The defection of Queensland MP Ronan Lee will undoubtedly induce what might be called the “Colston effect”, in which material, real and otherwise, kept under wraps while a politician is within the fold is released to damage them after they betray their party.
But the peculiar relationship between Lee, environmentalists, Labor members and anti-abortionists continues to suggest he is not the gift to the Greens that they might think. The Greens’ decision not to preference Lee in 2004 – the only Labor MP not to be preferenced by the Greens in the State – was based, a source says, on his anti-abortion stance.
In the lead-up to that election in January 2004, the ALP negotiated a deal on land-clearing with the Wilderness Society and other environmental groups. Part of the deal was that the Society, of which Lee is a member, would support Lee in Indooroopilly in return for the Beattie Government’s action to slow land-clearing. The Society preferenced the Greens first and Lee second and flooded the electorate on election day with volunteers. It was only later that many of the young women who had volunteered for the Society on the day were shocked and disappointed to learn that their chosen candidate was a vehement anti-abortionist.
According to a Labor source, Lee’s stance was sufficiently alarming that his own branch members refused to campaign for him in 2006, forcing Lee to call on local Catholic Church volunteers to help him out.
“It’s said that he carries a picture of a foetus to impress anyone that opposes his views on abortion, although I never saw it,” a factional colleague said. “I was tempted to raise the issue with him so he would get it out and I could rip it up, but I refused to speak to him.”
And then there’s the peculiar issue of Lee’s children. Lee’s Parliamentary website lists one daughter, Ailbhe, born during his first, brief marriage in the early part of the decade (his then-wife featured prominently in his 2004 election material). However he also has a daughter from another, subsequent relationship, and his marriage appears to have been airbrushed from his public profile. Both mothers are said to have left the state. Lee’s MySpace site says he is currently “single”.
There’ll be more about Lee to come. One suspects the Greens don’t have much idea of the sort of bloke they’ve acquired.
As Lisa Crago commented in reply to yesterday’s article on the same topic, history repeats. Kris Hanna in South Australia defected from Labor to the Greens in 2004, but contested the 2006 state election as an independent. There are multiple opinions about what went wrong, but the fact that the SA Greens were not used to having any MPs, let alone only one who was from outside their traditional circles, was definitely a massive factor. I should know, I was Kris’s electorate officer at the time. The other interesting footnote is that Kris was re-elected as an independent despite stepping off two political parties in one term of office.
I think you’re at risk of smearing a maverick. He doesn’t fit into the ALP and is about 100 kg lighter and 30 years younger than Mal Colston. No worries. And he’s Irish which is just fine. It used to be in 1995 that the Green Party national organisation had a conscience vote on pro chocie/life arguments and I suspect this accomodates at least one current senator?
And what’s with trawling a fellow’s private family life anway because he quits the ALP? Two collapsed relationships at 32 … a big so what. Does he pay his maintenance? Is his ex wife an elected official? Is the child? Could she be an assertive self directed emancipated person that got bored took off on her own adventures with no need for a handbag? I mean how patriarchical to airbrush her choices and her capacity to decide her future. And no credit to the sisters on this string implying otherwise.
“He doesn’t fit into the ALP” writes Tom McLoughlin. The ALP has heaps of members and pollies who are fervently anti-abortion (as well as many with an opposing view), heaps who are pro-environment, heaps of pollies who don’t get Greens preferences (as well as many who do) and heaps of folk who are younger and slimmer than Mal Colston. I will admit, however, that it’s rare to find this combination all in the one person.
All a bit gruesome this. A political campaigning contortionist using Wilderness and Wildlife groups, the local Catholic congregation and a dwindling rabble of ALP buddies to get him a seat in parliament. He sounds a patriarchal, bigoted hypocrite with a bent for women and no commitment. How can he be loose with the truth on his parliamentary website and what else doesn’t or does the parliament know about the guy now sitting on a green bench? If an official website of the Queensland Parliament can mislead the public then it sounds like a ham-fisted operative too. What other misinformation is under the Queensland coat-of-arms and are we looking at another Joh era? All questions the Parliament needs to answer – now that Mr Lee has taken it as well as the ALP for a ride.
Lee is the product of the organisational wing of the ALP’s stupidity and it is now coming back to bite them. He was only ever preselected to run in Indooropilly the first time because they though that they could not possibly win it. He has always been unpopular among ALP members – even before he was a MP – and this goes back to his days in student politics. The ALP needs to do better to ensure that only quality candidates are endorsed in all seats and stop the practice of running inexperienced hacks such as Lee from outside of the local area in “unwinnable seats”. As mentioned in the article – those greens who supported him should not only be upset about his stance on abortion but also the treatment of his electorate staff.