With the three NSW state
by-elections now announced for 17 September, campaigning is well under
way in Marrickville, the only seat of the three where there is a
realistic chance of Labor losing. Having been enticed out of the Upper
House, Labor’s Education Minister Carmel Tebbut will be facing the
Green’s Sam Byrne, who has served on Marrickville Council for six years
and is currently Deputy Mayor.

This Saturday, the seat will be
treated to a special event, with Senator Bob Brown turning up for a
Greens campaign launch BBQ in local Enmore Park. Brown’s a skinny
bloke. Here’s hoping the local Labor Party has changed in the last two
decades.

Balmain might have had colourful characters, but the
Enmore Labor Party branch was run by some of the shadiest types ever
associated with the Labor Party. It had to be completely cleaned out
after the bashing of Peter Baldwin.

Nowadays it’s the Albanese
Left that controls the branches, not the dodgy old Right. That might be
why for several years they held a special harbour cruise fundraiser
dubbed “The Love Boat 2.” The name didn’t refer to that terrible old TV
series. It was a reference to another Labor Party function – a rather
odd function associated with the NSW Right controlled Enmore branch
that allegedly featured a minister of the crown, prostitutes and what
are politely referred to as ‘marital aids’ that occurred back in the
eighties, when the term political scandal had yet to be devalued.

Anyway,
we hope bouncing Bob enjoys Enmore Park. There are sure to be plenty of
low flying planes. That means that – once again – someone will ask
about former Greens MHR Michael Organ’s campaign ads at the 2004
election in Cunningham, which seemed to suggest the shrubhuggers want
Sydney airport left exactly where it is.