Crikey Calling is independent media for independent minds – in handy podcast form! Join the Crikey crew – including Canberra correspondent Bernard Keane, the country’s sharpest political commentator – for a lively (if somewhat wonky) look behind the scenes of politics and power in Australia.
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In the first episode of Crikey Calling for the year Bernard Keane and Jason Whittaker discuss Julia Gillard’s parachuting of Nova Peris into a NT senate spot, as well as the “threat” of cyber welfare.
[podcast]https://uat.crikey.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/crikeycalling24jan.mp3[/podcast]
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Gents, there were a couple of major errors/misconceptions repeated in your podcast. Firstly the suggestion that in the NT election last year indigenous territorians had “for the first time had indigenous candidates to vote for” is simply wrong. NT labor has a long and strong record of indigenous candidates, members, and minsiters. The difference in 2012 was that the CLP ran indigenous candidates in the bush at a time when Labor was on the nose out there..and Labor parachuted in candidates that were not credible in communiteis (e.g Dean Rioli).
Secondly, the yawing gap in indigenous representation in Federal parlaiment can hardly be blamed on the Territory. NT Labor gets to elect 1 Senator only, Every other state has probably 4-6 Labor senators at any given time. If Labor/Gillard are serious about correcting past they could do it be pre-selecting a candiatde into a ‘winnable’ 2nd or 3rd spot on the senate ticket in any other state (tougher at a half senate election admittedly). The reason the Territory has been used in this way is as you identified because the factions control preselection in the states. This decision has totally bombed in the NT and Peris well end up last on many labor voters tickets. Watch for a strong showing from the no.2 spot on the ticket!
Good work on the cyber security kerfuffle. Not bad on the ins and outs of the pre-selection. But a bit rough to reduce Nova Peris to a mere “indigenous celebrity” candidate. She *has* been involved with plenty of other stuff since the Olympics. http://is.gd/tF2QkF