ALP vs GRN 4.2%
Incumbent MP
Anthony Albanese, since 1996.
Geography
Inner West of Sydney. Grayndler covers the local government areas of Marrickville and Ashfield and parts of Canterbury and Leichhardt. Main suburbs include Leichhardt, Newtown, Marrickville, Petersham, Lilyfield, Dulwich Hill, Sydenham, Tempe, Hurlstone Park, Ashbury, Ashfield, Summer Hill and Haberfield.
History
Grayndler was created in the 1949 redistribution, and has always been held by the ALP. The seat was first won by Fred Daly, who had previously held the nearby seat of Martin since 1943. Daly was a highly popular MP and served as a minister in the Whitlam government before his retirement in 1975.
The seat was won by Tony Whitlam at the election following his father’s dismissal as Prime Minister in 1975, but he was replaced by Frank Stewart at the 1977 election following the abolition of Stewart’s former seat of Lang. Stewart had previously served as a minister in the Whitlam government, and had been in Parliament since 1953. Stewart died in 1979, and the following by-election was won by the Assistant General Secretary of the NSW Labor Party, Leo McLeay.
McLeay held the seat until the 1993 election, serving as Speaker from 1989 until 1993. At the 1993 election he was forced to move to the neighbouring seat of Watson in order to free up Grayndler for federal minister Jeannette McHugh, whose seat of Phillip had been abolished.
McLeay held Watson until 2004, and McHugh retired at the 1996 election, when the seat was won by another Assistant General Secretary of the NSW Labor Party, Anthony Albanese, after Albanese had arranged McHugh’s move to Grayndler in 1993. Albanese has held the seat ever since and is now a senior cabinet minister and Leader of the House in the Labor government.
Candidates
- Joshua Green (Christian Democratic Party)
- Joel Scully (Bullet Train For Australia)
- Cedric Spencer (Liberal)
- Hall Greenland (Greens)
- Mohanadas Balasingham (Palmer United Party)
- Anthony Albanese (Labor)
Assessment
Grayndler is a Labor marginal seat, and the seat with the second-highest Greens vote in the country. 4.2% isn’t a large margin and could easily be overcome if the Greens performed well and gained Liberal preferences.
The decision of the Liberal Party to preference Labor will lock in Albanese’s hold on the seat in 2013.
While both Labor and the Greens have dropped in the polls, the effect has been much worse for Labor. It’s possible that Labor’s vote may be hit by general anti-Labor trends, and the Greens primary vote could still go up. Despite this, Albanese is a strong local member and has been prominent over the last few years and has come out relatively unscathed from the last three years of Labor leadership instability. His profile as Deputy Prime Minister will strengthen his position.
2010 result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
| Anthony Albanese | ALP | 38,369 | 46.09 | -9.37 |
| Sam Byrne | GRN | 21,555 | 25.90 | +7.26 |
| Alexander Dore | LIB | 20,178 | 24.24 | +3.30 |
| Perry Garofani | DEM | 1,074 | 1.29 | -0.38 |
| James Cogan | SEP | 1,041 | 1.25 | +0.86 |
| Pip Hinman | SA | 1,022 | 1.23 | +1.18 |
2010 two-candidate-preferred result
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Swing |
| Anthony Albanese | ALP | 45,138 | 54.23 | |
| Sam Byrne | GRN | 38,101 | 45.77 |
Booth breakdown
Booths have been divided into five areas. Grayndler covers parts of four local government areas. Booths in Ashfield, Leichhardt and Canterbury local government areas have been grouped along council boundaries. Booths in Marrickville have been split between Petersham-Enmore (covering booths in the northern end of the council area) and the rest in Marrickville.
The ALP won a two-candidate-preferred majority over the Greens in four of five areas. The ALP’s majorities varied from 50.6% in Leichhardt to 59.4% in Canterbury. The Greens won a majority of 52.8% in Petersham-Enmore.
| Voter group | LIB % | ALP 2CP % | Total votes | % of votes |
| Marrickville | 18.81 | 59.17 | 19,848 | 23.84 |
| Ashfield | 31.16 | 54.48 | 17,340 | 20.83 |
| Petersham-Enmore | 17.81 | 47.18 | 12,786 | 15.36 |
| Leichhardt | 26.12 | 50.58 | 9,864 | 11.85 |
| Canterbury | 30.45 | 59.44 | 5,209 | 6.26 |
| Other votes | 27.39 | 55.31 | 4,688 | 21.86 |
I’m surprised that the Greens chose Greenland and, respectfully, think that will ensure Albo holds on fairly safely. Greenland has quite a history in the far-left, not all of which would be entirely palatable to many of the centre to centre-left people of Grayndler. In addition he has been out of the immediate (and certainly younger) public mind for a while (the bloke must be nearing 70?). I’m surprised that a ‘softer’, younger, Marrickville councillor couldn’t be found, but there you go.
Albanese will be safe here. Unlikely that Libs will preference Greens ahead of ALP. In any case, Green vote will decline. Possible that Libs will come second.
Agree with PJ. Even if there was a Labor collapse in NSW it won’t be here and a 20+ lead by Labor is to big to close.
Liberal Candidate Cedric Spencer may yet confound the soothsayers. Spotted campaigning heavily in many parts of the Electorate, this Liberal is is not just a token but takes his mission and rersponsibility seriously. Cedric Spencer = Liberal candidate for Grayndler 2013.
As a Grayndler voter I can tell you, myself and a number of other residents were voting tactically.
I would rather have the labour than the green but voted green anyway. My vote was to put the greens ahead of the liberals and cut the margin from ’07 from a 35% 2PP break to a 10% 2PP break.
If the Liberals don’t preference the greens then I no longer need to tactical vote. Albanese is a lazy, rusted on rep. He is in charge of the airport and appoints commissioners to make hard decisions rather than do it himself. Still won’t vote for a green ahead of him though.
I wonder when anyone will get the greens to admit they can’t win a seat without liberal preferences! Oh the irony.
Censorship in our Inner West district of Grayndler
I would like to write about censorship in our community. Censorship can have many forms. It can be used both in a positive light to protect against harm, say for example our children against excess such as violence and adult material. Other forms of censorship come on the other hand at great cost not only to the individual but further a field to the community extending outward ultimately to humanity. This is the dark side of censorship. This dark side of censorship depending on how its delivered generally means a part of society be it local or more broadly, has lost freedoms it takes for granted and expects.
Recently we saw actions by the Australian Federal Government to limit the power of the Australian press. A press that in Australia has had no comparison to the problems in Europe, yet it was deliberately targeted for political expediency. Other times over history we have seen an even darker road when it comes to censorship.
We have seen countries where you cannot speak out. Countries that for history want and reason have let common respect and individual rights down. The ability to have a voice, be heard and be respected for what they are.
Censorship has been used this way to remove and individuals rights physically, to discriminate against them and historically in different cases persecute them for the good of another. We have seen this persecution time and time again, in the news and in the media. Censorship against women, censorship against religion, suppression of basic human rights in favor of another outcome. It was only in recent years we saw the terrible fate of women in Afghanistan and more recently the defacto censorship by default through our own nations inability to do more for our indigenous population.
Censorship as mentioned has two forms the ability to protect but on the other hand the ability on the other hand to deny basic individual rights. To deny a person the right of free choice and the freedoms we expect each and every day, especially in a free and fair Australian society. Censorship can be delivered in a number of different ways but generally it is the forced outcome by individuals in an attempt to stop free thinking and choice by an individual.
I would like to raise an example as a local member of our community of Leichhardt- Rozelle that will give rise and great concern to many of us in our local district here. Some of you may of heard the media reports of the difficulties recently by volunteers of federal election candidate, Cedric Spencer. Rumored to be whispers, they actually did take place, most recently during Sunday the 12th of May, near Balmain Road at Lilyfield. Far from rumor or hearsay, apart from all the stories, this is what happened.
When an election is called, under Federal Election rules each candidate is permitted to put, as long as its authorised, corflute advertising showing their name, photograph and who they represent, generally in front yards and on power poles. All three major parties plus independents do this and this is helpful in a number of ways depending on how you vote or would be interested in voting for, should you be expecting to change, as many people have indicated this time around.
After putting up five signs in the precinct, high on the poles with no obstruction or view conflict, the volunteers were leaving. Just as they were about to do so, they were approached by an individual in a ute and threatened. They were told no corflutes by the Liberals were allowed and that he and others would drive around tearing them down. This occurred later that night and across in Petersham. The thing that comes to mind is a direct comparison between this incident and that of Zimbabwe and South Africa. People roaming around patrolling in pickup trucks invading the rights of the free individual. You have seen them on TV. Orange Grove and Petersham are a long way from Africa but after the other Sunday, the distance narrowed considerably following the actions of this individual who has been identified and has been fully interviewed by our local police at Glebe.
Traditionally in our area which forms the electorate of Grayndler, the major parties have co-existed and each has agreed unofficially to respect the others advertising, especially the more basic versions, such as a photo, name and where they are coming from. As we all know this Federal election is a bit different this time round. But the minute we start giving up decency, cheating and removing freedoms of those we hope to represent, goes against the grain of why we are even standing for or supporting those that do. I hope that Cedric Spencer particularly and those that wish to stick up for freedom, keep on sticking up for these for the rights of each and every individual in our area, including all candidates, on behalf of the public. I urge everyone to make their position clear on the issue of censorship, silence is not the answer. I also urge the community to keep a look out for any individual destroying property be it election material or otherwise and keep the police informed. A famous poster reads workers rights worth fighting for. An even bigger issue here is the right of every individual to have a fair go. Censorship in the vein above, systematically just equates to vote rigging and the people of Grayndler definitely demand and expect more.
David Hunt
Leichhardt- Rozelle
Clearly it’s terrible if there is intimidation going on, but I think you’ve got your facts wrong when you say:
“When an election is called, under Federal Election rules each candidate is permitted to put, as long as its authorised, corflute advertising showing their name, photograph and who they represent, generally in front yards and on power poles.”
I’d be interested in what “Federal Election rules” you are talking about? In my experience putting corflutes up on public property such as power poles is dictated by the council and/or the electricity company, not the federal government. Many councils take down any posters, or only allow them for the last couple of weeks of the campaign. It is very unusual to see posters up this early.
Worth noting that the Libs have a more credible candidate this time (last time round it was a 19yo student). May or may not be worth a point or two.
PJ’s comment comparing Grayndler’s Liberal candidates in 2010 and 2013 is a sound one. Given that in 2010, under those circumstances, the Libs polled 24.24% to the Green’s 25.90%, with the change in calibre of candidate and broader national trends, I think there is a real possibility that the Libs could finish second and the Greens third.
The result could be a similar pattern to the Balmain state seat in 2011, with a swing from Labor to Liberal (maybe 5%?), while the Greens vote remains static. In any case, all shall be revealed in a little over 100 days.
I’d like to get a political radar reading on Clive Palmers Party in Grayndler. With ALP on the nose and the Libs not winning this seat in decades, does this leave an option for Palmer united to win the seat. Is this the perfect opportunity for a new party to sweep in?
One word answer: no.
lol, this is arguably the most left-wing seat in the country. We don’t take well to right-wing populism.
I think Grayndler is far from Clive Palmers Queensland in more ways than one. The Liberals however have proven especially during the last state election that they will listen, come up with good policy and deliver promises to their electorates. They are also good economic managers.
The Liberal candidate Cedric Spencer is attuned to business having been a business owner before his entry into becoming a solicitor.
The current encumbant is out of touch and openly supports a Government which has lost its way.
It’s a tragedy for the people of the Inner West that things dont seem to be able to change.
In the old days it was extreme left versus right to give a political argument. These days we have seen parities move to the centre more.
However, whatever way you look at it, for the amount of money we are paying our political representatives, we should be getting better value. Especially in Grayndler.
Albaneses paypacket of $400,000, (since the Rudd non coup as reward by Gillard Gillard) is outragous and repugnent for most Australians, not just the people of Grayndler.
$400,000 and the rest. Do some sums. Its more. Albanese must be as popular these days as Nathan Rees. Funny how these two are both from the left. No wonder the ALP is worried. The $400,000 plus question now is will the local Grayndler Greens back Labor in Grayndler, or look the other way whilst they openly despise Albanese or will they strike at a future Green renewal by helping Cedric Spencer create an upset in Grayndler. We live in iteresting times.
Grayndler is one of the most left-wing electorates in the country, we won’t be seeing a Liberal win here, and you certainly won’t see the Greens preference the Liberal Party.
So by if Greens dont preference LIBS, my original question is this an opportunity for Clive Palmers Party. I know they are putting a candidate in there as I am considering it. Mr Palmer seems to be very committed and confident he will win seats, hopefully in Grayndler.
Greens would suffer huge backlash if they preferenced the Liberals over Labor.
No, it’s not an opportunity for Clive Palmer’s party. The race is between Labor and the Greens – if the Liberals overtake the Greens, then the ALP will easily win the seat on Greens preferences. Even if the Greens didn’t direct preferences to the ALP, most of their preferences would flow to them.
This seat is quite possibly the least likely seat in the country to be sympathetic to Clive Palmer.
Thank you Ben. Someone understands the area’s demographics.
OK so it will be a hard job for Clive Palmer and his candidate. Im hoping people give them a fair dinkum go, I think people are dissillusioned with pollys, especially with the lack of value we get from AA @ 400K+ perks. Perhaps a non-lobbyist free thinking and entreprenuerial party like Mr Palmer’s could be a great choice. If every body puts him (or the candidate) at 2 on the card, that would get them close.
BTW I appreciate the feedback, i am getting that radar.
If everybody put Clive Palmer second, but not that many people put him first, it wouldn’t get him anywhere.
Come on Palmer in Grayndler?!! The sex party has more of a chance and at least they may get green preferences. My personal opinion is they would fare better then any other party when it came to preference. Its not going to happen but there is more of a chance then Palmer getting up.
You should become a sex party, wiki leaks, or pirate party candidate. At the end of the day it is worth a shot at least you could start to build yourself a profile and hay who ever thought Wilkie would get in. I am all for change at this point.
Well I find out on Saturday if I get the guernsey. All I can do is try, have some fun, provide a few laughs along the way, be genuine and hope people are willing to vote for something better than what they have had…(shouldnt be hard)
All i know is this… in this political climate, Mr Palmer has never had a better chance.. you may say not much chance, but the political climate at the moment leave me with the opinion that “crazy things can happen and probably should”
They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery but not everyone agrees.
Certainly not Penguin Books Australia.
The Melbourne-based publisher has this week demanded an explanation for what appears to be a misuse of its intellectual property by federal Infrastructure and Transport Minister Anthony Albanese.
Penguin chief executive Gabrielle Coyne told Fairfax Media she had been alerted to a flyer being distributed in Mr Albanese’s inner-Sydney electorate of Grayndler that was remarkably similar to the traditional Penguin cover design.
”We take our brand very seriously. The distinctive get-up and design of the flyer is obvious … We would like to have a response from the minister or his office.”
She was concerned that the flyer suggested that Penguin was affiliated to the Australian Labor Party and its election campaign.
”Therefore, that means that we also endorse the views and politics of the ALP.
Of course, Penguin is not affiliated with any political party.” Mr Albanese said that his campaign colours had been orange and black since 2006.
”They are the traditional Labor colours.”
Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/opinion/political-news/penguin-ruffled-by-cabinet-ministers-misuse-of-design-on-flyer-20130606-2nt5n.html#ixzz2VTsqlThx
From memory the Penguin was affiliated with the Joker…
Black and orange = Labor??? since when.
Though they are Tigers colours and his electorate covers that area.
What a non-story. Who cares what colours he uses? Albo must be one of the most known and obviously affiliated MPs in the country.
I did live their in ’07 and he did use the Orange, black and white then, though whether that was Tigers or Your Rights At Work colours, I’m not sure (though it barely matters).
It’s pretty common for Labor candidates to use orange.
It wasn’t the colors I was pointing out. As a Minister and serving MP, Anthony Albanese is supposed to uphold the law and lead by example. IP or copyright is not only an Australian facet of law but an international one. Anthony Albanese says he is fit for the job by putting his name forward for September. Yet clearly he doesnt either care or know about copyright law.
The fact a respected and major business such as Penguin has lodged notice of objection says it all. It appears here we have a candidate be it a serving one that does not respect commmon law.
Colors are fine but when action is taken that infringes a major business, then well?
This is the SECOND incident from Anthony Albanese over his movie plaguarism gaffe and many surely must be wondering even whithin Labor if Anthony is sutiable to run for the job again.
Gee whiz – Well lets call a spade a spade, Im not an ALP voter, but the points that this is a non story is 100% correct.
Get on with it, its alleged anyway, and even if so – not important.
Even though I dont like the guy or vote for AA, im sure he repects common law and is a decent fair human, and for you to tar with gutter smear is the reason why we dont like polly’s OR lobbyists.. We need to unite people (we are all mostly good people) not divide them. Work on positives for your party, not negatives of others to gather ground. Are you with me?
Well said Murray.
Before we got to silly attacks on pay and campaign colours, we were discussing candidates.
I am assuming that Pip Hinman is yet again running for the Socialist Aliiance. 😛 My tip is that she’ll beat the PUP candidate.
I haven’t seen Hinman’s candidate announcement anywhere. I understand her partner is running in Sydney so I’m not sure if she’ll be running.
I like the way both the Judean People’s Front and the People’s Front of Judea ran in Grayndler, and came last and second last. Splitters!
I once saw an advertisement for a debate between the lead senate candidates from the Socialist Alliance and the Socialist Equality Party. Alas, I couldn’t make it, but oh to be a fly on the wall.
I don’t think the Orange and Black is associated with the Tigers. Albo is known as a die-hard South Sydney Supporter.
For a bit of a laugh, I bumped into him in Syndey and asked him if he could recommend any good movies starring Michael Douglas. He told me where to go 😛
KT
How very,impressive, & astute you are. If only more people voted tactically. Life would suddenly become so much more complex, difficult,uncertain,& competitive for pollies. Oh to dream!!!!. BTW. i reckon Albo might wake up on the 15 th & suddenly find he is in trouble…. However (*as a tax payer)i do actually want him to stay. He is much cheaper to employ as an opposition MP, than to pay his pension. Some choices are not easy !!.
cheers WD
I haven’t read all of David Hunt’s long posts here, so perhaps he can tell us if he has declared his role as campaign manager – for which candidate?
Go on David, tell us…
@ PJ’s first post: It is curious that the Greens selected Hall Greenland as their candidate. Grayndler is a winnable seat, but the “purity of impotence” is a powerful imperative amongst the Greens in the inner west. Hall is 70 next year. An celebration of his ltireless and long running role in the great revolutionary struggle against capitalism can be found here:
http://www.marxists.org/archive/gould/2004/20041105.htm
This is not ancient history. Only one year ago Hall was attacking the party he now represents as being too conservative to win over the working class. Not many left in Grayndler though.
http://watermelontharris.blogspot.com.au/2012/07/greens-and-their-better-selves.html
If only I was a campaign manager……….
Kindest Regards !
Thank you David. We will all ( I mean readers of Tallyroom) watch with a great deal of interest where the Liberal’s park their preferences in Grayndler.
In 2010 they went to the Greens.
I suspect, hope, wish, plea, beg for that they preference the Palmer United Party well before the Greens. I spoke last night to a sitting member (LIBS) and they would prefer us (PUP) in the senate spots well before greens, especially Lea Rhiannon. Does she still pronounce “very” as “v”.. so annoying. She should save the environment not her consonants and vowels.
Im running for Mitchell.. wish me lots of luck… and vote booth volunteers.
They may well put PUP before Grns, Murray (the candidate), but sorry to let you know this (and I think Ben has pointed this out) the demographics of Grayndler mean PUP’s vote is likely to be quite low. Maybe not as low as Pip Hinman’s socialists, but around that… The only important thing is the Grns number vis a vis ALP on the Libs HTV. Many voters are confused by this, even relatively sophisticated ones like the predominantly educated and affluent “knowledge workers” of Grayndler. Many voted Liberal not realising they were voting Greens in 2010. Sam Byrne was hence able to demand a recount on 25.9% as Albo was below 50%, and everyone pref-ed against him.
There was more enough slippage to get him across. Believe it or not, Tallyroomers, Albo is actually quite a popular local member.
Senator Rhiannon is not up for re-election. Her diction (amongst other things) will probably have to annoy you at least until the promised double dissolution. Then Murray, I promise you, her demise is guaranteed.
For those not blocked by News Ltd’s paywall, the Oz this morning has an interesting electorate profile:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/vision-of-turning-albaneses-seat-into-greenland/story-fn59niix-1226675081424
It’s (unusual for the Oz) fairly even-handed – by no means a Greens hatchet-job. It does though (quoting Albanese) bring up Mr Greenland’s extreme brand of ultra-leftism, something which will not be a positive for the Greens chances in this well educated and increasingly affluent electorate. It quotes him as labelling the Greens – his own party – as being little more than “neo-liberals on bikes.”
The 7:30 Report also had a Greens story on Monday with a some focus on Greenland, http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2013/s3798655.htm
I think the Greens local branch made a big mistake here in nominating a 69 year old former ultra-Marxist who seems to have a bit of internal squabbling baggage. No problems for some of the old lefties to be reborn as the case is in NSW Greens but the old ones with the previous Ultra orthodox views probably run for Socialist Alliance or should be put out to pasture.
The candidate plus Albos new status as Deputy PM most likely means that the trend of increased Greens votes each election in this seat will not continue this time around. Might even be a slight decrease?
Sorry I have to respond to people saying somehow that Hall is a “former ultra-Marxist” or that his politics is an “extreme brand of ultra-leftism”.
His politics is no ultra or extreme anything – I know that from knowing him, but you also can’t claim that from any of the evidence on the public record.
Hall was a member of the ALP – one of the two main parties in this country. Sure, he was at the left-wing edge of the party, but he was an ALP member nonetheless. He then was elected to council as a Labor councillor, and then later on returned to council as an independent.
You can criticise his particular approach to council, but running for elected office seriously and serving in public office doesn’t sound like the actions of an ‘ultra-marxist’.
And he’s been a member of the Greens for a number of years, after being a member very early on in the founding – he’s never been a member of a far-left socialist group.
If people are going to make these claims about his extremism or ultra-anything you should back it up with facts.
If it’s not too long, I think the Oz article covers both perspectives fairly reasonably:
“ANTHONY Albanese has taken Labor’s anti-Greens offensive to his own back yard, claiming his main electoral opponent is stuck in “a sort of 1968 undergraduate leftism” that promotes ideas irrelevant and impractical in the modern age.
In an exclusive interview with The Weekend Australian, the Acting Prime Minister let loose on the Greens candidate for his Sydney inner-west seat of Grayndler, Hall Greenland.
Mr Albanese noted that Mr Greenland has made some cautious, but not unsympathetic, remarks concerning the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions campaign against Israel, and has criticised the federal Greens leadership as “veering to the Right”.
But Mr Greenland, a Walkley award-winning journalist, veteran environmental activist and one-time member of the Trotskyist Fourth International, described Mr Albanese, a prominent figure in the ALP Left, as a sell-out.
He cited Labor government policies including the deployment of troops to Afghanistan, cuts to the single-parent benefit, cutbacks to higher education, federal aid to private schools and a failure to stand up for WikiLeaks whistle-blower Julian Assange.
“Everywhere you look, he takes a stand against that of this particular electorate,” Mr Greenland said of Mr Albanese in an interview with The Weekend Australian.
Mr Albanese retorted: “Hall Greenland regards everyone who is not as Left as him as being too right-wing. The problem is, that represents 99.9 per cent of the population. When you unpick all of Hall’s simplistic programs you end up with a sort of 1968 undergraduate leftism that condemns everyone who doesn’t agree with him for being a sell-out.”
The vigorous exchange signals the start of a fierce three-way contest in Grayndler, a traditionally left-progressive seat covering trendy inner suburbs. The Greens are pouring resources into Grayndler, where they believe Mr Greenland can emerge a giant-slayer, knocking off Mr Albanese, who holds the seat on a slim 4.2 per cent margin against the Greens.
The contest is shaping up as a microcosm of the broader ideological battle now that the parliament has risen and Labor no longer relies on Greens support.
On Sky News’ Australian Agenda last Sunday, Mr Albanese said: “I’m opposed to the extremism and sloganism of the Greens and we will take it on.”
Mr Greenland told The Weekend Australian he regarded the late socialist president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, as “a great social-democratic redistributor of Venezuelan wealth”.
“He didn’t toady up to the Americans,” he said.
“I wouldn’t die in the ditch to defend ANZUS,” Mr Greenland said, adding that the US alliance had led Australia into a messy war in Afghanistan.
But Mr Albanese said international terrorism was real and had to be fought, saying responsible political representatives “see the world as it is rather than what they would like it to be”.
Mr Albanese said he could imagine that should a candidates forum be held in Grayndler, he himself would be talking of the massive benefits of the National Broadband Network and the dangers of a Tony Abbott-led government that would bring back Work Choices.
But he could imagine that at such a forum, Mr Greenland would be locked in endless debate with a Socialist Alliance candidate over “what is the most pure form of leftism”.
Mr Greenland denied he was a “far-out leftist” or locked in the past. “It’s true I supported some principles like grassroots democracy back in 1968, and I still do, but I don’t think those principles go out of fashion,” he said.
In an article last year on the left-wing blog Watermelon, Mr Greenland criticised the Greens policy conference decision to drop a call for an inheritance tax, writing, “the federal Greens leadership . . . are veering to the Right, driven by electoralism and an attachment to neoliberalism”. “They are, to coin a phrase, ‘neoliberals on bikes’,” he wrote.
Mr Greenland said he has not promoted BDS, but supports Palestinian self-determination as he does for the people of Tibet and Papua. But he said: “If the BDS becomes an issue of concern for people in Grayndler and the majority supports it, then I would be a willing listener.”
It will take more than a Walkley award and a failed Government Minister to get Australia back on track. The Daily Telegraph this morning confirmed Australias worst fears, another 2.5 billion blowout by Australian Labor. The Greens have to accept some of this blame as they have in the Federal arena been shoring up Labor. No matter what preconceptions or judgments about safe seats, it is clear the ALP is a disaster. The Greens have pulled away but is it too late?
The Liberal might be mild mannered but he is untainted by all the scandal. Anony Albanese’s blowout on the goods line project. He TOLD parliament it would cost $300 million. It cost over 1 billion. His hatred because it does not fit into his factions plans for the Epping to Rouse Hill Railway Line. Yet he pollutes us with his press releases saying he loves the environment. Yet condemes 500,000 people in the Hills district because the area is considered lost to Liberal by his faction. I haven’t even mentioned the customs scandal at Sydney airport which occurred while on his watch just kilometres from his office. The people of Sydney know all about it. So do the people of Australia. Anthony no longer truly cares about Grayndler. He knows he has got the money each week $$ for himself and left Labor. I call on any candidate to consider their HTV and preferences in favor of the Liberal. It least it will show Grayndler cares enough to make a stand. Not fighting words but just common decency for all Australians.
David Hunt, what does this have to do with Grayndler? Aren’t you able to take this rubbish to Andrew Bolt’s blog at the Sun Herald?
And I’m a Liberal by the way.
Dear DB, It has everything to do with Grayndler. The matters raised are on the public and written record. Your right it is rubbish. Not for for repeating on either Andrew Bolts site nor Alan Jones. It is the public record. As stated I believe the Liberal represents the only Party in Grayndler which has not been tainted by the Rudd-Gillard-Rudd misadventure. Also out Labor incumbant has failed to explain “the rubbish” you refer to, to the electors of not only Grayndler but Australia. The bigger they are the more respoinsibility it carries. Anthony has shown his trur colors by concentrating on leadership ambitions both for Kevin Rudd and himself. That could be construed as rubbish but will let common folk give their judgement. The point I am making time for the Greens to decide. Wander off, give preferences to labor or show some courage and go HTV/preferences to the Liberal. All the best !