Senior Labor Party MP Mark Butler has seemingly salvaged his position, negotiating a deal to shift into the nearby seat of Hindmarsh.

Key points: Redistribution eliminated Labor MP Mark Butler's seat of Port Adelaide

Redistribution eliminated Labor MP Mark Butler's seat of Port Adelaide Deal organised for Butler to move to Hindmarsh and Steve Georganas to Adelaide, where Kate Ellis is retiring

Deal organised for Butler to move to Hindmarsh and Steve Georganas to Adelaide, where Kate Ellis is retiring Still unclear what right faction will get in exchange for losing Adelaide

Last month the Australian Electoral Commission scrapped his seat of Port Adelaide, potentially triggering a preselection showdown between sitting members.

Now Mr Butler — a Labor Party left faction stalwart — has nominated to run in Hindmarsh, currently held by Steve Georganas.

It is understood the factional deal may include the forfeiture of one of the Left's two spots on Labor's senate ticket, with one spot left vacant after Anne McEwen lost in the 2016 double dissolution election.

In a statement, Mr Georganas confirmed he would nominate for the seat of Adelaide, held by Kate Ellis who is retiring at the next election.

"As a life-long resident of Mile End, now in the seat of Adelaide following the recent Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) redistribution, I will be seeking preselection for the seat of Adelaide," Mr Georganas said.

"The redistribution that was finalised last month, split the old seat of Hindmarsh between Boothby, Adelaide and Port Adelaide. Adelaide absorbed a large part of my local community in the western suburbs.

"I am very pleased to hear that my good friend and colleague, Mark Butler, will nominate through the same ALP processes for the new seat of Hindmarsh — a seat that Mark now lives in following the same AEC redistribution."

Last year Ms Ellis announced she would not be recontesting her seat at the next election saying she wanted to spend more time with her family.

At the time she said while she felt she still had "much more to give", she wanted to be around for her young son.

"… During the next parliamentary term, [my son will] start school and he'll need to be in Adelaide," she said.

"And I will need to be in Canberra if I'm the member for Adelaide.

"When I thought about all the things that I would I miss, I just decided that it would make me quite miserable."

South Australian MP Kate Ellis sitting next to fellow MP Mark Butler. ( ABC News: Matt Roberts )

Game of 'musical chairs'

The ALP State Executive met on Wednesday morning to confirm the arrangement, in a deal that would see the party's right faction sacrifice the seat of Adelaide and avoid a preselection brawl.

The deal — which has been likened by some political commentators to a game of musical chairs — will see Mr Butler nominate for the western suburbs seat of Hindmarsh, which is currently held by Labor by a margin of 0.6.

Following the redistribution the seat will become safe ground with a margin of 8.2 per cent.

Mr Butler confirmed his plan to nominate for Hindmarsh, but refused to go into detail about what the left faction of the party had provided to seal the deal.

He said SA Labor Party had "a very mature, sensible approach to working through these things".

"I'm now the only MP that actually lives in the new borders of Hindmarsh," Mr Butler said.

Mr Butler's bid to run in Hindmarsh comes in the midst of a difficult year for the South Australian, in which he lost a campaign to be elected for a second term as national president, and the seat he has represented since 2007.

The Australian Electoral Commission last month announced it would absorb Port Adelaide into nearby electorates through a significant redistribution prompted by population decline in South Australia.