Friday, January 29, 2016

WANTED : NED KELLY OF AUSTRALIAN POLITICS

In his recent speech  at  the National  Press  Club in Canberra ,  Cape York Peninsula Partnership  chairman , Noel Pearson , praised independent   South  Australian senator, Nick Xenophon,  saying he was  the  best example of a new  radical  centre  force needed  to  improve   the  Australian  political  system,  which  had failed  indigenous  affairs , now in deep  crisis.

Xenophon , pictured above   with  a  Ned Kelly  helmet on his bookcase  , used in  a stunt to  highlight  the plight of  Australian manufacturing , entered  South  Australian  politics  on  the single issue of no more  poker machines-one  armed bandits-  becoming aware  through his  legal practice of  the serious  community gambling  problem.

Now  he is a well known nation politician  and  is  increasing  bailing up  sitting politicians  with  the  formation of  the  Nick  Xenophon  Team (NXT) , taking on major political  parties  in the House of  Representatives  and  Senate .
 
NXT candidates  named : Marie Rowland , a psychologist and counsellor , will stand  against  ousted  former PM Tony Abbott  , who   says  he  will saddle up again   in  the  seat  of  Warringah ... while she acknowledges  it is a formidable task to  knock Abbott  off his bike, she is inspired by Maxine McKew  defeating  John Howard  and  independent Cathy Gowan   downing  frontbencher Sophie Mirabella;   Dr Matthew  Wright  from the Flinders Medical Centre , who    served  in the Solomon Islands , Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste  , will  give  irksome Innovations Minister  Christopher   Pyne  a  run for his money  in  Sturt ; there is an  interesting  situation  in  Mayo where  Rebekha Sharkie , former staffer  of Cities Minister Jamie Briggs who was  recently forced to resign over an episode in Hong Kong involving him and a female public servant  , is rarin' to go ; In Higgins ,mining consultant  and event manager  Nancy  Bassett is taking on Assistant  Treasurer Kelly O'Dwyer ;  in  the seat of Groom , where  sitting member Ian Macfarlane ,the dumped  former Industry Minister  ,who  has threatened to leave the  Liberals and  join the Nationals ,  will be challenged   by Josie Townsend , former  publicist and  marketing  specialist.
Senate banditos  Xenophon and John Madigan, the  latter a  former  blacksmith and  boilermaker  
 Canberra is on the nose in Adelaide  over  the ham fisted handling of the new submarine contract  and   destruction of the car industry .  Senator Xenophon  will  use  this situation  to   torpedo  the  Feds and , to use a  quaint Liberal  leader expression ,  drive  over the  bastards in  an  NXT  staff   tank  , secretly  built  for Nick  at  the  doomed  Elizabeth  GMH plant , playing  deafening Jimmy  Barnes  songs.