Alex Deane: Report from the Aussie Election Day 4

CAMPAIGN DAY 4 – 37 TO GO

In the run-up to this election, Labor deselected several sitting MPs for this election, replacing them with union activists. I should say that (1) I have no view on the respective merits of various lefties, so I’m not criticising; and (2) I’ve got no problem with parties deciding to get rid of dead wood: longevity of occupation alone is no argument for future selection. However, Labor’s problem is that some of the wood is refusing to stay dead. Gavin O’Connor, sitting ALP member for Corio, was deselected last year in favor of Richard Marles, despite holding the seat with a reasonable margin in 2004. It has been known for a while that he was pretty unhappy about it. There have been rumours about his position for a while, and he has announced today that he will run as an independent. Evening news shows today lead with the story – as a well-schooled pollie, he knows how to turn out a good line, and his thumping attacks on the party that made him and gave him a career were all replayed: “there’s no renewal if they’re all union officials and factional hacks” [the “they” being the candidates the ALP are parachuting into the seats of members they’re axing]; “you can’t betray the community and then represent it”; “you can’t be part of the solution if you’re part of the problem”. A pleasing opportunity to sit back and watch the left bash itself – rare, in these days of the impressive discipline of the Rudd era.

When it’s all said and done though, it’s probably just a sideshow. Whilst under the first past the post system his candidacy would mean that Corio – where the Coalition was 5,000 votes behind at the last election – would be in play in no uncertain terms, given Australia’s preferential voting system, it seems likely that O’Connor’s preferences will flow straight back to his erstwhile ALP colleague Marles – presuming that O’Connor finishes behind him…