A friend of mine was interviewed by the Sun Herald newspaper the other day. The journalist was Jessica Wright, and there was a photographer there, as well. The reason that he and his family were interviewed was because of the Lindsay electorate. David Bradbury, the local member, is from the ALP and holds Lindsay by about 6%. However, it’s seen very much as vital seat to win in this federal election, linked as it is to the idea of Western Sydney as a heartland of racism and the refugee issue – both of which I have some serious concerns regarding.

Anyway, it was interesting to see the process the interview went through. My friend, Jonathon, was actually reasonably positive about a lot of the Rudd government’s work. He was also positive about David Bradbury’s work in the local community. However, the reporter seemed only to want to focus on areas of negativity. So a statement like, ‘I’m supportive of the trade schools but worried about the waste of money involved in BER’ became ‘I’m worried about the waste of money involved in the BER’.

To me, at least, it seemed like there was a lot that was taken out of context in the interview, which basically skewed the whole point of view. Free and impartial press? Not in this lifetime.

Here’s the whole article:

I’ve been out and about (closely aided by Andrew and Liz) putting up posters of David Bradbury around the Lindsey electorate. Along the way I’ve met lots of people – some of them who’ve been clear supporters of Bradbury and others who’ve not.

I think something that I’ve learnt during this process is the idea of reductionism – so many people seem to want to reduce the election to a Labor/ Liberal kind of dichotomy. You’re either one or the other – and there can be no middle ground. It’s almost a ‘you’re with us or against us kind of mentality.’

To be honest, I was a little bid disappointed with that approach because, allied to that blinkered view is a genuine unwillingness amonst most people to even enter into any kind of reasoned debate. I’m a labor member – simply because I think the labor party offers the most to all Australians, and not just to the privileged classes. I think that the Rudd government did some significant work in this regard, but also struggled in certain aspects that were poorly handled. Personally, I don’t see any hope for any improvement from the current Federal Liberal mob.

Anyway, here’s some photos from the work I’ve been doing:

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to speak with Wayne Swan, the Treasure and Deputy PM while he attended the local Federal Member’s (David Bradbury – Lindsay) opening of his new office. Mr Swan spoke at length about his views on politics to the assembled group and the importance of communities. He and David then highlighted the way that Labor had worked to support communities, and in particular, save local jobs for people. He specifically spoke about Labor’s success in dealing with the global financial crisis, which, I believe, is something that Labor should be rightly proud of. I was glad that I was with  David Currie, who understands financial trends and factors far better than I do – we talked later about the fact that part of the reason that Australia was able to navigate the GFC so well was because of the surplus that the Howard government left in place. Of course, another part of the reason was because Australian banks are so much more heavily regulated than their US or European counterparts, which in itself is, I believe, a legacy of the Hawke government, so I don’t think that Swan can claim all the credit for the successful navigation of the GFC. However, I think it is partly fair to say that the government used the resources that it had at its disposable to ensure that Australia managed to survive the GFC, with low unemployment.

Anyway, I also had the chance to speak privately with Mr Swan for a little while. I talked to him about the Trade Training Centre, and he pointed out that these ideas are originally from Queensland, and we agreed that there is a lot of important educational thought coming from Queensland at the moment, in particular the productive pedagogies stuff, as well. Anyway, I was fairly impressed at his depth of knowledge regarding education, considering I thought his main focus was economic policy.

Anyway, I got some photos on my phone. See below! And, yes, Wayne Swan is pretty short, so I look like the BFG next to him and David!

I had the opportunity to have a chat with David Bradbury, the Federal MP for Lindsey, recently. Before I start the main part of this article, let me make it clear that I am a member of the Labor Party, and have been for a number of years, so I guess you can read everything that I write through that kind of lens.

Anyway, David and I were talking about the tumultuous events of the last week as Ms Gillard become the Prime Minister. I won’t really go into too much detail about what was said, because a lot of it was behind closed doors and I really don’t think the internet is the best place for that kind of discussion.

However, what I will talk about was how impressed I was with David Bradbury. I know that his profile – nationally – isn’t exactly sky-high. He doesn’t have a ministry or anything like that, and you have to hunt through the news to find any mention of him outside of Lindsey, but he does have a reasonably strong local profile. Anyway, what really impressed me was the calm, measured approach that he took to dealing with these particular issues. As he discussed the decisions he had made, he carefully explained to me the thoughts behind each decision and why he felt that he had to decide in the way that he did. I got a real sense of calm, clear, rational decision-making which I think is a skill that is often lacking in politicians these days.

Another thing that impressed me was how seriously he took his role as the peoples’ representative to the Parliament. Every decision that he made was based on what his constituents wanted – or what he thought that they wanted. He was completely focused on what the people of Penrith and other areas were saying about the major issues – and through his use of mobile offices and things he was trying to get in touch with those people; I got he impression he generally wanted to listen to people’s opinions about ETS and RSPT and Boat People and Rudd-Gillard. And after he listened, he wanted to talk about it too.

The final thing that I found impressive was the moral standing of David Bradbury. Populist is a bit of a dirty word in politics, despite, as far as I can see, populism being the main (and often only) basis for policy decisions. If it gets us votes, we’ll do it seems to be the dictum for most politicians. David, on the other hand, seemed to be arguing for the need to educate the public about the reasons behind certain decisions, and therefore allow them to make more informed decisions.