As the old saying goes, where there is smoke , there is fire. In the case of Cathy O'Toole ( ALP ) who won the House of Representatives seat of Herbert the official opening of her electorate office in Townsville , North Queensland , gave the impression the building was on fire . This was due to the Indigenous smoking ceremony performed on the premises which involved thick clouds of smoke , chanting and speeches .
A party supporter, just back from the happy Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan , quipped that the smoking ceremony , acting like an exorcism , guaranteed the non return of an LNP member on the premises , referring to the ousted Ewen Jones .
A party supporter, just back from the happy Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan , quipped that the smoking ceremony , acting like an exorcism , guaranteed the non return of an LNP member on the premises , referring to the ousted Ewen Jones .
For this jest, he deserved a slice or two of O'Toole's special cake , below, thanking her electorate , which included iced in panels depicting her activities on the campaign trail which saw her not only win the seat for the ALP after 20 years but smash the glass ceiling in the process.
Since moving in , Ms O'Toole has set a cracking pace. In Brisbane , at the state ALP conference , she impressed the gathering with her straight talking , no nonsense comments in moving that there be a North Queensland Senate seat. She colourfully informed the conference that residents in the North were fed up with what are referred to as "Cockatoo visits " from politicians , where they fly in , do what Cockatoos do naturally all over the place , and then fly out . When captured on TV explaining exactly what Cockatoos do all over the place, she laughed and said she normally did not swear in public .
Three people at the conference received a standing ovation- federal Leader of the Opposition , Bill Shorten , Queensland Premier , Annastacia Palaszuk , and Cathy O'Toole. On top of this , the Townsville Bulletin named her the 11th most influential person in town in a list of 50, Cowboys rugby league co-captain Johnathan Thurston numero uno.
In Canberra she has been appointed to important Caucus Committees dealing with North Australia . Wasting no time in Canberra, she called on the Singapore High Commissioner for a one on one discussion about the Singapore Government's $2billion military plans for Queensland ,one billion of which will be spent in the Townsville area , and was well received , discussing various aspects of the proposal .
In a recent report to an ALP branch in Townsville , O'Toole impressed with a summary of issues covering the electorate and her observations of the Turnbull government in Canberra. Because of her personal experience running mental health organisations , one which operated across north and west Queensland , from Palm Island to Mount Isa , with head office in Townsville , she is well aware of the many pressing social and economic issues in regional communities and problems confronting ADF veterans and other members of the community , the ice scourge as well .
Much of this colour and insight into the history making Member for Herbert seems to have escaped the local media . As far as is known , no member of the Townsville press gang has ventured inside her smoked office, had a slice of cake , and looked at her etchings . An unkempt member of the Little Darwin staff has been inside the office and was bowled over by what he saw and heard . UPCOMING : The interesting O'Toole art collection which captures and represents the North and the national art treasures which will grace her Canberra office.
Much of this colour and insight into the history making Member for Herbert seems to have escaped the local media . As far as is known , no member of the Townsville press gang has ventured inside her smoked office, had a slice of cake , and looked at her etchings . An unkempt member of the Little Darwin staff has been inside the office and was bowled over by what he saw and heard . UPCOMING : The interesting O'Toole art collection which captures and represents the North and the national art treasures which will grace her Canberra office.
