The dinner honours the legacy of Bathurst’s former Labor prime minister Ben Chifley. 

Now best known as an author, Mr Watson’s speeches have helped shape Australia’s thinking over recent decades, including his iconic 1992 “Redfern speech”, delivered by Mr Keating and which marked a turning point in public debate on Indigenous affairs.

It ultimately paved the way for Kevin Rudd to apologise to the victims of the Stolen Generation in 2008. 

Bathurst Labor branch senior vice president Sue West said Mr Watson was one of the best speechwriters this country had seen. 

“He [Don] was one of the people in the back room, yet he was a big influence and a brilliant wordsmith, not that Paul [Keating] needed it,” Ms West said.

“He is an important headline act [for the dinner] and a well-known writer.”

The night will honour Chifley, who is best remembered for instigating the Snowy Mountains hydro-electric scheme, the assisted immigration program and pushing through legislation that enabled the Commonwealth to become the collector of income tax. 

He also sought nationalisation of the private banks, so the federal government could have more control over the economy, which ultimately cost him his place in office. 

“He was one of the best prime ministers the country has ever seen,” Ms West said. 

“He was a railway worker by profession and always had an interest in local government affairs.”

Ms West said there will be plenty of former and current House and Senate representatives at the dinner, including Peter Primrose, Penny Sharpe, Greg Donnelly, Doug Cameron, Mark Lennon and Greg Warren. 

The dinner, which celebrates the Labor Party's focus and what it stands for, as well as paying tribute to Chifley, will be held on Saturday at Bathurst Panthers.