SA Great

ABC News reported on the death of Clyde Cameron, no doubt one of SA's great politicians.
Though variously described as one of the "great haters" he was also one of the great wits of the Parliament no doubt stories will be told in the next few days.
This "great hate" stemmed from the harsh background of the pre and post war periods which exposed whole areas of Australian life where the lowly poor were simple never going to get on. Cameron saw himself as their champion.
The ABC eulogy went as follows

"From the shearing shed, to the union office, to Gough Whitlam's front bench, Clyde Cameron's career as an ALP hard man was cemented early on.

Born in Murray Bridge, South Australia, in 1913, the one-time shearer ascended through the ranks of the Australian Workers' Union before being elected to the federal seat of Hindmarsh in 1949.

He sat on the opposition benches from 1953 to 1972, before becoming the minister for labour, immigration and consumer affairs in the Whitlam government.

Former prime minister Bob Hawke once described Clyde Cameron as a "great hater".

But it was his passionate views that put some offside, and in 1975 Gough Whitlam sacked him from the frontbench.

Clyde Cameron stayed on as Science Minister before retiring in 1980.

He spent his remaining years as an author and political historian.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has paid tribute to Mr Cameron.

"It was with sadness this morning that I learned of the passing of former federal member for Hindmarsh, Whitlam government minister and leading light of the Australian labour movement, Clyde Cameron," he said.

"From his early days in South Australia as a shearer, union organiser and industrial advocate, and throughout his parliamentary career, Clyde Cameron was dedicated to defending the interests of working people.

"As a cabinet minister in the Whitlam government, Clyde's appointment of now High Court Justice, Mary Gaudron, to prosecute the case for equal pay for female workers in the Arbitration Commission made history.

"Clyde was a leading advocate for pension increases, the provision of child care to support working women, and greatly improved the pay and conditions of public sector workers during his term as minister for labour and immigration.

"Although his career was not without controversy, Clyde Cameron's passion and commitment for working men and women remained paramount.

"This was illustrated by his 31 years loyal service to the families of Hindmarsh.

"Clyde Cameron retained throughout his life a great sense of pride and history.

"He will be sorely missed, particularly by those for whom he always stood so strongly."

Picking it

Lest anyone think I am a wimp I do intend to call the election NOW! This is Friday, 8.30 p.m.
My prediction: that it will be Labor by a landslide of 20 or more That the result will be known by 7.30 p.m. CST.
I would further suggest that should John Howard lose, then he will resign. But he may well lose his seat, so it could be academic!
Peter Costello will never be PM. Poor old Petie!

Not much to pick

The much awaited Boothby electoral forum, put on by the group of tired-old lefties who form the remnants of Action for World Development in the Blackwood area was last night. And all six candidates turned up. I am as unsure as ever about who I am supposed to vote for.
Craig Bossie - Australian Democrats, Was quite impressive and coherent, but frankly admitted that the Dems were after a Senate seat. The same is true, of course of Andrew Cole -Family First who nevertheless made a good fist of it, and was probably the most realistic of the lot of em. I am in no way drawn to Family First, and none of their invidious social policy was aired last night, (is it perhaps being moderated as they face political realities. To have my daughter whisper in my ear...'well it's Family \First then' was quite instructive. I think little-old-left leaning-she was saying that the he was the only one of that bunch who wasn't either a loony or a party hack.
Nicole Cornes-Australian Labor Party, who has been much criticised was OK but light on. She is obviously a nice person, but iot is difficult to see her not just doing what she is told if she gets toi Canberra. Jodi Kirkby-Greens, was to my mind good, but again they are after a Senate seat too. Very little serious environmental policy was discussed though she did askthe sitting member Andrew Southcott-Liberal, how the Government could give Indonesia $200 million to stop chop[ping down tress and then give Gunn's in Tasmania $100 million to chop them down! To be fair to Southcott he is probably at the most unpopular he has ever been. He is perceived as doing nothing much, and there became an increasing titter each time he was asked a question (and he fielded most) and said "Well thank you for that question...." and people would laugh, and you began to hear "well why don't you answer it", because for sure he is a politician and has made an art form of seeming to answer questions whilst saying nothing.
The wildcard is popular TV journalist Ray McGhee -Independent who is well-liked. But he oscillated between buffoonery and sheer impatience with both major parties and a sense of frustration with Southcott's ineptitude. He is, I suggest, inviting the protest vote but does not seriously think he will get to Canberra.
He lacks the credentials, I suggest, of other journalists like Smart Money Editor, Anthony Keane of the Advertiser who has a good economic grasp and a strong commitment to family values. I would vote for him, the parties would do well to try and woo him. But he would not be so silly as to leave my niece and my two great nieces at home in Adelaide while he had to waste time in Canberra. Woops did I just declare a bias.
My serious point, there are quality candidates around most have good reason to be suspicious of the dysfunctional nature of the political system.

Reverse psychology

The question of the day is whether or not the startling revelation that Kevin Rudd had a naughty night out will work for him or against him. My immediate reaction, far too cynical to be true I suppose, is that this is probably a reverse psychology leak by the Labor Party. The electorate will be so outraged by this leak that they will deem it dirty politics, and it will end up working in Rudd's favour.
It was noticeable that key players were remarkably silent, Abbot Abbott (not known for his caution when bad-mouthing people) declared himself to be a Trappist monk (here)and implemented a self-imposed vow of silence.
The reason?
Well it has long since been understood that once the sexual immorality card is played there is no stopping the flood of damaging revelations to both sides of politrics. It will be interesting to see how this reverse/reverse/reverse psychology plays itself out. Though I would much prefer to get on with the election and just simply get it out of the way.