Hello Belgium, Switzerland, Canada, and Bosnia and Herzegovina...and good morning and welcome to the blog...these last few posts and some yet to come are sort of one rolling review and/or self-justification as the blog reaches the 450th post...(yay-Ed)...but the big story locally, and of global irrelevance, is the sudden illness of key Independent Bob Such.
And Jumping Back To Here: from later in the post because it's now late afternoon and it has been reported, starting about noon today, that Bob Such is taking about 2 months 'absence' on sick leave and therefore Independent Geoff Brock has jumped to Labor and therefore given them another 4 years in power...with the justification that this gives stability to the state...and Mr Brock will be the Minister for Regional Development and for State/Local Government Relations...and there's Jay Weatherill, now Premier for another 4 years parroting the stability line...which segues nicely into...
Feedback: yes I know yesterday's post was riddled with conspiracy, paranoia, and conjecture and I tried to identify it all as such, but I do accept that criticism about parts of it...and yet still it all happened pretty much as written...and here we are less than 24 hours later and from nobody knows on Friday afternoon, to a minority government by lunchtime Sunday, courtesy of an 'absent' Independent...I genuinely accept that criticism, but I stand by my original position that there's something very, very odd about the way this has played out...why the mad rush?
Furthermore, 1) I reserve the right to be at least a little paranoid and almost irretrievably cynical given the way the St Martins Cover-up has played out across the last decade...if that's possible, what isn't?...(that's drawing a bit of a long bow isn't it?-Ed)...a bit, yeah, but only a bit...and 2) my opinion is fundamentally irrelevant because I believe that the facts are self-evident...but first I'll just let the first part of this post run as written earlier today...so...
Straight off I find myself stuck in that strange place that I described yesterday where-in I cannot rejoice in being most probably wrong with my 'paranoid theorising' (and I do often post stuff hoping to be wrong) about Independent Bob Such's illness because it's being reported this morning on the Interweb...(well it must be true, the Interweb wouldn't lie...would it?-Ed)...dunno, but it is being reported that Dr Such is in Flinders Medical Centre awaiting an operation.
Yesterday I described the weirdness of hoping that this 'illness' was true, of hoping that someone may actually be genuinely unwell to the extent that they cannot do an official statement, etc, rather than it be a dodgy political stunt...so today I'm left drifting, being at once right yet wrong, and can only say that my thoughts are with Dr Such and his family...I hope his 'treatment' is brief and boring, nobody needs any excitement in that context...
Again though, I excuse my own cynicism re this issue because of the very odd way that this was divulged to the media, via fellow Independent Geoff Brock not an official statement, and that Dr Such is in hospital awaiting an operation within a week of the election...has he been suddenly diagnosed just this week with a critical illness, eg, a Cancer, a mild stroke, etc, or did he know months ago but continue with the election?...perhaps he's been feeling off but was misdiagnosed...I refer to my own
experience re my Lymphoma tumour and multiple misdiagnoses back in 2004 (previous posts).
I do believe these are relevant issues given Dr Such's general responsibilities re his electorate as their elected representative and particularly now because of his position as a key player in deciding the election...if he knew for months then he arguably should have stood aside from the election...or did he know, think this is only a minor operation, etc, and that he can still advocate effectively for his electorate and all other South Australians for the vast majority of his 4 year tenure March 2014-March 2018...and it's not good enough to say that it's his private business...(how did you know I was going to say that?-Ed)...I've seen your work before...
It's not his private business when it impacts on his public responsibilities, responsibilities that he has asked for by running in the election, and now includes deciding the government...(fair enough-Ed)...for a relatively light-hearted example in a very different context, when former Labor Premier Mike Rann was accused of 'personal relationing' the Parliamentary lunch lady Michelle Chanteloise in his office in Parliament House during business hours, this was not just denied, but concurrently dismissed as Mikey's private business...(sorry, you've lost me-Ed)...
Well they (Labor and it's supporters) tried to deny that it had happened at all, but when that wasn't flying the focus shifted more to 'it's his private business anyway'...(but it happened in his publicly funded office whilst he was receiving a public income to represent the public, he was entirely in the public's employ...the public were paying him to run the state, not after a married woman...in our office, on our dollar, on our time, as our elected official...how is that 'his personal business'?-Ed)...my point exactly...as an incumbent running for another term, Dr Such was in the employ of the state asking to be further employed...(fair enough-Ed).
And I excuse my own cynicism about the timing of Mr Such's absence and the way it was announced by Mr Brock and the fact that we've all been here before...a minority Labor government gaining power via a disenfranchised ex-Liberal elected as an Independent who goes straight onto the front bench of said Labor government as a Minister...Rory McEwen did it in 2002 and now Geoff Brock in 2014...and didn't Rory work out great for South Australia.
And whatevs website it was, just below the Bob Such story is one about that career criminal former SA Premier Mike Rann, currently earning dual public incomes to the tune of $500,000 per annum...(whaaa?-Ed)...$210,000 state superannuation and nearly $290,000 as High Commissioner in London, living the High life in 'our' $30million residence in London...(and they say that being a corrupt, paedophile protecting bastard doesn't pay-Ed)...indeed...
Now It's 1930hrs: and back to the latest news...I re-iterate my concerns about how this has played out and ask the question, given that Dr Such has himself stated, albeit via another statement via Geoff Brock, that he (Dr Such) anticipates returning in 2 months, where does his support lie re the formation of government?...why does his 'vote' apparently dissipate or disappear but Geoff Brock's vote becomes all powerful?...again what's the rush? why not wait a week or 2 to see how Bob Such goes and make a decision then...
Why did this have to be rushed through between Saturday lunch-time and noon the next day, Sunday?
Furthermore, I believe that this situation shows Dr Such as supporting Labor without actually officially declaring it...(how?-Ed)...with Geoff Brock's vote Labor has 24 seats and claims government, with the Liberals stranded on 22...(yeah-Ed)...but Labor still have to find a Speaker...(yesss-Ed)...which means back to 23/22...(which means...if Bob Such supports the Liberals, it's 23/23 and a hung parliament-Ed)...exactly...(and a permanently hung parliament means probably another state-wide election-Ed)...precisely...
(None of this mess would have happened if Independent Don Pegler had got in in Mt Gambier-Ed)...well actually, it would probably have played out nearly the same because if the Liberals hadn't won Mt Gambier it would have been 23 Labor, 21 Liberal, and 3 Independents...with Bob Such 'gone' it's still 23/21 and again both Independents could argue 'stability' in supporting Labor, who could still have both their Speaker and a one vote majority.
I personally believe that Don Pegler has clearly defined allegiances with the Labor Party starting from his time at Grant District Council and therefore would have been 'obliged' to back Labor...the bottom line remains that the Liberals have managed to stuff up another election and we have another 4 years of the Regional disaster that is Labor, Brock or no Brock.
Tomorrow: INP ITWTS Part II
I appreciate the way that the above criticism was put to me not as a denigration...('don't be a paranoid idiot' sounds fairly derogatory to me-Ed)...not if it's partly true and said with a view to supporting and guiding rather than dismissing and detracting...(fair enough-Ed)...
I am Nick Fletcher and this is my blog and yes I can be cynical and/or paranoid and/or wrong, but can't we all...(I know I can-Ed)...cheers and laters...
Looove your work (and Ed's).
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