Free kick: Is Labor backing Purcell over its own candidate?
By Carol Altmann
Is Labor backing Independent James Purcell to win this seat at the next election and not its own candidate in Kylie Gaston?
Why else would Premier Daniel Andrews give Mr Purcell a giant free kick in allowing him to announce $7 million for the Reid Oval upgrade in Warrnambool?
I am going out on a limb here, but in all my years of political reporting, I never saw – *ever* – a government miss a chance to announce big bucks for an electorate in the run up to an election.
And yet Labor hand-balled, pardon the pun, the opportunity straight to Mr Purcell who ran with it – of course – and kicked a major goal by giving the local paper the “exclusive” right on the eve of the Hampden League Grand Final.
Bang! Six points to Mr Purcell!
Weeks earlier, Mr Purcell had promised he could get the funding by the footy final and – voila – he did!
I smell a plot, which has only thickened.
The Premier’s dept confirmed today that yes, Mr Purcell had been told about the funding first because “he had campaigned hard locally on the issue”.
They knew “he would probably go public” with the news before they did, but they didn’t seem overly fussed by this.
Wow! What a kick in the proverbials for their own candidate, Ms Gaston!
Mr Purcell, as he has said before, is still thinking about whether to move from the Upper House to the Lower House for the next election. (He has to decide by November 8.)
I reckon the $7 million smackeroos just about seals the deal, which is why Labor is jumping on board.
After all, if Mr Purcell wins the seat, they will have him all buttered up before he arrives.
Mr Purcell will be a vote they can count on – obviously – much more than sitting Liberal MP Roma Britnell.
For Labor, it is almost as good as winning this safe ol’ Liberal seat in the south-west.
And Mr Purcell has shown he likes the power that being a key independent MP can bring. He may not have that same power in the Upper House after the next election – how boring – so why not have a crack at the Lower?
Need more proof? He has even opened an electorate office in Portland, for heaven’s sake!
And let’s be frank, Mr Purcell, who presents like a Liberal and is all tied up with the racing industry, will attract a lot of votes from the conservative side.
When he first ran for the Lower House in 2010, he drew almost 12% of the primary vote, despite being up against Liberal mega-star Dr Denis Napthine.
This time around Mr Purcell has a bigger public profile, a much more vulnerable sitting member in Ms Britnell and now – thanks to the Andrews’ Government – some serious runs on the board in delivering what he says he will deliver, be it funds for a footy oval, or racehorse training on beaches.
If he pulls it all off, Ms Britnell will look like a Melbourne player wondering what in the heck just happened.
One of the many things that struck me while working through the plan to allow commercial racehorse training on our wild beaches is that all three of our local MPs – Dan Tehan, James Purcell and Roma Britnell – have strong ties to horse racing.
Federal MP Dan Tehan, although his office was oddly reluctant to make this clear, shares a very successful racehorse with the CEO of the Warrnambool Racing Club, Nick Rule, among others.
Independent MP James Purcell has an interest in numerous racehorses and his son is a professional trainer.
State Liberal MP Roma Britnell, who as far as I know doesn’t own a racehorse, has a horse race named in her honour and holds a Warrnambool Racing Club membership.
Which of our local MPs, then, will argue that our beaches should not be used for racehorse training on an industrial scale?
Which of them will lobby to instead increase protection of the Belfast Coastal Reserve?
None of them.
Instead, all three of our local MPs have started from the point that we need to reach a “compromise”, a “balance”, a “give-and-take” on having thoroughbred racehorses pounding along sections of beach between Killarney and Warrnambool and up and down the dunes at Levy’s Point.
Not one of them has said that large numbers of racehorses should not be in a coastal reserve in the first place.
At least Roma Britnell, in an email to me via her media advisor Jarrod Woolley, said she had “a number of concerns” about the draft management plan for the reserve.
When I asked what those concerns actually were, however, there was no more information forthcoming.
This is why documents released to the Belfast Coastal Reserve Action Group under Freedom of Information make for such a revealing – and depressing – read.
They spell out that commercial, large-scale racehorse training in the Belfast Coastal Reserve is virtually a fait accompli.
The correspondence between the various bodies involved in the draft plan never questions why racehorse training should be allowed, but how it will be managed.
At first I felt like giving up and not even bothering to write a submission. What was the point, the cards were already stacked, right?
But then it occurred to me that this is the very reason why other voices need to be heard, or those with the most power, the most access, and the most influence will simply roll right over the top with impunity.
We elect people to represent our views because we don’t have the time to wade through reports, but this time, I am sorry to say, those of us who want to see this reserve preserved are on our own.
So please make the effort, either by filling out the online survey or emailing a submission, via this link: www.engage.vic.gov.au/belfast
The Vault: Behind the scenes of an ugly pre-selection
In happier times: former Warrnambool Mayor Michael Neoh with then Premier and South West Coast MP Denis Napthine. Image: W’bool City Council.
[box]A lot of what is said in State Parliament never gets reported beyond Hansard, the official record. One of the more intriguing speeches that passed unnoticed was by Labor MP Don Nardella, who gave his assessment of the in-fighting and chaos within the local branch of the Liberal Party leading up to the South West Coast by-election.
If you want a take on what really went on, this is it.[/box]
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A5CECD;”] M [/dropcap]r NARDELLA (Melton) — Today I grieve for the good people in the electorates of Polwarth and South-West Coast for having to undertake a by-election due to the resignations of Mr Mulder and Mr Napthine. These two by-elections are quite bizarre. Let me start. We had, ‘Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, can you get me a seat in Parliament please?’ from Tom Napthine, asking his daddy to propel him into Parliament to replace him in South-West Coast. Tom Napthine stood for preselection. Unfortunately he did not get it, because the whole preselection process was quite bizarre, including the intervention of Mr Michael Kroger.
Mr J. Bull — Oh!
Mr NARDELLA — Yes, Michael Kroger; it was extremely bizarre. He had a go at the preselection. I will explain what I am talking about. About 18 months ago, Michael Neoh joined the Liberal Party in South-West Coast. He was the anointed one to replace Denis Napthine, and he was supported by Denis Napthine. Everything was set up. Michael Neoh was a councillor, and he represented the people of Warrnambool. He was in all the photos with Mr Napthine. He was Mr Napthine’s bestie — they were joined at the hip for 18 months. These two gentlemen had cheesy smiles, and they were synchronised every time they smiled. They gloated at each other. They were best of friends but then Exhibition Street stepped in — that is, Liberal Party headquarters in the middle of Melbourne.
Michael Kroger, the president, the saviour of the Liberal Party, decrees a couple of weeks before the close of nominations that there has to be a woman preselected for South-West Coast because the Liberal Party does not have enough women in the Parliament. That is absolutely true. Michael Neoh was snookered. He had spent 18 months in the party. They are very loyal, these people in the Liberal Party. He had a massive 18 months in the Liberal Party because he was the anointed one. He had the cap and the baton. Denis was running behind him and putting the baton to him, and he grabbed the baton. Then Michael Kroger whacked it out of his hand. He could no longer have the baton, and he was snookered by the people in Melbourne. He was absolutely going to lose. He was done for. What did he do?
He did not even nominate for the Liberal Party. He did not even put in his form because he knew that he was done over by the city folk on Exhibition Street. So much for democracy — this is a long-term member of the Liberal Party. He was in there for 18 months! He is nearly a lifer — he had nearly been in there for life — but he has been snookered. What happened next? The Leader of The Nationals went, ‘Knock, knock, knock. Michael, we want you. You’ve been so loyal to the Liberal Party and they’ve knocked you off. You’ve been in there for 18 months. We will have you now’. What did Michael Neoh do? He said, ‘Thank you very much. I’ll be your bestie now, Leader of The Nationals, and you’ll be my bestie. That naughty Denis Napthine — we don’t want him anymore. I want to be to be in the National Party’. So he has become The Nationals candidate for South-West Coast and we have this immense chasm — this division, this animosity — between the two parties.
The ex-Premier of Victoria, Denis Napthine — this bloke who was going to save the Liberal Party after the disaster of the two and a half years of the Baillieu premiership in this state — was then steamrolled by the Melbourne-centric head office. His hand-picked candidate was poached by the VicNats, or the National Party, or the Country Nationals or whatever they call themselves today; they are still trying to make up their minds about where they are going. That is when Tom Napthine stepped in. He said, ‘Daddy, please give me a seat. I really want to be a member of Parliament. I am so loyal to the Liberal Party. I have just joined, so please, Daddy, please, Denis, make me a member of Parliament’, but the former Premier could not do that either because Michael Kroger said it had to be a woman.
This stalwart of the Liberal Party, Tom Napthine, had actually paid his money to become a member of the Liberal Party the day that he put in his nomination form — and he probably paid his own money — but he was snookered as well. He could not get his daddy’s seat anymore. It gets more bizarre. A woman candidate had to be preselected because Mr Kroger, the doyen of Toorak, had decreed that the candidate for South-West Coast, for Portland and Warrnambool, had to be a woman.
The Liberal Party had one in the field. She was very experienced. She had been a member of Parliament and a country mayor, so she had represented country Victoria not only in the local council but also in the Parliament. This is a bit bizarre. She was actually a long-time member of the Liberal Party. It was not just a case of her saying, ‘I’ve paid because I want preselection’, or ‘I paid 18 months ago because I am the anointed one’. This woman was a long-time member of the Liberal Party, but unfortunately she was not wanted; Michael Kroger did not want her. Donna Petrovich, the perennial candidate, was dumped.
Ms Spence — The failed candidate.
Mr NARDELLA — The failed candidate, the perennial candidate, was dumped, so they had to find another woman who had to beat Donna Petrovich in preselection. They had no-one locally, so those opposite went out and talked about how the Liberal Party is the biggest volunteer organisation in Australia. They got this woman, Roma Britnell. Was she a long-time member of the Liberal Party? Before she put in a form for preselection she actually had to join the Liberal Party! This loyal member of the Liberal Party had to join the party before she could actually run for preselection. She joined to become a parliamentarian. She tried to get on a farmer board to increase her off-farm income but was not successful. Now there was an opportunity.
I will tell you a secret, Speaker, about why she wants to become the member for South-West Coast. She wants the off-farm income. That is right; she went for a position on a board but did not get it, and this is her way of getting that off-farm income. She is only after the money. Further, she was not even wanted by the local members of the Liberal Party. There were the three councillors who had knocked off Michael Neoh from Warrnambool City Council, but the Warrnambool branch of the Liberal Party supported the country person out there. She might be the perennial candidate but she is a hard worker, Donna Petrovich —
Ms Edwards — Who?
Mr NARDELLA — Yes, ‘Who?’. We know who she is; she was a member of this Parliament. However, the good people of the Warrnambool branch did not want Roma Britnell at all; they wanted Donna, but she got knocked off by the city-centric Melbourne head office of the Liberal Party. Who are The Nationals running for these two seats? Mr O’Brien is running.
Ms Edwards — Not another O’Brien!
Mr NARDELLA — Yes, David O’Brien. He used to be in the upper house. This bloke ran for the South-West Coast electorate at the 2006 election. He went really well. The Nationals vote in South-West Coast in 2006 dropped by 7.3 per cent! That is how bad this bloke was. They did not even want him. Later he got into the upper house, but he was defeated by one of the following three groups: the Shooters and Fishers Party, Vote 1 Local Jobs or the Greens political party. He was not even good enough as a standing Nationals member to get re-elected.
Why is David now running for Polwarth? Because The Nationals have lost party status. As a bit of a refresher for members, you need 11 members in this house and the other house to have party status, but The Nationals party is on the nose. These are the people who do not believe that country townships and cities should be joined up with water pipelines and channels, like the super-pipe to both Bendigo and Ballarat.
The Nationals leader opposed the super-pipe to Ballarat during the 13-year drought. He wanted everybody to leave Ballarat and Bendigo. That is the lunacy of The Nationals, and that lunacy meant that in Shepparton they actually lost a seat after the intervention of federal Nationals member Barnaby Joyce. He went to SPC and said, ‘That’s a Liberal Party problem for Sharman Stone from the Liberal Party to deal with. I’m from The Nationals party. I don’t want anything to do with saving SPC. It’s irrelevant to me’.
That is the reason the member for Shepparton is in this Parliament today. The Nationals are just hopeless. They do not represent country Victoria whatsoever. There has been a reversal of roles. The Liberals have preselected a farmer candidate, and The Nationals have preselected a city candidate. We see a war between the Liberal Party and The Nationals. When Robert Doyle became the Leader of the Opposition back in 2002 he said, ‘Hang onto your hats!’Remember that? And we are all hanging onto our hats because of the division between the Liberal Party and The Nationals. They might all skip down the road holding hands, but the division is there and it is real. They have running partners, they have dummies, out there at South-West Coast. They really are concerned about losing that seat to an Independent. Swampy is running out there at the moment. (An honourable member interjected).
Mr NARDELLA — From Oddball. I reckon Swampy would be a fantastic member of Parliament. He would come in here without any fear or favour and represent those good people of South-West Coast. If they make it marginal and get rid of the Liberals, who have done nothing for years, then they might have a chance. That is why I grieve.
Reproduced from Hansard, Victorian Legislative Assembly, October 9, 2015.
By-election: Ind Liberal Pete Smith has a final word..
While not quite a walkover this time, the electorate of south-west coast has again voted for a conservative party over change, in a result that has incensed a former Liberal. Image: Carnivorus.
“YOUTH AND BUSINESS LOSE IN BY ELECTION FIT FOR DROVER’S DOG”
PETE SMITH’S MEDIA RELEASE
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] V[/dropcap]oters in the South West Coast have foregone an opportunity for change that will be manifested in the electorate’s youth and in business for at least a decade, according to failed Liberal Independent candidate Pete Smith.
“At a time when Portland in particular is looking for inspiration and leadership, people have voted for nothing more than an image on a poster and the Liberal Party’s logo,” Mr Smith said.
“With a campaign run out of Melbourne along traditional party lines and while constantly tethered to a Liberal minder, Mrs Britnell uttered not one visionary word.
“I don’t blame voters, I did exactly the same thing for over 40 years.”
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #A02F2F;”] M[/dropcap]r Smith said that with the electorate of no interest or benefit to the current Labor government, it was doomed to a decade of drip fed maintenance for roads and services and nothing more. “
“…and when a Liberal government returns to power, other more pressing marginal electorates will receive the lion’s share of funding.
“What our young people needed was a reason to stand tall, knowing that Portland was earmarked to lead Australia – if not the world – in renewable energy research and tourism while Warrnambool would be afforded the same status in dairying promotion and excellence,” he said.
“Businesses, particularly those in the services and hospitality sector should have opened their doors today (Monday) with a sense of relief and renewal, and with a spring in their step; instead it will be yet another dog day afternoon in what will become a decade of them.”
Notwithstanding what he termed a tragic and deeply troubling setback for the electorate, Mr Smith said he felt a sense of responsibility to strive to achieve more for the electorate as a private citizen than Ms Britnell will as the local member.
“I intend to seek Roy Reekie’s help to broker a meeting with Labor Premier Daniel Andrews to outline a plan of action in which he can demonstrate his personal commitment and concern for the electorate.
“Having been gifted a seat that a famous drover’s dog could have won for the Liberals, Roma won’t be out to make waves or put the electorate and its people before the party politics, whereas I am and I can,” Mr Smith said.
[box]After taking an initial hit, the primary Liberal vote currently sits at 40% (down 16.6%) on the back of the thousands of pre-poll votes and postal votes now being counted. Candidate Roma Britnell will rely on the preferences of National Party candidate Michael Neoh to win. Independent Roy Reekie is sitting second with almost 17% of the primary vote, followed by Michael Neoh on 14.38%. You can find counting updates here.[/box]
By-election: why we are backing Roy Reekie
This time: independent candidate Roy Reekie has our vote for the south-west by election. This will be his fifth attempt at the seat. Image: Supplied.
Comment – Carol Altmann
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #DC943C;”] T [/dropcap]here is a great line floating around about the South West Coast by-election this Saturday (Oct 31) – don’t keep voting the same way and expect things to be different!
Yet so many south-west Victorians do just that: keep voting the same party back in year after year and then complain that things don’t change.
You only need to look around our beautiful corner of the world to see the hazards of living in a super safe seat and when it comes to the condition of our roads they are, quite literally, hazardous.
The roads are dreadful and the train service is old and inadequate.
The local job market – especially for young people – is shrinking as traditional industries close down or dry up, with few adequate replacements.
Portland should have, by now, been sitting at the forefront of the state’s renewable energy industry, but has been hamstrung by the poor policies of the conservative parties at both a state and federal level.
Our key tertiary institutions, South West TAFE and Deakin University, are struggling to either get back on their feet (as in the case of TAFE which was gutted under the Napthine Government) or to keep upright, as in the case of Deakin-Warrnambool.
Warrnambool used to be a humming university town: it is no longer, as bit by bit tertiary courses are shut down, relocated, or moved online.
Mainstreet is struggling, shops sit empty and fibs are told – such as the fib about the number of jobs that would come from a largely automated powdered milk factory and cold store in Merrivale – to make it look like change is happening.
Big dollars for big ads: the Liberal Party has gone for wall-to-wall advertising on websites like The Warrnambool Standard.
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #DC943C;”] T [/dropcap]he people living in the south-west are not suckers, yet every election that comes along, be it state or federal, I believe we act that way.
We forget all that has gone before and fall for the glossy, big-faced posters that are strung up on fences, even if, in the case of Michael Neoh, they only joined their party (the Nationals) minutes after it became clear they were not wanted by their first party (the Liberals).
Or we are bombarded by advertising from deep-pocketed parties like the Liberals, who have long treated this seat like a personal fiefdom.
And, sure enough, the same party wins each time, and nothing actually changes.
So the roads get lumpier and bumpier, the old train with its old carriages still runs late, and more young people slip into a zone where they leave school, jobs are harder to find and things like “ice” become a way out of reality.
This Saturday, things can be different.
We can make a change – a real change – by voting for an independent, and that independent is Warrnambool legal aid lawyer Roy Reekie.
[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #DC943C;”] B [/dropcap]luestone is backing Roy for this election because we believe he has the experience, commitment and creative thinking needed to put the south-west back on the electoral map.
We want to live in an electorate that is no longer taken for granted, and attracts as much attention from Spring St as the other marginal seats around Victoria. As an independent, Roy can make a lot of noise and he can make it now – not stuck on the Opposition benches.
Roy has a range of creative and interesting ideas (you can read more on his by-election Facebook page and his open letter to voters) and, above all, he has shown a unbendable commitment to representing this corner of the world – even at his own expense.
Why else would anyone run five times against formidable odds?
The odds are still formidable – former Liberal Premier Denis Napthine pushed the seat out to an 11 per cent margin – but we are hoping that, this time, the south-west is ready to back a different runner in Roy Reekie and come home a real winner.
[box]A forum featuring all candidates will be held at the Lighthouse Theatre, W’bool, tomorrow (Monday Oct 26) at 7pm. The candidates are: Roy Reekie (independent), Thomas Campbell (The Greens), Roma Britnell (Liberal), Michael Neoh (Nationals), Michael McCluskey (independent), Swampy Marsh (independent), Pete Smith (independent), Jim Doukas (Country Party), Rodney Van De Hoef (independent), Jennifer Gamble (Animal Justice Party), Lillian Len (Australian Christians).[/box]
