http://www.thepunch.com.au/tags/deb-o-neill/ Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. en Copyright 2012 The Punch penberthyd@newsltd.com.au penberthyd@newsltd.com.au Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 Politics, opinion, world news, sports news, latest news, views, Barack Obama, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Nathan Rees, Malcolm Turnbull, Peter Garrett, Barnaby Joyce, Australian, federal politics, opinion polls, election, The Punch, thepunch, punch ExpressionEngine 1.6.7 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 15 http://www.thepunch.com.au/images/punch-logo-rss.png http://www.thepunch.com.au/ 144 70 Politics, political opinion, world news, sports news and the latest news and views updated live, daily on The Punch - Australia's best conversation. Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-battle-between-mr-and-mrs-robertson/ One day last week Climate Change Minister Penny Wong found herself in a rather awkward position during a visit to the highly marginal seat of Robertson on the NSW Central Coast. The minister made a whirlwind stop at a Million Women lunch at the Gosford RSL where she found herself on the top table, two seats from deposed ALP MP Belinda Neal. The new ALP candidate, Deb O’Neill, was relegated to another table, out of the reflected glow of the visiting Cabinet inhabitant. Thus is the excellent weirdness of Robertson, one of the most hotly contested seats in the country come August 21. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-battle-between-mr-and-mrs-robertson/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-battle-between-mr-and-mrs-robertson/#item3646 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 The first thing the ALP needs to do now Belinda Neal has lost her pre-selection for the seat of Robertson is tell Kevin Rudd that the new candidate likes to be known as Deb O’Neill, not Debbie as he called her yesterday. The second thing is they need to stick a big picture of Neal on the wall of the state secretary’s office as a reminder that the members of the party are much better at choosing candidates than they are. It sounds pretty simple, but it’s a lesson that’s been long in the making, and one the Labor heavies in NSW are yet to fully grasp. And it’s not just important for voters and party members, as contrary to what you’d expect, being imposed on one’s constituency is no tea party for a candidate either. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Deb-dumps-Belinda-and-sends-signal-to-Labor-machine/ The first thing the ALP needs to do now Belinda Neal has lost her pre-selection for the seat of Robertson is tell Kevin Rudd that the new candidate likes to be known as Deb O’Neill, not Debbie as he called her yesterday. The second thing is they need to stick a big picture of Neal on the wall of the state secretary’s office as a reminder that the members of the party are much better at choosing candidates than they are. It sounds pretty simple, but it’s a lesson that’s been long in the making, and one the Labor heavies in NSW are yet to fully grasp. And it’s not just important for voters and party members, as contrary to what you’d expect, being imposed on one’s constituency is no tea party for a candidate either. penberthyd@newsltd.com.au (David Penberthy) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Deb-dumps-Belinda-and-sends-signal-to-Labor-machine/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Deb-dumps-Belinda-and-sends-signal-to-Labor-machine/#item2556 Sat, 26 May 2012 20:00:49 +0000 The first thing the ALP needs to do now Belinda Neal has lost her pre-selection for the seat of Robertson is tell Kevin Rudd that the new candidate likes to be known as Deb O’Neill, not Debbie as he called her yesterday. The second thing is they need to stick a big picture of Neal on the wall of the state secretary’s office as a reminder that the members of the party are much better at choosing candidates than they are. It sounds pretty simple, but it’s a lesson that’s been long in the making, and one the Labor heavies in NSW are yet to fully grasp. And it’s not just important for voters and party members, as contrary to what you’d expect, being imposed on one’s constituency is no tea party for a candidate either.