The Government has had a bit of fun quoting
“Labor thinker Peter Botsman” in Question Time this week.
Crikey might as well finish off his career and quote him,
too.

We were very taken recently by his Australian
Prospect special
article on the ascension of Morris Iemma, Day of the Terrigal. You may
recall his Carr quote: “Augustus had unwittingly cleared the way for
grandsons Nero and Caligula.”

For a bit of weekend reading, we thought we’d
give you his table on who occupies which corner of the Augean stables down on
Sussex Street – and here are a few key quotes to go with
it:

“Terrigal: (c1991) a ruthless member of the
NSW Labor Right, now increasingly used as a descriptive term across all factions
and states, generally those who do not stand for party preselection but are
installed by head office administration…

“The most disturbing aspect of the chart
above is the growth in power and influence of the group that has come to be know
as “the terrigals”. This group is increasingly made up of people who have never
been properly elected to represent the Labor Party but have come to their
positions by fiat of the Labor administrative machine. Many have simply used their positions as party bureaucrats to
win automatic passages into parliament. Many have become unchallengeable as
Ministers and members of Parliament through administrative rulings of the head
office of the party, Many are simply wives, girlfriends, friends of people who
have administrative muscles within the NSW Labor Party
machine…

“The terrigals are much more than a sub
faction. They represent a new level of audacity and arrogance. Their code of
behaviour has become a model for ambitions party apparatchiks in all factions.
They represent the greatest threat to the longevity and honesty of the
Australian Labor Party…

“Other than as a prop for marketing of
fundraising, the terrigals have no respect for tradition, seniority, the rules
of the party, common human courtesies or the customs of democracy. They live for
one thing, becoming a Minister or Premier in the shortest possible
time…

“The new Premier
Morris Iemma is an archetypical Terrigal.
Forget the rank and file, three Labor head-office terrigals won Iemma the
premiership: Mark Arbib, Administrative Secretary of the
NSW Labor Party, Joe Tripodi… and… Eddie Obied…

“Arbib is the new machine king maker… He has
developed a formidable national alliance with Bill Shorten, Senator Stephen
Conroy of Victoria and the hornery AWAU stalwart and king maker form Queensland
Bill Ludwig, Arbib not only controls who will be Premier in NSW, along with his
Right wing colleagues, Shorten, Conroy and Ludwig, he controls Kim Beazley’s
fate as well.”