Et Tu, Zed? Wow, that sounds stupid (and it is).
Today the ACT Opposition Leader Zed Seselja announced that he would be challenging Senator Gary Humphries in the preselection process for the Liberal Party Senate ticket for this September's Federal election. Of course he is well within his rights to do so in our democracy, but why on Earth would the Liberal Party think that was a good idea?
Let's start by examining their records.
Zed (oh, I should point out to my US friends that "zed" in this part of the world is the 26th letter of the alphabet. I don't think he would appreciate you calling him Zee ;) ) has been the ACT Opposition Leader for the past five years, having been in the Legislative Assembly since 2004. He failed to defeat the sitting Labor Government in 2008 and again failed to defeat the sitting Labor Government in 2012. He has never in fact served in Government. In all seriousness, really, what has he achieved? I'm a Liberal supporter and I'm struggling to think of anything. Of course there was that member of his staff (Tio Faulkner) who it turned out, allegedly (did you see what I did there?) was being paid by the ACT taxpayer to do party political work, but I'm not sure that's what he would like to be remembered by.
Gary was a member of the ACT Legislative Assembly starting at the first self-government election. He held various roles during his time in the Assembly - Deputy Chief Minister, a number of Ministerial portfolios, and of course Chief Minister. Yes, he shares Zed's experience as Opposition Leader, but I'm sure he considers that a very minor part of his overall qualifications. Since leaving the ACT Legislative Assembly to join the Federal sphere as a Senator in 2003, he has been a tireless supporter of the Canberra region, even when that has put him at odds with the Federal Liberal Party machine. Having listened to my share of Parliamentary proceedings I know that even the Labor Party acknowledges that Gary is a reasonable person who on occasion puts the ACT community's interest above his party's posturing. This may well have cost him the chance to "climb the greasy pole" as Yes, Minister put it, but his party still saw it right to reward him with the front bench roles as Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Attorney-General and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Materiel.
In summary, I ask ACT Liberal Party members, exactly what does Zed have to offer and why is that better than what Gary has to offer? Or to put it another way, what has Gary done that even makes you consider changing to a perennial loser like Zed?
[I would have like to have left my blog at the last question, but I think I know the answer. The ACT Liberal Party, like a lot of organisations, doesn't care what is best. They are a collection of self-interested individuals who have absolutely no regard to anything other than how they can pursue their own agenda. And lest you think I am biased - the Labor Party is no less guilty of this. In fact with their disgraceful ties with the union movement they are almost certainly more so.]
Frankly, if Zed takes over from Gary it will be a travesty. However it will not be a surprise because under the scum of the Earth that is Tony Abbott, the Liberal Party is not just a shadow of its former self, it has no right to even bear the moniker of its founder or its heritage. It should rename itself the Conservative Party, or more accurately, the Republican Party.
Let's start by examining their records.
Zed (oh, I should point out to my US friends that "zed" in this part of the world is the 26th letter of the alphabet. I don't think he would appreciate you calling him Zee ;) ) has been the ACT Opposition Leader for the past five years, having been in the Legislative Assembly since 2004. He failed to defeat the sitting Labor Government in 2008 and again failed to defeat the sitting Labor Government in 2012. He has never in fact served in Government. In all seriousness, really, what has he achieved? I'm a Liberal supporter and I'm struggling to think of anything. Of course there was that member of his staff (Tio Faulkner) who it turned out, allegedly (did you see what I did there?) was being paid by the ACT taxpayer to do party political work, but I'm not sure that's what he would like to be remembered by.
Gary was a member of the ACT Legislative Assembly starting at the first self-government election. He held various roles during his time in the Assembly - Deputy Chief Minister, a number of Ministerial portfolios, and of course Chief Minister. Yes, he shares Zed's experience as Opposition Leader, but I'm sure he considers that a very minor part of his overall qualifications. Since leaving the ACT Legislative Assembly to join the Federal sphere as a Senator in 2003, he has been a tireless supporter of the Canberra region, even when that has put him at odds with the Federal Liberal Party machine. Having listened to my share of Parliamentary proceedings I know that even the Labor Party acknowledges that Gary is a reasonable person who on occasion puts the ACT community's interest above his party's posturing. This may well have cost him the chance to "climb the greasy pole" as Yes, Minister put it, but his party still saw it right to reward him with the front bench roles as Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Shadow Attorney-General and Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Materiel.
In summary, I ask ACT Liberal Party members, exactly what does Zed have to offer and why is that better than what Gary has to offer? Or to put it another way, what has Gary done that even makes you consider changing to a perennial loser like Zed?
[I would have like to have left my blog at the last question, but I think I know the answer. The ACT Liberal Party, like a lot of organisations, doesn't care what is best. They are a collection of self-interested individuals who have absolutely no regard to anything other than how they can pursue their own agenda. And lest you think I am biased - the Labor Party is no less guilty of this. In fact with their disgraceful ties with the union movement they are almost certainly more so.]
Frankly, if Zed takes over from Gary it will be a travesty. However it will not be a surprise because under the scum of the Earth that is Tony Abbott, the Liberal Party is not just a shadow of its former self, it has no right to even bear the moniker of its founder or its heritage. It should rename itself the Conservative Party, or more accurately, the Republican Party.
posted by Alan at 2:41 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home