comes just four months after Labor's national conference passed a motion committing to preselect women in 50 per cent of winnable seats.

But it is Mr Zelinsky's book, which has the full title of He's an Arsehole Anyway – How to deal with being dumped according to the arseholes themselves, that has created as much controversy in local ALP branches in Cunningham.

The book includes advice that women should "start thinking outside the kitchen".

"It's true. Girls make dumb decisions time after time," the book's introduction states.

"This book isn't going to teach you how to hold onto a guy (for this we generally recommend some kind of cook book and/or the Karma Sutra).

"There are a million books like that and they're all equally rubbish. This book isn't about understanding men, or even understanding women (quite frankly, there is not enough paper in the world for that book).

"This book is about controlling and managing your behaviour in the immediate period following a break-up, until you can think clearly and rationally."

The book comes with a disclaimer that it is comedy. "The fact is we love women and we want to help them. Please try and take this in the spirit in which it is intended. And don't tell Germaine Greer," they write.

But some supporters of Ms Bird are refusing to see the funny side.

"This makes Mark Latham's interactions and comments on women look sane," said one.

"If he got preselected and this came out in the white hot light of an election campaign, he wouldn't last 24 hours and we'd be looking for a new candidate in a key safe seat for Labor."

Another said: "He hasn't laid out why someone like Sharon Bird should be out of a job when his book looks like a job application to become Kyle Sandilands' offsider."

He's an Arsehole Anyway, published as an e-book in December 2012 and still available on Amazon, was co-written by Mr Zelinsky and Elliot Capner, an author from Picton in south-west Sydney.

The pair write that they are qualified to offer advice because they have "dumped girls. A lot of them."

"Sometimes we've been nice about it and at other times we've acted like arseholes. Whilst we are not particularly proud of our behaviour we certainly have learned plenty of lessons out of our numerous relationships," they write.

The book includes a pie chart explaining "what single guys are doing". The smallest slice is "having sex with attractive women". A slightly larger slice is "having infrequent and unsatisfying sex with ugly women" and the largest slice is "sitting around trying to convince their friends they are having sex with attractive women".

A number of senior party figures are more concerned with the repeated attacks by union officials on sitting female MPs who have proven to be competent performers.

Ms Reynolds, who was the first Labor senator elected from Queensland, was challenged by an AWU official ahead of the 1984 election.

She has spoken out on behalf of Labor Senator Lisa Singh, was dropped to an unwinnable spot on Labor's senate ticket as a result of a factional fix that will place Australian Manufacturing Workers Union secretary John Short above her.

Ms Reynolds said the ALP needs to "look at its own industrial relations" when it comes to competent, mid-career female politicians being challenged by little-known union officials.

"The ALP has to practise what it preaches on affirmative action and IR and not just push established women aside," she said.

Mr Zelinsky did not return a number of calls and text messages on Thursday.

In an email to local branch members, obtained by Fairfax Media, he pitched himself as a "forward-looking advocate who can act quickly today".

"I am Wollongong through and through. I was born at Wollongong hospital, grew up in Bulli ... I love our town and I'm deeply proud of it," he wrote.

Mr Zelinsky, 31, is a former defence lawyer for the Aboriginal Legal Service and is a union representative on the board of giant industry superannuation fund Cubs.

Ms Bird declined to comment.

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