With
typical drive and enthusiasm , Pete
Steedman , ALP , MHR , threw himself into working for
the former conservative
Casey electorate , often putting in
100 hours a week . He relentlessly
rode shotgun ,
sometimes astride a 1949 Vincent
Rapide motorbike, on projects and submissions. A
newspaper report spoke of
Steedman , the retired student
activist turned politician, "ruffling
bureaucratic feathers" to make an
election promise come true.
Ruffling
the feathers of governments, bureaucrats, powerful vested interests , security
organisations of several countries and
extremist right wing organisations seemed a way of
life for Steedman . It
took a lot
of guts ,
drive and nervous energy to keep
up this determined approach to life and politics .
During
his university days as editor of
two newspapers in Melbourne he had
taken on the Australian government
over the Vietnam War , especially the
conscription of youths . As a result , he
was attacked in Federal parliament ;
it was revealed that the
government had considered bringing in special legislation to charge him
with subversion ; on campus he was verbally and
physically assailed by persons revealed as
ASIO and National Civic Council operatives.
During his
early writing and publishing
career he was involved in
the launching of such revolutionary
publications as Go Set,
Rolling Stone (Australian
version ) , High
Times and Nation Review . In addition, it has
been acknowledged that he
influenced the content and layout of
numerous Australian university
newspapers.
HITTING AUSTRALIAN
BRICK WALLS
After
editing the controversial political
magazine , Broadside , which contained an
outrageous comic strip , Fabula, that sent up
Australian politics, twice pulped by
the nervous proprietors, The Age newspaper group
, Steedman went to London
where , in just nine frenetic months , he
played a major part in campaigns
which took on the British Government
, developers, television moguls ,
even the Greek military junta . To
save famous Piccadilly Circus being
knocked down by a
group of developers which stood to
make a fortune, he organised
large scale protests which included Rupert Street and
Soho brothel owners who formed action
groups. The awarding of a
new TV channel licence was
set aside when there were widespread protests,
in which he was prominent , to
prevent it going to existing television
interests. Another major event he organised was
the Freedom and Responsibility in the Media Campaign , held
in the Roundhouse, attended by politicians , unionists, journalists
and BBC governors to protest about the censorship
in Britain of the war in Ireland and other
issues, including the restrictions on
Peter Watkins, maker of the
controversial film,War Games .
Reflecting
on that dramatic period of his life, Steedman
said he had achieved more in that short space of time in London than he had in Australia
the previous years when he seemed to have been smashing
his head against a brick wall . Returning
to Melbourne
from swinging London with partner ,
Julie , in l972 , he became publishing manager of Stockland
Press ; within three months , it was
printing all the student
newspapers , radical journals ,
ethnic newspapers , Nation Review ,
Living Daylights, Farrago, Digger , and
other titles.
THANK GOD
FOR STEEDMAN ?
Clearly , he was no naive wood duck backbencher when he strode into parliament in l983, a prominent member of the Socialist Left , in the first Hawke Government .The now well known veteran political reporter, Michelle Grattan , who had written her first political story for Steedman’s Broadside and then been picked up by the Age , writing in the Age of April 9 ,1983, said it was reassuring to see Pete Steedman in parliament house during the new Labor boys’ and girls’ tour,continued ...Thank God , I thought, there are still some constants in politics . Steedman seemed little changed from Steedman , student radical of the ’60s ... There he was , swearing a bit , complaining of warm beer –and reminding a few Ministers about Labor principles. He wondered idly how long it would take to adjust to the place. I hope he doesn’t . So many people in the ALP are doing so much adjusting to the “ realities ” of government that a few eccentric cries of permanent dissent will be refreshing . At present , the government is a blancmange of commonsense , moderation , and above all , flexibility
Clearly , he was no naive wood duck backbencher when he strode into parliament in l983, a prominent member of the Socialist Left , in the first Hawke Government .The now well known veteran political reporter, Michelle Grattan , who had written her first political story for Steedman’s Broadside and then been picked up by the Age , writing in the Age of April 9 ,1983, said it was reassuring to see Pete Steedman in parliament house during the new Labor boys’ and girls’ tour,continued ...Thank God , I thought, there are still some constants in politics . Steedman seemed little changed from Steedman , student radical of the ’60s ... There he was , swearing a bit , complaining of warm beer –and reminding a few Ministers about Labor principles. He wondered idly how long it would take to adjust to the place. I hope he doesn’t . So many people in the ALP are doing so much adjusting to the “ realities ” of government that a few eccentric cries of permanent dissent will be refreshing . At present , the government is a blancmange of commonsense , moderation , and above all , flexibility
Steedman
had big ideas about
social justice , was deeply concerned
about youth unemployment , opposed
uranium mining and nuclear proliferation , could express
himself forthrightly , loved the
English language ( recently a quick
check of his reference library found
13 dictionaries , more than you would expect in that of your average
etymologist ), was well read ,
even full
bottle on the
Bible , could deliver
a withering blast, often
larded with that
grand Anglo-Saxon expression for sexual intercourse.
An example of
his intemperate , colourful language was exhibited in an interview
he had with the
Melbourne University newspaper ,
Farrago- that he had
edited in earlier days- in which
he frequently used
fuck, shit and wank . He told
the students in
no uncertain fashion that
if they thought there
was something wrong
with the world , that
they were being educated and
not able to get a job , then they
should get up , go out
into
the streets and do
something about it , otherwise they
could not complain .
One paragraph in
Farrago quoted him as
saying -
It is all right saying
society is fucked and
all of that, while your sitting there contemplating your
navel and having academic arguments about
whether Marx was gay, but it’s not going to change anything .
His enemies
in the media
and politics gleefully used this unusual
interview against him.
Sanitised extracts were run
in newspapers using
just the letters
f…, s… and
w… Copies were run off
and circulated
throughout the electorate and
could have helped
stuff him at
the next election
in what
would have been seen
by nasty adversaries
as f-ing poetic
justice.
POLITICIAN OF THE
YEAR
The Canberra press gallery seemed fascinated by
Steedman , early in the piece one
newspaper describing him as " labor’s wild
young man", sporting a beard and even longer hair ,
moleskins and leather jacket.
A reporter recalled
that a few minutes before the pre-selection vote in the
Trades Hall for Bob Hawke in the seat of Wills , some two
years previously, Steedman
had walked in wearing
his "uniform"-cowboy hat, very dark glasses , purple shirt and denim gear
. Hawke had turned to the reporter
and said : "What in hell’s that?"
Apart from the Canberra
media giving him much coverage
,Steedman wrote a
regular report for the Victorian
Labor newspaper, The Star . In these pieces he did not
pull punches , criticised the government where he felt it was justified and
took on the NSW right
wing of the party .
He also wrote regularly
for the Melbourne
Herald on controversial topics
such as clashes with Liberal Leader Andrew Peacock and the
role of the Left.The Canberra
Times dubbed him Parliamentarian of the Year , an incredible accolade for a first term politician,
Yet
another example that
Steedman was no
ordinary politician was that
he took food
from powerful committee meetings he
attended in parliament
house to
protestors camped outside . His
sympathy for the
cause was challenged when two people
complained that the
tucker he was
running out to
them was not completely vegetarian .
He may or may
not have forthrightly
told them what
they could do
with a carrot.
A first
term backbencher , he was making
regular appearances on TV, usually debating long standing
members and shadow
ministers. Steedman appeared on all the
programs from Mike Walsh to Clive
James. His name and
photograph frequently
appeared in the many newspapers in his electorate in connection
with government announcements ,
policies and taking on various
political opponents attacking Hawke initiatives . Cluttered with files and
papers, Steedman’s office , on
the Senate side of parliament , oddly next
to the barber
shop, was near ones occupied
by National Party members, the area known as Possum
Paddock because of
the country pollies.
SO
SAYETH STEEDMAN
* ONE
LINERS –Described as a fast man
with his tongue , Steedman rankled Liberal leader , Andrew Peacock , with
jibes such as :" Oh Andrew , you’re so
butch when your angry
." and
“ Now he has
lifted his face , he can lift
his game ." Steedman and the
Leader of the Nationals, Ian Sinclair, were seen exchanging ribald remarks outside
parliament. In the House , Steedman
had described Sinclair
as the albatross
about Peacock’s neck , which
received a lot of mileage in the press .
* SOCIALISM- While the
Liberals were warning
that Socialism meant
Communism, Totalitarianism
and the Gulag ,
Steedman said it was
basically the fair and just redistribution of the
resources of society so that everybody
could live in
reasonable comfort. It was not , as suggested in the media,
everybody being cut down to the same level . He jokingly added that Socialism meant everybody
could have a
Jaguar (car)... he having owned
such a
secondhand vehicle . He also owned an old Chev he bought in bits and pieces on which ,
he laments , he spent a
fortune restoring
over many
years until it
recently rolled out of a
workshop , the swish limousine
below .
* POLITICIANS – They were
all being programmed to
be acceptable , to be cloned .
*
PARLIAMENTARY PROCESS - Antiquated, outdated, based on
Westminster system at
the time of the
civil war . Black rod
in gaiters and
the sergeant at
arms carrying the
mace were anachronistic , time wasting
Even
though he was destined to only
serve one term in parliament , it
was acknowledged that his strong representations
were responsible for more than
$30 million being injected into the electorate plus $10
million in government contracts .
* Steedman, a member of the federal Government’s sub-committe on defence support , announced a $4.7 million contract for Rockwell International, at Lilydale, to manufacture identification radar equipment for the RAAF’s 75 F-18 fighters on order from the US. Steedman had made representations on behalf of the company to several senior ministers.
* Steedman, a member of the federal Government’s sub-committe on defence support , announced a $4.7 million contract for Rockwell International, at Lilydale, to manufacture identification radar equipment for the RAAF’s 75 F-18 fighters on order from the US. Steedman had made representations on behalf of the company to several senior ministers.
· Active in the field of youth unemployment,
he expressed concern about exploitation of
young unemployed , held a conference to
discuss the subject and a youth community
centre was built in the electorate . He
received "praise " for securing a grant
to enable work for
disadvantaged children to be expanded .
· When Australia’s only manufacturer
of ceramic tableware was hit by imports dumped on
the Australian market , Steedman helped in
two submissions to the Minister for
industry and Commerce, Senator John Button.
· Councils in the electorate received a
major boost to road funds and
were urged by him to upgrade bicycle paths as part of a
policy to expand the status of bike transport throughout
Australia.
· One of his proposed big projects
was to turn the
Yarra Valley into another Barossa Valley with
wineries and restaurants by re-opening the Lilydale
to Healesville railway line , connecting it to the Melbourne metro network.
· On the ethnic community side of the electorate , he was successful in
obtaining a grant for activities in the
Dutch community ; he managed to have a
Lebanese family reunited
in Australia .
· Due to his
drive , youth unemployment dropped substantially as did
overall unemployment in the
electorate . Apart from putting
much effort into generating work for young unemployed, he also campaign for
the aged ,and took on Jeff Kennett
over the state’s long
neglect of pensioners.
By the time of the December l984 election , not one but two redistribution of boundaries had made Casey into Australia’s most marginal seat. A
parliamentary background paper on the effect of
these changes found
Steedman could win by about 35
votes , if people voted
the same as in l983. After
the first redistribution , he had a
chance to regain the seat . After the
second, Steedman succinctly said
: " I was stuffed ." The party offered
him the safer
seat of Streeton, but he declined and decided
to go down fighting
with the ship.
The
Liberal Party, which had regarded Casey as its turf for
nearly two decades , selected financial analyst and
former RAAF group captain , Bob Halvorsen , as its candidate . Halvorsen was
pro- uranium mining, said
uranium was sold
for peaceful purposes and that
Australia should have nuclear weapons ...
“ the bomb could be seen as a great
deterrent.” There
were six candidates
in the contest , including a last minute representative of the Pensioners’ Party. The wild card in the fight for the seat, it was stated , would be the preferences of the minor
parties .
The big guns on both sides were thrown into the Casey election campaign . At one
major event, the opening at
Ringwood of
a new outlet for Max Mason’s $50 million Barbecues Galore chain, Liberal Leader
, Andrew Peacock, a wearer
of Gucci suits, accompanied by daughter Ann, attended; Steedman ,
supposed to compere the event , dressed as usual , au
natural, arrived late because of a flat tyre ;
Mount Everest climber
,Tim McCartney-Snape and two shapely Playboy bunny girls took part in the large Celebrity Barbecue
Cooking Contest . Unaware that
Steedman was going
to be at the event , Peacock took
umbrage and departed .
Brandishing a sausage , Steedman declared Labor
was going to do Peacock
like an overcooked snag .
A report
in the Truth newspaper gave a Hollywood slant to the Ringwood Roast
with a photograph of Steedman ,
one arm about a Playboy
bunny , a can of beer in the other,leering at the
camera. The article said Hollywood actress Shirley MacLaine was wrong when it came to the spunky politician stakes as her
former buddy Andrew Peacock was no longer No. 1.
According to Playboy bunny , Maxine Fensom , it was
the federal member for Casey,
Pete Steedman , even thought she conceded
he was the world’s oldest bodgie. The bunny had compared
Steedman with Peacock
at the sausage
cooking . A female politician who attended the same event, Kay Setches, MLA, was quoted as
saying Steedman was a
hard working politician with a
better dress sense than
Peacock. She described Steedman’s unbuttoned shirt , showing hairy chest ,
as definitely not
Gucci-more like Target. Steedman described his
campaigning attire as
post-Albion, " after the
wild and woolly Carlton pub he once favoured ."
Deputy Opposition Leader , John
Howard, retaliated at the opening of
Halvorsen’s electorate office by urging the voters to “flush
out” Steedman . And that is what happened .
There were numerous reasons why he lost the seat There were many informal votes and
there had been an influx of well heeled , Volvo station wagon owners who had
bought homes on rural blocks in the
electorate . In effect, the electorate went nuclear.
A
well written article in Playboy , headed
THE CRUSHING OF A REBEL ,by Phil Ackman, put it
this way ... "An MP with one of the best records in Australia for servicing his electorate dumped because his constituency
turned under him . One day a
man who could change
people’s lives, the next just another loser ."
Ackman described how , after the election , he was a passenger
in Steedman’s
Galaxie convertible when Pete
drove into a gas station in the heart of what used to be his electorate. Somebody yelled out , “Hey, Steedman, when are you going
to get ‘em to improve the road ?” After a pause,
Ackman said Steedman
,"the bodgie [ with brains] ” ,
forgot he was The Man . “ No, no mate, ” he chided . “ I’m federal.
All I can get
you is a nuclear sub.” NEXT :
The little known stunning fact that
Steedman became Premier of Victoria
. True . All will be revealed .
