Wayne Swan’s electorate of Lilley covers the Brisbane bayside north-east of the city centre, between the Brisbane and Pine rivers – an area accounting for industrial Eagle Farm in the south and residential Brighton in the north – along with suburbs nearer the city from McDowall, Stafford Heights and Everton Park eastwards through Kedron, Chermside and Zillmere to Nundah, Nudgee and Taigum. The redistribution before the 2010 election had a substantial impact on the electorate, adding 26,000 in Chermside West and Stafford Heights at the northern end (from Petrie) and removing a similar number of voters in an area from Clayfield and Hendra south to Hamilton on the river (to Brisbane), but the margin was little affected.
Lilley was created in 1913, originally extending from its current base of Nudgee, Aspley, Kedron, Eagle Farm and Brisbane Airport all the way north to Gympie. It did not become entirely urban until the enlargement of parliament in 1949, when Petrie was created to accommodate what were then Brisbane’s semi-rural outskirts. Labor won Lilley in 1943, 1946, 1961 and 1972 (by a margin of 35 votes on the latter occasion), but otherwise it was usually safe for the prevailing conservative forces of the day. A decisive shift came with the elections of 1980 and 1983, when Labor’s Elaine Darling won and then consolidated the seat with respective swings of 5.2% and 8.4%.
Wayne Swan succeeded Darling as the Labor member in 1993, but like all but two of his Queensland Labor colleagues he lost his seat in 1996. Swan stood again in 1998 and accounted for the 0.4% post-redistribution margin with a swing of 3.5%. He added further fat to his margin at the each of the next three elections, although in keeping with the inner urban trend his swing in 2007 was well below the statewide average (3.2% compared with 7.5%). The 2010 election delivered the LNP a swing of 4.8% that compared with a statewide result of 5.5%, bringing the seat well into the marginal zone at 3.2%.
Swan’s path into politics began as an adviser to Bill Hayden during his tenure as Opposition Leader and later to Hawke government ministers Mick Young and Kim Beazley, before he took on the position of Queensland party secretary in 1991. He was elevated to the shadow ministry after recovering his seat in 1998, taking on the family and community services portfolio, and remained close to former boss Beazley. Mark Latham famously described Swan and his associates as “roosters” when Beazley conspired to recover the leadership in 2003, but nonetheless retained him in his existing position during his own tenure in the leadership. Swan was further promoted to the Treasury portfolio after the 2004 election defeat, which he retained in government despite suggestions Rudd had been promised the position to Lindsay Tanner in return for his support when he toppled Kim Beazley as leader in December 2006.
Although he went to high school with him in Nambour and shared a party background during the Wayne Goss years, Swan has long been a bitter rival of Kevin Rudd, the former emerging as part of the AWU grouping of the Right and the latter with the Right’s “old guard”. He was in the camp opposing Rudd at successive leadership challenges, including Rudd’s successful challenge against Beazley, his toppling by Julia Gillard in June 2010, and most recently when he sought to recover the leadership in February 2012, when Swan accused Rudd of “sabotaging policy announcements and undermining our substantial economic successes”. Swan succeeded Gillard as deputy upon her ascension to the prime ministership.
Swan’s LNP opponent for the second consecutive election will be Rod McGarvie, a former soldier and United Nations peacekeeper. McGarvie won a July preselection vote from a field which included John Cotter, GasFields commissioner and former head of agriculture lobby group AgForce, and Bill Gollan, owner of a Deagon car dealership.
Augustus
Who knows what they thought. If people feel the need to make jokes, they should at least be more discreet.
Bemused’s comment at #354 was a pain in the arse, but not because of anything to do with the death of the PM’s father. No one has any basis for using the latter event to get stuck into him, so can they please not do it.
victoria @ 397
Try comparing like with like.
If anyone were to say anything distasteful about the Prime Minister at this time I would join most her in jumping on them.
So grow up.
[When my father died, the response of the manager I was reporting to was to terminate my contract between the day my father died and his funeral. One of the classiest acts I have ever heard of.]
I hope you walked out and told them to stick the job where the sun don’t shine?
My condolences to the PM on the passing of her father. It must be a sad time for her and she has my sympathy.
I think it should be left at that. As for Abbott, he should give his condolences to Gillard in private, not publicly as he is not good at offering sympathy publicly and, secondly, it is the death of a private figure not a public one – he has no responsibility to make commentary.
vic,
I live by the belief that everyones actions in life will be repaid.
Roy O
[The original wasn’t but the convent, St Michaels, is]
Interesting I only knew it as an all boys school.
Don’t know how old you are but all of us girls from Brigidine Maroubra were all in love with John Cummins who went on to Marist Brothers Randwick and who sadly passed away at an early age.
Which convent did they draw the girls from?
bemused,
Classy indeed. I am sorry that you had such an unpleasant experience, but you were probably better off being away from such an vicious individual.
William @ 402
Can you explain your reasoning?
Expressing your sorrow and sympathy, or not, on this site is irrelevant. Many of us will be thinking and praying for JG and her Mum and family.
When I first read this sad news, I wondered who would be first to try and politicise it. My first was TA. My second was kezza, if her critics were not forthcoming with patronising wishes.
Kezza, you really are a grub. You and Abbott deserve each other.
Augustus
Agreed. The karma bus always comes around eventually
[Can you explain your reasoning?]
It was negative, petty, childish and pointless.
[You have nothing to say about the PM on the loss of her dad. But heck anyone dare make a comment in any shape or form on Rudd, and you have a hell of a lot to say.]
Was thinking the same thing myself.
I’m coming in here a bit late, but feel I should add: the key phrases words with regard to fibre are symmetric (same download/upload speed), contention-free (doesnt slow down with lots of users) noise-free (distance from exchange isnt an issue) and, when comparing to wireless, perfect reception (ie reception quality is irrelevant).
The biggest factor for massive benefits offered by the NBN is cheap delivery of bi-directional video conferencing.
The goal when discussing the NBN is to ask people to look beyond their own personal, selfish interests and think of the entire country. In particular, consider the massive cost savings for regional areas. This affects everyone, because many utilities, government services and businesses pay big bucks already to deliver regional services. These costs are directly and indirectly borne by everyone, not just the recipients of the services.
Additionally, the massive direct and indirect costs borne by residents (and their employers and families) in regional areas, every time they have to travel to a major city to obtain a service not available in their locality, will be significantly reduced by the NBN once services are delivered over the NBN. Services which can be delivered via video conferencing will revolutionise regional economies, especially for the poor. Cant do that without the NBN.
Latika did agree with karen
Karen Middleton@KarenMMiddleton
@GregBoardley May l say that is in offensively poor taste & l suspect @latikambourke Would agree with me. Go away.
ruawake @ 402
He didn’t have the courage to give me the news himself, it was conveyed by an underling.
So I tried to make an appointment to see him during my 2 weeks notice but he was always unavailable including allegedly being away ‘sick’ for a few days.
I would have offered him a free character analysis but I don’t think there was much to analyse.
“@GregBoardley May l say that is in offensively poor taste & l suspect @latikambourke Would agree with me. Go away.”
one slap down coming up, nice.
fiona @ 408
I have had the misfortune to encounter a few like that.
Office psychopaths are everywhere.
Thank you Karen Middleton
William @ 412
OK, I will cop the first 3 adjectives on the chin to keep you happy, but not ‘pointless’.
There are certainly some posters here who seem to think people should be favoured because of their gender. I don’t and that was the point.
confessions @ 413
Well what a surprise.
My grub list is now kezza2, PatriciaWA, victoria and confessions.
Any others?
bemused
I have never worked out notice, they sack me I walk that day, I quit I walk that day. If they don’t want me to be there or I don’t want to be there why worry about a couple of weeks pay.
MBTW,
Daceyville and Coogee were the “junior” schools of Pagewood Marist Brothers and Marcellin Randwick respectively.They no longer exist in their current form and Daceyville is now the Eastern Suburbs Christian Education Office or somesuch. Not even sure if the Coogee buildings are still there. These schools, like the current high schools, were boys only. St Michaels convent, which is attached to the church in Banks Ave, is now years k-6, like all other convents schools in the area and they now all act as feeders to the high schools. Not sure if that is how it works for the rest of Sydney.
I remember well the “fraternising nights” with the Brigidine girls. We were paired off and given roneod sheets of something religious to discuss but inevitably, everyone just disappeared to the beer garden of the old Golden Grove Hotel. I’m sure you remember that.
William
Will you be opening a thread on the NSW Local Government elections?
SNIP: Abuse deleted – The Management.
bemused,
[Office psychopaths are everywhere.]
They are – but just sometimes an opportunity arises.
It did so for me. Some years after a particular manager had wrongly castigated me about a stuff-up, when I was no longer employed by the organisation, the identical stuff-up occurred in a transaction to which I was a party and that they were handling. It gave me intense pleasure to phone that manager and castigate him myself – maintaining icy politeness the while.
Revenge is a meal best eaten cold.
bemused,
In the words of a wise poster on PB, “Yawn!”
Mr Pajama Pudding @ 414
Good post.
It really is such a no-brainer that I am amazed there is anyone still arguing against the NBN on technical grounds.
Bother:
Some years after a particular manager had wrongly castigated me about a stuff-up, and when I was no longer employed by the organisation, the identical stuff-up occurred in a transaction to which I was a party and that they were handling. It gave me intense pleasure to phone that manager and castigate him myself – maintaining icy politeness the while.
bemused:
Your comments here speak volumes.
Always wanting to fight with people rather than get on with people which leads me to conclude you must be a very hate-filled, or most insecure individual.
You should try humility and self deprecation just for once, rather than the bellicose belligerence and arrogance you usually strive for.
SNIP: Response in kind to Roy Orbison’s abuse deleted – The Management.
@bemused/428
It’s political – thats why – the NBN.
That’s why Coalition can’t accept NBN.
Trouble in Newcastle.
http://www.theherald.com.au/story/311439/robbo-turns-back-on-running-mate-buman-backs-mccloy/?cs=305
Yeah, OK.
For some reason this has made me laugh hysterically. Must see
[Elderly Woman Ruins 19th Century Fresco in Restoration Attempt
By Katie Kindelan | ABC News Blogs – Wed, Aug 22, 2012 3:11 PM EDT]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BR250FoS6l4&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Sent from my iPad
How old was Mr Gillard?
That was a response to MTBW, by the way.
Roy O
Memories! I gather Coogee was De La Salle Coogee there was a good sort there as well his name was David Waring and he was a good swimmer. We would all trot of to the Coogee Acquarium to watch the Swimming Carnival but we were really there to watch David.
The Golden Grove Hotel was a place I never visited but a place knew about.
Did you ever know of “Reg White’s Service Station” opposite GMH on Bunnerong Road Maroubra – that was my Dad’s. Sadly he died in 1982 and we had to lease it out. Lots of great memories.
confessions @ 430
What a dropkick.
But great timing. Check out 428 for example, just before your post.
BH @ 252
Ask him if he is prepared to forgo fibre optic when (if) it goes past his house, and stick with just wireless.
Bet he comes up with some BS excuse about why he really needs it, while still insisting that it is a Very Bad Thing for everybody else to have.
Tricot,
83
Today I had my oldest dog put down. In the wee hours of Friday morning she suffered a bloat episode, which, while she vomited and alleviated the bloat, never recovered from.
She was a 12yo basset hound whom I’d had since she was a puppy. She was tart, obstinate, loud, willful, and just plain painful. But I loved her and always will. She was the best friend a gal could ever hope to have, and I’ll miss her always.
Mr Gillard was 82.
zoidlord @ 432
Well politics and free market ideology underlie their objections, but why do they then try to argue technical issues where they just can’t possibly win?
That is the mystery to me.
Thanks William!
victoria @ 435
Hmmm. You have an idiosyncratic sense of humour, obviously 😆
GG – Thanks
Reminds me of those sad pictures of Princess Elizabeth coming home from Kenya, I think it was, when KGV1 died.
Surely to goodness nobody can make anything political out of this loss for the PM.
Here it is:
http://blogs.crikey.com.au/pollbludger/2012/09/08/nsw-local-government-elections-thread/
confessions
Hugs to you.
[What a dropkick.]
This is what I mean. You are singularly incapable of disagreeing with people without resorting to personal abuse and insults.
Seriously, take a look at yourself. You are a disgrace.