Located at the western edge of Brisbane’s northern suburban corridor, Dickson is one of six seats which have been created to deal with Queensland’s population boom since the expansion of parliament in 1984. From south to north, it presently encompasses the marginal hills district suburbs of Ferny Hills, Arana Hills and Everton Hills; a strongly conservative area around Pine River including Albany Creek and Eatons Hill; and Labor-leaning suburbs along Gympie Road and the Caboolture rail line including Strathpine, Bray Park, Lawnton and Petrie (that latter being confusingly located outside the electorate that bears its name). It also extends westwards beyond the metropolitan area to Lake Samsonvale and the interior edge of the D’Aguilar Range, including the townships of Dayboro and Samford. The populous part of the electorate had hitherto been accommodate mostly by Fisher after 1984, Petrie after 1949, and Lilley beforehand.
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| Teal and red numbers respectively indicate size of two-party majorities for the LNP and Labor. Click for larger image. Map boundaries courtesy of Ben Raue at The Tally Room. |
Dickson was won for Labor on its creation in 1993 by Michael Lavarch, who had previously been the member for Fisher. Lavarch went on to serve as Attorney-General in the second term of the Keating government, before becoming one of its highest profile casualties of the 1996 election. The Liberal candidate who defeated him was Tony Smith (not to be confused with the current member for Casey in Melbourne), whose career imploded when he was questioned by police after being seen leaving a building that housed a brothel. Smith forestalled preselection defeat by quitting the Liberal Party and declaring his intention to run as an independent, which he did with little success. By this time it had emerged that the Labor candidate for the 1998 election would be defecting Democrats leader Cheryl Kernot, who had announced her determination to win a marginal seat for Labor. At first it appeared that her bid had failed, prompting her to lash out on election night at an ALP network that had deprived her campaign of resources. She would in fact go on to win the seat by a margin of 276 votes, but her career as a Labor MP was limited to a single disastrous term, after which she was unseated by a 6.1% swing at the 2001 election.
The new Liberal member was Peter Dutton, owner of a Brisbane child care centre who had earlier worked for the National Crime Authority, the Queensland Police sex offender squad and the Department of Corrective Services. Dutton consolidated his hold on the seat with a 1.8% swing in 2004 and was subsequently admitted to the outer ministry as Workforce Participation Minister, going on to a minor promotion to Revenue Minister and Assistant Treasurer in January 2006. After surviving the heavy statewide swing to Labor at the 2007 election by a margin of 217 votes, Dutton was promoted to shadow cabinet in the finance, competition policy and deregulation portfolios, and then to health and ageing after he backed Malcolm Turbull’s successful leadership challenge against Brendan Nelson in September 2008.
Dutton’s career hit a speed bump when the redistribution ahead of the 2010 election saw Dickson exchange upper Brisbane River valley territory for suburban areas around Murrumba Downs, making it a notionally Labor seat at a time when few foresaw the problems that would engulf the government at the end of its term. Dutton believed he saw a lifeline in Margaret May’s retirement as member for the safe Gold Coast seat of McPherson, for which he nominated for preselection. However, well-organised locals had long had their eyes on the succession and were not of a mind to accommodate Dutton, being readily able to draw on the argument that he would serve his party better by fighting for his crucial marginal seat. Dutton unwisely sought to raise the stakes by declaring he would not fall back on Dickson if thwarted in McPherson, evidently hoping preselectors would baulk at the prospect of depriving the party of his services. Despite backing from Malcolm Turnbull and John Howard, this proved to be a miscalculation: the local preselection vote was won by local favourite Karen Andrews, with Dutton reportedly meeting opposition in the branches of the newly merged Liberal National Party from those who had formerly been with the Nationals.
After alternative options failed to emerge, Dutton went back on his word and ran again in Dickson. However, such was the statewide backlash against Labor after the dumping of Kevin Rudd that he went untroubled, his 5.9% swing being well in line with the state average and enough to secure him a margin of 5.1%. Dickson again closely matched the state trend in recording a further 1.8% swing to the LNP in 2013, putting Dutton’s present margin at 6.7%. Dutton meanwhile has maintained the health portfolio since September 2008, serving as Minister for Health and Minister for Sport since the election of the Abbott government in September 2013.
guytaur
I know you’re only quoting someone else, but I’d be highly surprised if there’s an actual vote on Monday.
The debate in the Senate starts on Monday. Senate debates can run for a considerable time.
In this situation, on a major issue, everyone will want to make their position absolutely clear, so I’d expect a lot of Senators will want to speak, particularly those on the cross benches.
I would also speculate that there are doing to be a range of amendments proposed and discussed.
If it were a minor issue, yes, it might open for debate on Monday and be finalised the same day.
But not this one.
zoomster
Yes worth pointing out. It should have read Govt plans for vote on Monday.
[Peter Brent @mumbletwits 12m
Abbott govt was going to be low-spin. That was the best bit of spin in a long time. http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/tony-abbott-spends-43m-on-spin-doctors-20140705-zsxlh.html … ]
This is part of the reason Abbott needs all those “media monitors” – to weed out dissenting voices.
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/07/03/comment-supression-climate-science-now-new-abbott-strategy
[Another example of these processes are reports that scientific institutions are being forced to limit their research and activities so as not to question the climate change principles and policies laid out by the government. Climate change work is being taken away from research organisations like the CSIRO, with 18 job losses in Hobart this month hitting mainly the climate sciences and marine research. Despite the fact that it is placed at a unique position to provide valuable perspectives on the processes around climate change, the government is pursuing these cuts in an increasingly desperate attempt to silence opposition as it becomes more isolated from the growing consensus amongst other nation states on climate change. It sees the only solution as to defund the scientists and pretend that what they’ve observed in the oceans and landmasses in and around Australia is not actually happening.
. . .
Because of the political mess of Tony Abbott’s own making, and his inability to mount coherent arguments in support of the Direct Action policy, the Coalition has attempted to gag climate change discussion in an effort to stop criticism of an increasingly chaotic government. The defunding of EDOs and CLCs, the limits on scientific institutions, and Nikolic’s call for changes in the status of environmental organisations, all amount to an emerging pattern of behaviour by the government in which the ability of the community and institutions to speak out against the Abbott regime’s line on climate change is attacked.
From a group that railed so hard against ‘political correctness’ in Opposition and promised to implement a brave new era of free speech and robust public debate, we see an increasingly authoritarian enforcement of a new form of political orthodoxy in the public sphere. It is something Labor will continue to fight against, and another reason why the next election cannot come about soon enough.
Lisa Singh is a Labor Senator for Tasmania and is the Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Environment, Climate Change and Water.]
I am watching Insiders because David Marr is on. Its going to be interesting to what if any defence is pit up on AS policy by other panellists
Good morning Dawn Patrollers. Another tardy effort today. The weather here is miserable – the dam is overflowing big time.
A big reduction in alcohol fuelled violence in Sydney. This points to sentencing changes but there must be other reasons.
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/thomas-kelly-anniversary-marked-with-halving-of-alcohol-violence-20140705-zsxhw.html
Although if porridge works for drunken thugs it might work for bankers and financial planners. Emma Alberici.
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/call-for-financial-planners-to-improve-qualifications-and-have-ethics-training-20140704-zswi1.html
This issue won’t go away .
http://www.smh.com.au/business/nationals-john-williams-calls-for-a-royal-commission-into-white-collar-crime-in-wake-of-commonwealth-bank-scandal-20140704-3bduv.html
Peter FitzSimons with this Sunday column.
http://www.smh.com.au/comment/political-mouthing-and-racist-rants-20140704-zsvyq.html
“Strategic Communications”! Have you ever heard such rubbish”? It’s obvious Abbott is brimming with self confidence on his undoubted communication skills and capacity.
http://www.smh.com.au/national/thats-a-bit-rich-pms-growing-army-of-spin-doctors-20140705-3bf50.html
More petty and vindictive manoeuvres by the Dishonourable Scott Morrison. He must cream his jeans thinking these things up.
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/payouts-only-after-asylum-seekers-return-home-20140705-3bfb7.html
Annabel Crabbe with a reasonable of Morrison.
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/scott-morrison-interview-takes-on-pythonesque-proportions-20140704-zsw9n.html
Great work as a corporate citizen Westfield!
http://www.theage.com.au/national/charity-bins-bumped-profitmaking-collections-20140705-3bfqk.html
What an indictment on society and the complicit media.
http://www.theage.com.au/comment/triple-zero-the-toxic-dress-number-20140704-zsvu7.html
Katharine Murphy with the week in politics.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/05/a-week-of-transitions-in-politics-five-things-to-ponder
Child abuse files lost at British Home Office spark fears of cover-up
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jul/05/lost-child-abuse-files-home-office
Loved Shorten’s line that it was all offensive, no charm.
As for Abbott’s “lots of political ups and downs” — what are the ups?
Senator Lambi likes Senator Wong. Does not like Abetz 😆
guytaur
That’s entirely understandable.
Lol, this Senate is going to be a laugh…. Fun times for the libs.. Go Jackie 🙂
Well, I’m totally won over by the Abetz charm so far.
The man is charisma personified.
BK
Thanks. Murphy’s article includes Morrison leadershit, noting that Bolt et al are not castigating Morrison for doing what Turnbull is doing – undermining Abbott in public.
[Peter Brent @mumbletwits 19s
Me last September when the govt was briefing journos it would be low-spin: http://blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/mumble/index.php/theaustralian/comments/eighteen_months_and_then_what/ … ]
Clearly this is the story of the day.
Interesting. Abetz says
[We are hopeful of carbon tax repeal]
Go Fran!
Whoa! Just a cotton pickin’ minute there!
Fran asks Abetz a Nazi question!
“@Richard_Hemming: The Nazi reference was gold from Fran Kelly to Herr Abetz #insiders”
Fran reduced Abetz to either lying, being pig ignorant or ineffectively obfuscating over the fate of the “disappeared” Tamil AS.
Well I cannot complain about Fran Kelly being soft on Senator Abetz that is for sure.
Haha 🙂 I love how the view of the media folk here chops and changes with whomever they happen to be interviewing at the time!
When they give LNP Ministers a hard time, alls good!
When they give ALP Shadows a dust up, its all bias!
Everything
Good journalists research well, know their stuff and craft and follow through their questions well. If a journo does this with any side of politics or issue good on them.
Just like being at a football match and applauding a great bit of play by an opposition player.
Fixed for you.
[When they give LNP Ministers a hard time, a Blue Moon!
When they give ALP Shadows a dust up, SOP!]
And David Marr is proving my point.
Marr makes a killer point – people smugglers are determining how Australia is governed
BK:
I have no problems whatsoever with the media giving all politicians a hard time.
Thats their job!
I just make the cheeky point that all those incessant media bias comments seem to have dried up somewhat now that everyone is enjoying the LNP getting a roast or two!
[421
[Everything
Posted Sunday, July 6, 2014 at 9:30 am | PERMALINK
Haha I love how the view of the media folk here chops and changes with whomever they happen to be interviewing at the time!
When they give LNP Ministers a hard time, alls good!
When they give ALP Shadows a dust up, its all bias!]
Your right. But Liberals are better at handling it.
So, there is probably someone amongst Abbott’s 43 spin doctors and Morrison’s 97 spin doctors whose job it is to read every post on Bludger.
Hello there. If you have a conscience, why not consider resigning in disgust and announcing why?
After all, you are complicit in whatever crimes are happening on water.
Why does Morrison need 97 media advisors when he says absolutely nothing to the media. Doesn’t take 97 different ways to say STFU.
team Gillard is still crying about who Gillard was treated.. Abbott is getting the same treatment and the left love it… It’s all team support but the left make the most noise about it as they are naturally the party’s of protest.
poroti
[Another strange Boeing fact.]
The C’wlth used to have a collection of documents called “C’wlth Securities”. Originally it included all the Deeds for C’wlth owned property but also included many miscellaneous documents like the lease for a building in Egypt for the 1st AIF HQ in WW1 and the hand over documents that dealt with warlike ships owned by states at Federation e.g. HMVS Cerberus ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMVS_Cerberus )
I archived these sometime in the late 80’s (The boring property deeds stuff was long gone to the then Dept of the Interior in the early 50’s).
Left intact was a pollyglot collection of documents that related to ‘Grants’ given by the C’wlth that were ‘secured’ by delivery of goods/services or by the C’wlth holding ‘deeds’ to non-real estate property/items.
Certainly going through these was one of the more interesting work tasks I ever did – they reeked of history.
One of these was/is the registration paper for 1 Fokker A/C operated by Charles Kingsford Smith (Actual A/C ‘Lady Kingsford Smith’, if I recall correctly).
Aircraft certifier (fittness to fly) one William Boeing.
OK, so the media have proved that they’re not biased, they’re just incompetent.
Happy to cede that point.
Boerwar
I am sure there will be at least one person on the ships that handed over the AS to Sri Lanka who will leak once back on shore.
And Mod Lib is here as usual to tell everyone how stupid they are.
[Your right. But Liberals are better at handling it.]
Yeah like Abbott freezing up unable to even speak when faced with a perfectly reasonable question. Or running away. Or like Morrison having 100 spin doctors for him to tell that stupid lie about ‘on water operational matter’.
This government is hopeless.
poroti
Posted Sunday, July 6, 2014 at 9:45 am | Permalink
Boerwar
I am sure there will be at least one person on the ships that handed over the AS to Sri Lanka who will leak once back on shore.]
Oh. You mean like, leak when punctured during torture?
And Gary addresses the political comment being made by mocking the commenter.
Consistency is a positive….
Abetz is the Coalition’s prop forward in the ‘charm offensive’.
Whyalla is still there, I believe.
That snippet of Hockey’s was gold – wtte of ‘there are other ways we can get our reform agenda through even if the Senate blocks them….’ – and then he couldn’t come up with a single suggestion…
z
A complete idiot. Own goal.
The irony. Mod Lib accuses me of mocking the commenter.
Rudd won the smart but jovial vs. buffoon contest
Hockey is looking like he might be losing it at the moment!
G
ML is onto ML’s favourite subject: ML.
How did I mock you Gary?
I was pointing out the inconsistency (dare I say hypocrisy?) of the paucity of media bias comments now that the media is doing what they did with the ALP with the LNP….
ML
You would have a point if News Corpse did not exist
You didn’t mock me ML. You just make mocking others here an art form. It’s in your DNA.
It sounds like ‘Insiders’ is worth watching this morning – at the moment I have it on ‘pause’ at the moment Erica appears.
Gary is onto Gary’s favourite subject: ML
Do you guys reckon you get to bully me and I just sit quietly in the corner and cop it, eh?
This aint a union function guys, it doesn’t work like that!
:devil:
[z
A complete idiot. Own goal.]
I wonder how many millions in taxpayers money was wasted on the spin doctor strategy ‘just tell stupid lies that fall apart as soon as they are uttered.’
Couldn’t they come up with some interesting spin like ‘in Sri Lanka torture is good for you.’ ‘An economic recession deliberately induced by a bad budget will be a long term positive.’ ‘Abbott is competent and doing a good job as PM.’ ‘When we said no surprises, no excuses, we were kidding we thought it was obvious that is ALL we’d do.’