Ken Wyatt
Apart from being only the second hung Parliament since Federation, the new national assembly is notable for another reason. Ken Wyatt, the Liberal Member for Hasluck, is the first indigenous member of the House of Representatives.
It comes almost 40 years after Neville Bonner, also a Liberal, was sworn in as the nation’s first indigenous senator. Like Bonner, Wyatt has come from a family of battlers, and has made his way in life through hard work and persistence.
The Coalition’s promotion of people from diverse backgrounds has extended beyond indigenous Australians. Bill O’Chee ,a National Party Senator for Queensland, was the first MP with an Asian/Chinese parent. His father was Chinese, and his mother was Irish-Australian. Thomas Bakhap (Liberal, Senator for Tasmania 1913-23), although Caucasian, was the adopted son of a Chinese immigrant Bak Hap (his mother was Irish), and the Senator identified strongly with the Chinese community.
Continue reading "The parliament should be as diverse as society" »
There’s a Liberal campaign ad running frequently on Perth television that seeks to remind voters how reliant the rest of the country is on the Western Australian mining boom:
“Labor = Labor’s cash cow” goes the punchline.
This plays into a common perception in the west: we’re the backbone of this economy and the bludgers over in the east are milking us dry.
Continue reading "A journey into the ALP’s western heart of darkness" »
Latest 2 of 36 comments
View all comments-
Pete says:
6000 jobs will go under Abbott so your a fortune teller now? If you cannot win an argument just make up some stats and people will believe you…. hmmm sounds like something that party would do.. what was it again… thats right LABOR! Wow impressive Read more »
-
Adrian says:
Sharyn Jackson is the only reason I will be voting labor. She is not only hard working, but she cares about her electorate and her door is always open to anyone who cares to drop in. If you havnt seen her in the electorate and you need to see her,… Read more »
Facebook Recommendations
Read all about it
Punch live
Up to the minute Twitter chatter
It's a Sydney thing, but 95.3FM... Why? It used to be all Bohemian Rhapsody and Walk this Way; now it's Father to Son and Country Road. Wah.
Recent posts
The latest and greatest
We don’t deserve this huge, exciting scientific project
I’d like to be able to say that sharing the world’s largest radio telescope with South Africa…
Mining money talks the loudest in Australian politics
When North Queensland Liberal MP George Christensen got the idea of launching a new political organisation…
Please enter your password
Help! I’ve succumbed to a crippling modern illness that can strike at any moment. Symptoms include:…
Nosebleed Section
choice ringside rantings
From: They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments
Michael S says:
"A teacher at Geelong Grammar had criticised her for using words that were too long, which had left her confused and had made her doubt her ability to write essays. She became ''quite distressed'' when her English marks began to fall." I can sympathise. My scholastic mentors conveyed to me a causal relationship… [read more]From: Welfare for breeders is a bonus for everyone
Change Up! says:
I have no problem paying my taxes. As a single, childless person on a very decent income, I can afford it and not have my life severely altered. Plus I understand that my taxes paying for things like schools, childcare and infrastructure is ultimately a good thing. A better community is better for me… [read more]Gentle jabs to the ribs
They must pay for one’s bitter disappointments
A private school girl’s family is sueing her elite, extremely expensive private school for not… Read more
Latest 2 of 37 comments
View all commentsAdd your comment