I seem to spend a lot of line time apologising for my language in previous posts...(language?...what language deary?-Ed)...um, well, you know...'pricks' as in 'penises personified'...(so not 'thorn supplied puncture wounds' then-Ed)...no, 'pricks' as in persons whom demonstrate the characteristics of said penises...also encompassed by such euphemisms as 'tools', 'bell ends', and 'knobs'...(hehehe, bell ends...as in DeBelle Ends...hehehe-Ed)...yes, that's the one.
I believe that I may have also mentioned 'scumbags', that is, of course, people being bags of scum...(yes, I figured that one out thanks-Ed)...and a couple of other descriptive nouns and/or adjectives...just a couple...
There are only so many ways to apologise for that which I clearly choose to do before said apology becomes hollow, but I do wish to acknowledge the feedback I'm getting about 'politening'...(there's that word again-Ed)...politening up my blog and being more professional...fair enough...I'm not not listening, I'm genuinely doing the best I can...sometimes you can only say things a certain way...
However, in my own defence, passion is not always beautiful, and compared to the parallel commentary running in my head, the occasional 'prick' or 'scumbags' is polite to the point of saccharine...what I really want to say is that these sad, sick, corrupt f...(ok, ok, you've made your point...quite emphatically-Ed)
Readers of this blog...(and possibly a few others-Ed)...fair enough...people in general will be aware that way back in February 2013, former Labour Prime Minister Julia Gillard unilaterally declared the Federal election for 14 September 2013...and wasn't everybody thrilled...
Just quickly, the Seat of Barker covers a huge and diverse area, running from the Barossa Valley in South Australia's Lower Mid North through the Riverland/Murray Rive area, and on through to the Victorian/New South Wales state borders, finishing up in (including) the entire South East of SA...like I said, huge...and covering vastly different population demographics and environments...
It ranges from heavily industrialised agriculture in monoculture production, eg, forestry, vineyards, orchards, cropping, dairy, etc, through to the heavy industry of mining, milling that timber, producing wine, etc, and many small industrial businesses related to machinery, transport, etc...apologies to those not mentioned, for example, fisheries are important in the 'Southern zone' of Barker but perhaps not so in the Barossa Valley.
Many of these industries/businesses rely on irrigation from the Murray River, and some on the tourism that the river attracts...tourism is of course a major 'industry' in and of itself in all areas...
Barker goes from Murray Mallee and virtual desert through to swamps and sand hills by the coast, with populations from your archetypal small country town to the suburban existence in centres like Mt Gambier, Millicent, etc...not everyone who lives in 'the Country' is chewing on a wheat stalk and herding livestock...
Barker is arguably one of if not the most diverse seats in Australia.
We share one main problem...the Adelaide-centric nature of politics in South Australia that cripples public services in regional SA, eg, health, public transport, water supply and quality, education and training, etc.
The Liberal Party had already dumped their sitting member Patrick Secker for former Mt Gambier City Councillor Tony Pasin, so he was already their 'candidate', and the Nationals chose then lost James De Barro and replaced him with Myles Hannemann, and the Labour party haven't officially declared anyone...well apart from Grant District Mayor Richard Sage who is apparently running calling himself 'An Independent' but is clearly a career Labour stooge...please see previous post on this subject...
In the last fortnight or so two new candidates have thrown their hats into the ring and have had brief bios in The Border Watch newspaper. Rather than just re-hash those articles, because that's pretty much all I know about them, I have attached copies below.
First was Ms Kristin Lambert representing the Family First party, and I recently heard part of an interview with Ms Lambert on ABC Radio (I was on the phone). In between the party political catch phrases there was much 'umming' and 'ahhing' from Ms Lambert which tended to undermine her credibility, but I am very aware of how confronting it can be to conduct these sort of interviews.
In that context I choose to 'cut her some slack' because she may well be a very committed candidate merely compromised by her clearly apparent limited media experience...wait 'til they stick a camera in your face and start asking questions Ms Lambert...unless you're a ragingly egomanic narcissist like Kevin Rudd. it is very confronting...good luck...
Ms Lambert (Family First) makes many valid points in the attached article, and won't get any argument from me about the need for balanced funding across all services across SA...not just everything for Adelaide...
I struggle to support any 'Religious based party', as Family First is, but time and again they are the ones addressing regional issues in state parliament where Liberal and Labour just don't seem interested.
The other new candidate is endorsed Greens rep Mr Mark Keough. Again, I know nothing of Mr Keough and can only go by this brief article, attached.
Without knowing more about these two, it is difficult to address the issue that both reside outside of the electorate...either could spend, as I do, half their day locked onto ABC Radio and TV, The Country Hour, Landline, etc, and are very much aware of the issues in the areas they propose to represent.
Living in and/or whizzing around the electorate pretending you suddenly give a damn does not indicate a better candidate, but I would personally like to see the electorate represented from 'within'.
In my experience, these smaller parties have run 'external' candidates at several recent elections with an apparent view to gain exposure rather than actually be competitive...whatevs...where ever their candidates come from and for whatever reason, at least they have candidates...and yes I'm looking at you Labour...
Again I apologise that I can not be more illuminating and/or scathing of these new candidates, but once you've read these articles, you'll know as much about them as I do...
And these two articles demonstrate and quantify what I have repeatedly stated about the importance of local media like the ABC and The Border Watch and why I am so harsh on them about any bias or misrepresentation...they are important and with that comes responsibility...what really pisses me off though, is when they appear to refuse to engage with issues because it's me saying it...
It's not about me, and I know that, so why can't they sort themselves out?...(sorry, you asking me?-Ed)...no, that was purely rhetorical...it is as much about what I have to say as it is about who's saying it...
Tomorrow: Several Things I'm Wrong About
(oh surely not-Ed)...yes, thank you, I'll do the sarcastic abuse 'round here...
I'd rather be giving it a 'red hot go' and getting things wrong, than just toeing the line and not rocking the boat...and I do genuinely want to get my facts right which allows me to embrace and own my mistakes...
And it means that when I do really need to really apologise, eg, to Barney McCusker re the covered pool business, I can do it genuinely and succinctly and get on with the issues.
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my very accurate blog...cheers all, and laters...
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