blast from the past

I guess no one will be particularly surprised that Family First Senator for Victoria, Steve Fielding, has failed to be re-elected. Senator Fielding seemed to have the ability to not only put his foot into his mouth but also to trample all sorts of things that you thought he might have been in favour of, like the alcopops tax. He didn't seem to think that climate change was real, and his not unsurprising views about same sex marriage are summed up in one of his (in) famous utterings.

"A bloke cannot marry his brother; it is not right. A woman cannot marry their sister; it is not right. A bloke cannot marry a bloke because it is not right, and a female cannot marry a female because it is not right. I don't support this."

Senator Fielding is of course entitled to his opinion, though it would appear that the electorate became more and more alarmed the more and more he opened his mouth and his true opinions were actually discovered.

What is rather surprising is that it appears that his seat has fallen to the Democratic Labor Party. The former love child of BA Santamaria (pictured). Yes, it still exists. One suspects that many of their social policies will not be so different from Family First. And at least there will be no question of them holding the actual balance of power in the next Senate.