Dear Crikey,

I am responding to your newsletter about the Werriwa by-election. I am an Independent candidate running on the issue of my new model for a republic and to try to publicise a couple of new green and gold flags that I also designed. I have sent you a few emails before, and have been going on about these issues for a while now (I also ran in Wentworth as an Independent last year).

While I am extremely critical of Howard, for what I consider to be obvious reasons, I am not too fond of how the ALP is going about its business. I would like to see the ALP raising the republic issue, and can see my new model providing a basis for a renewal to a more participatory politics in general, but its been quite a while since I’ve believed in the tooth fairy. So I am running as an Independent, and I have no contact with people in the ALP nor any funding from them.

For your interest, images of these new flags are here. I have had some printed flags, 1×1.5 meters in size, made up (the flag with the large Commonwealth Star).

Another Werriwa watcher writes:

This “word on the street” about so-called Labor stooges is probably referring to Joe Bryant (perennial Nationalist Western Sydney candidate), Mike Head (editor of arguably “Labor friendly” Workers News), Sam Bargshoon (Mr Orange Grove and still friendly with some Labor people, but not necessarily the ALP), and Ned Mannoun (ex-ALP member). No idea who James Young is, but to be horribly stereotypical, being from Caringbah I suspect that he hasn’t been to Eucalyptus Drive in Macquarie Fields any time recently.

There’s a major difference between being Labor-friendly and being Labor stooges. If you really wanted to do it, six stooges among nine “independents” is an unnecessary exercise in overkill.

CRIKEY: Check out the full list of 16 Werriwa candidates here.