Created with the expansion of parliament in 1984, Goldstein covers coastal southern Melbourne starting from Brighton, located about 10 kilometres from the city centre, and proceeding southwards through Hampton, Sandringham and Black Rock to Beamaris. The northern part of the electorate extends inland beyond the Nepean Highway to accommodate Caulfield South, Bentleigh and surrounding suburbs. The more inland areas are naturally marginal, but the affluence of the coastal suburbs has kept the seat in Liberal hands by stable margins ranging from 5.5% in 1993 to a new high of 11.0% in 2013.
 |
| Blue and red numbers respectively indicate size of two-party majorities for Liberal and Labor. Click for larger image. Map boundaries courtesy of Ben Raue at The Tally Room. |
The area now covered by Goldstein was accommodated by the electorate of Balaclava in the years immediately after federation, and then by the new seat of Henty when Balaclava was pushed northwards by a redistribution in 1913. Brighton was put back into Balaclava after 1937, and the new seat of Higinbotham covered the remainder after parliament was expanded in 1949. When Higinbotham was abolished in 1969, the area was divided between Balaclava, Henty and the new seats of Hotham and Isaacs. Beaumaris and Black Rock remained in Isaacs after Goldstein was created in 1984, at which time the new electorate extended northwards to St Kilda East. It assumed a more familiar form when it absorbed Beaumaris in the redistribution of 1996, which greatly reduced the Liberals’ competitiveness in Isaacs.
The various electorates which dominated the modern area of Goldstein were at all times in conservative hands, with the partial exception of Labor’s win in Isaacs at the 1974 election. Don Chipp held Higinbotham for the Liberals from 1960 to 1969, at which time he moved to the new seat of Hotham. Balaclava and then Goldstein were held from 1974 to 1990 by Ian Macphee, who emerged as the figurehead of the party’s moderates. Macphee was ultimately defeated for preselection ahead of the 1990 election by David Kemp, an intellectual leader of the party’s rising neo-liberal tendency, an event that provided a catalyst for Andrew Peacock’s successful challenge to John Howard’s leadership in May 1989. Kemp went on to serve in the Howard cabinet from October 1997 until his retirement at the 2004 election, as Education Minister until 2001 and Environment Minister thereafter.
Goldstein has since been held by Andrew Robb, a former Liberal Party federal director who had long been spoken of as a potential candidate for safe seats in New South Wales, where he had lived for two decades. However, Robb had originally hailed from Victoria, having been raised in a working-class Catholic family that supported the Democratic Labor Party. He came to the Liberal Party via student politics and a job at the newly established National Farmers Federation, which was an assertive voice for labour market deregulation during his period as executive director after 1985. As federal director of the Liberal Party, Robb oversaw the 1990, 1993 and 1996 election campaigns, after which he set up the marketing company Acxiom for Kerry Packer. His first term in parliament was the last of the Howard government, in which he was promoted to parliamentary secretary in January 2006 and thence to the outer ministry as Vocational and Further Education Minister in January 2007.
Robb nominated for the deputy leadership after the 2007 election, but was defeated by Julie Bishop. He instead became Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister, and was briefly discussed as a leadership candidate when Malcolm Turnbull was embroiled in the “Utegate” affair in the middle of 2009. Shortly afterwards he made the surprise announcement that he was moving to the back bench owing to a depressive illness. He returned to the front bench in the finance portfolio in March 2010, from which he was resassigned to trade and investment after the 2013 election victory.
kezza,
This is because RC have interrogation powers that supercede the powers of our court system. Of course evidence obtained from such sources is inadmissable when you get to the prosecuting of individuals for alleged crimes.
Yet another reason why RCs are a complete waste of time and money.
The Union witchhunt and Dick ‘ta phonegate seem to be very much a Melbourne thing. Neither have any visibility here in Sydney or on our ABC. If they are being reported it’s way down in the priorities, maybe next to the weather map. I don’t suppose it’s got anything to do with a Victorian state election just 4 months away.
Bugler
[Are you saying that, while you don’t believe they did, it would be better if Labor had used the recordings for political ends?]
Not at all. I don’t think they should have listened to the conversation but it’s not a hanging offense. Given they didn’t disseminate it, it’s pretty trivial.
Greensborough Growler@525
Comrade, is this a new beginning for us?
I actually liked some of your lines too. e.g. “…all mighty attempt to convert a lost and found story in to a major scandal to rival Watergate.” and “…Rugby Player having a drink from a non-traditional source.”
The burden of proof is on the Age to provide evidence in support of their allegations.
It is difficult to prove something never happened as there is no evidence of ‘non-happening’.
MTBW@529
Neither do large parts of the ‘left’.
guytaur
[. Any Tasmanian can tell you how approachable their state member is.]
And, as he points out, this is due to the geography – the electorates are small and well defined, so it’s easy for a local figure to get up.
[Same seats apply in Federal elections. All the difference HC makes is that you have more members to represent you.]
No, it doesn’t. For it to work federally, you would either need five times the number of politicians – which would need a new Parliament House built, for starters – or five times larger electorates.
I can’t see the Australian public accepting the former, and the latter leads (necessarily) to MPs becoming distant and unknown figures.
[(This fact is why Tasmania has the most politicians per capita)]
And that helps, too.
Dio,
Yes, I’m surprised the Age is spending so much energy on it. Not surprised by the Sun though. Recently they had two page spreads and the front page dedicated to revelations in the RC about the CFMEU which had already been covered in the ABCC which cleared the CFMEU. Surely, given the public and long running nature of these things they’d bother to check.
zoomster
I am talking about how it is in Tasmania. I am not advocating for the Hare Clark system Federally.
Stop trying to make out I am.
Guytaur,
Something comparable to Tasmania would be the 8 electoral regions used by Victoria for electing members of the Legislative council. The population within any one of them is almost twice the total population of Tasmania, therefore if H-C were implemented, access would still be a far greater issue than it would in Tasmania.
zoomster
What I am saying is your claim voters have made their choice is BS.
What you can say is under our electoral system this period in history is the most anti major party it has been for decades.
That is about as definitive as you can get.
[522
poroti
An enterprising couple make it to the crash site.]
The couple involved in this story are friends of my family.
I have to say that among those personally touched by MH17, there are many – including rusted-on Tories – who feel completely disgusted by Abbott’s attempts to make capital from their grief, and who are really both confused and angered by attempts to militarise the narrative.
Diogs
[It’s okay if you have a court order.]
Actually, HeydonJ, quite testily dismissed Agius’ objection, about the legality of the taped conversation.
HeydonJ said, at the time, within the Victorian jurisdiction, the secretly recorded conversation, i.e. that it was done without the permission nor knowledge of the third party, was completely legal. Aigus’ objection was moot.
bugler
HC comes with more members so access could be greater
guytaur
So what did you mean by —
[Nice theory. Lets test it with a Tasmanian style voting system.]
and
[So the major parties should have no problem with adopting it then.]
kezza
Heydon does know communications law is Federal?
zoomster
I see you have not posted what I was replying to
briefly
After such a painful journey it is good to see that they had been given such open access to the site.
Guytaur,
So it’s more about the number of politicians rather than the system used to elect them? (H-C is the system used in the Victorian LC, it’s just apparently called “single transferable vote” when it’s an upper house).
bugler
Tasmania has Hare Clark
Its the correct model. Any different from Tasmania are modifications.
Sounds like the Victorians were trying to save resources. Understandably enough
bugler
Hare Clark came from Ireland so there could be an operating HC there
567
poroti
It took them three attempts to gain access. They had to negotiate their way past Ukrainian as well as separatist forces, but were able to do this without any official authority or company. They just did it.
The other feedback has been that the local population in the vicinity of the crash site are terribly traumatised….as we might expect.
briefly@561
I saw that couple on TV yesterday before they made it to the crash site and it was very sad.
The woman in particular was in complete denial. Understandable of course if there is any shred of hope, but in this case hope was just unrealistic.
I hope you are right about those rusted-on Tories and that they share their feelings around.
guytaur
[Heydon does know communications law is Federal?]
Is it?
According to Diogs, and HeydonJ, different strokes apply for different folks in different State jurisdictions.
It appears there are both.
Here is a reference
http://www.privacy.org.au/Resources/PLawsST.html
briefly
[The other feedback has been that the local population in the vicinity of the crash site are terribly traumatised….as we might expect.]
The very harrowing account was linked last night (sorry forget who posted it):
After flight 17 crash, agony, debris, and heartbreak in Ukraine villages
http://online.wsj.com/articles/after-flight-17-crash-agony-debris-and-heartbreak-in-ukraine-villages-1406335532
Alright, I’m confused as to where this argument is going, or indeed what it’s about, so I’ll just stop.
Kezza
In Victoria you can record till your heart is content, but you can’t communicate without consent.
In NSW you theoretically can record till your heart is content, but you can’t possess the recording without consent. This in effect means that you can’t record secretly ie without consent, cos the moment it’s recorded all things being equal, it’s probably in your possession
The RC legislation may override these liabilities and preclude prosecution for breaches.
briefly
Re the locals being traumatised. I keep thinking of the interview with a pensioner who found a passenger’s body had crashed through her kitchen roof. A comment by another villager revealed the passenger was not in one piece. The old lady said the body was still there because they had been told to wait until “experts came” . The stuff of nightmares for the poor lady and her neighbors.
Then there were all the local miners and villagers ,totally untrained or prepared for such work, who had from the first day gone out to find and mark where bodies and remains had fallen .Very unlikely they will be get any trauma counseling to help cope with such an experience.
Interesting report from ABC’s Philip Williams this morning.
Every time a correspondent goes into a foreign circumstance they hire a “fixer” and a driver. The fixer interprets and makes all and any arrangements.
Williams told of his Ukraine fixer who he greatly admired. The fixer, a young guy did all liaisons at road blocks and at the site, very successfully. It was his job to persuade anyone who needed to be persuaded about anything, and along with the driver to provide all local knowledge and advice.
[572
bemused
I saw that couple on TV yesterday before they made it to the crash site and it was very sad.
The woman in particular was in complete denial. Understandable of course if there is any shred of hope, but in this case hope was just unrealistic.
I hope you are right about those rusted-on Tories and that they share their feelings around.]
The thing is, if you’ve lost someone in this way, when you’re trying to comprehend and adjust to the shock of such an event, the last thing you should be subjected to is endless commentary, re-runs of the graphics, self-serving political interference and speculation about who might “win” and who might “lose” in a PR sense. This is just doubly-horrifying if you’re the one who has been struck by a death.
This is so shameful, imho. Terribly painful events have been reduced to low-cost/high-impact “content” by the mass media and “opportunity theatre” by the spin-artists. Grief has been turned into wall-to-wall, 24/7, mass entertainment. There is no solace here, simply indignity heaped upon despair.
578
poroti
Evidently there were nearly 40 such events.
Just watched Shorten’s speech and I think it was perfectly OK.
Rex provides a valuable and consistent service here …. if he slates a Labor speech or action you immediately know Labor did AOK.
Questions Farrah Tomazin must answer:
1. Given you had a digital recording device, why do you continue to co-author articles in which it is claimed your “tapes” have been stolen?
This is what a digital recorder looks like:
http://www.dicksmith.com.au/audio-mp3/digital-voice-recorders
This is what a tape recorder looks like (scroll down):
http://www.retrothing.com/2008/03/
2. How did you not know the Fairfax-labelled digital recorder was misplaced at the Vic Labor Conference (Shorten held a doorstop on May 18), rather than saying it some time after the May Budget, which was on May 13?
3. Do you often record conversations without the other person’s knowledge?
4. Is Fairfax retaliating against the ALP because its editor Paul Ramadge and three (3) Fairfax journalists were found to illegally access Labor’s database during the last Victorian election, even though they cut a deal to escape conviction?
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/media/age-journalists-plead-guilty-to-avoid-conviction/story-e6frg996-1226689469239#
5. Do you think it is proper for Fairfax to carry out a retaliatory vendetta against Labor a year later, and four months out from a State election?
Et bloody cetera.
http://www.skynews.com.au/news/politics/national/2014/07/26/labor-adopts-new-stance-on-palestine.html
Under Labor Counselors would have been offered from day one. This is different from DFAT providing information etc.
Has the Abbott government done this?
thanks k2…good report
[It’s like those vids of alleged celebrities having sex or the photo of that Rugby Player having a drink from a non-traditional source.]
Another GG classic!
Best line on here in a while 🙂
psyclaw
[The RC legislation may override these liabilities and preclude prosecution for breaches.]
No, the RC legislation DIDN’T override anything.
HeydonJ said, in the RC, that Victorian law permitted the secret recordings of phone conversations.
End of.
I’m not making it up. That’s what he said. In the RC.
psyclaw @ 579
[The fixer, a young guy did all liaisons at road blocks and at the site, very successfully. It was his job to persuade anyone who needed to be persuaded about anything, and along with the driver to provide all local knowledge and advice.]
But that is such an old fashion way of doing it. The Abbott way, sending in the SAS is way better…at rebuilding a tarnished image. Or so Abbott thinks.
[565
guytaur
Posted Sunday, July 27, 2014 at 1:34 pm | PERMALINK
kezza
Heydon does know communications law is Federal?]
There are relevant State laws as well
[The fixer, a young guy did all liaisons at road blocks and at the site, very successfully. It was his job to persuade anyone who needed to be persuaded about anything, and along with the driver to provide all local knowledge and advice.
]
But let’s not kid ourselves — these so called “fixers” are mostly adept at paying the correct price to the right person. Not much more than that in most cases — just gives the necessary distance for organisations and companies to stay “pure” and not to be seen as engaging in bribery directly or knowingly. They just put their fingers in ears and say la la la when the fixer is doing said fixings!
Kezza
I sometimes wonder if you can in fact read. Or are you just a bull at a gate by nature.
What is it about my first sentence that you can’t understand? I’ll repeat the salient part.
Under Vic legislation you can record till your heart is content.
That’s what Heydon says. That’s what the Vic Act allows. That’s what I wrote.
I think in SA you can record as a personal aide memoire but can’t let anyone else listen to the recording.
psyclaw
Likwise, I wonder if you can read – and understand.
It’s all very well to to say that “Under Vic legislation you can record till your heart is content” BUT, according to HeydonJ you can communicate without consent ALTHOUGH according to you, you can’t.
That’s the difference, pal. And speaking of bulls at gates, he he he, when were you defrocked, so to speak?
i’m starting to worry about this govt … the collective karma os it ignorant irrationality … something bad might happen to australia – see it as punishment for stupid electoral decision last year. australians have lot to learn still
Kezza
The Victorian legislation is silent as to getting permission or not to record.
The Victorian legislation chooses to do any restricting, by restricting the communication/publication of the recording and not the actual recording.
in contrast, the NSW legislation restricts possessionOf sectet recordings.
The main rule in Victoria is thus as I initially wrote. You can record secretly, but it is illegal to communicate it. Like pretty well all legislation, there are exceptions ….. about 15 in this case. And under the exceptions it is probably permissible to communicate the secret recording to a RC
It’s the history of social organisation and indeed matters of science. There are rules, and there are exceptions.
Lynton Crosby dirt merchants spin for Cameron & the new “tough guy” Abbott
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jul/26/tory-women-warn-against-personal-attacks-on-ed-miliband
The quicker they get put out of business the better for democracy
Anyone know how their court action with Mike Kelly is going
psyclaw
HeydonJ made it quite clear that at the time of the recording it was not illegal. Therefore it was not illegal to communicate it.
Maybe the law has changed since then, but so what.
At the RC, according to HeydonJ, it was okay to communicate these recordings BECAUSE they were not illegal at the time.
I was quite familiar with this law because of recordings my family had made in 2009.
We hadn’t recorded phone calls, but had recorded conversations between my father and some family members.
Explosive stuff, but inadmissible in a court of law.
So, another question is, did Farrah Tomazin record Ted Bailleau legally?
Would she have been able to put the transcription of that phone call in a book, for instance?
Or would Ted have been able to invoke a law that prevented communication of the recording?
When did the law change?
Kezza
“That’s the difference, pal. And speaking of bulls at gates, he he he, when were you defrocked, so to speak?”
Your nastiness knows no bounds. And don’t bother to reply with your usual excuses …. not interested ….. booooring.
And your nastiness in this case as usual is so factually misplaced, given my gender. LOL
MTBW@584
im sure the member for likud michael danby will be pissed