Sophie Mirabella has won preselection for Indi. Does she deserve a second chance?
When Tony Windsor was leaving politics, he said on Insiders that Mrs Mirabella was the person he would miss least in politics, bestowing upon her the “nasty prize”.
Sophie said that they’d had little to do with each other other than exchange “mundane, daily pleasantries” to which Tony responded
“She opens her mouth in Parliament and says things all the time. Her office is about 20 yards from mine. Her contributions to Parliament haven’t been the best.”
“She is the nastiest – I reckon if you put it to a vote to all politicians, she’d come up No.1.”
Craig Emerson added his opinion on Twitter, saying that “campaigning against Sophie Mirabella is in the national interest”.
Windsor was apparently surprised by the number of emails he received from Victorians supporting his view of Mirabella – “I was asked a question, and I gave an honest answer” – but added context to his opinion.
“My main interest is not so much about her, but that I don’t think she’s a good country member. I’ve seen her talk about country issues in Parliament and I don’t think she gets it; it’s pretty easy to see it’s from a city perspective.”
When one of Sophie’s staffers asked Liberals to write letters of support to the local papers in the lead-up to the last election they got more than they bargained for. Hoopla published a selection of which the following is an example:
Dear Editor of the Myrtleford Times,
It is blatantly untrue that Mrs Sophie “Magic” Mirabella, our local MP, is unfamiliar with the electorate. I have it on good authority that she has flown over Indi on no fewer than 230 occasions on her way from Tullamarine to Canberra, providing her with a unique bird’s-eye perspective on this electorate and the issues that matter to voters. Please retract your vicious slur on this good woman.
Your acrimoniously,
Not-At-All-Invested-In-The-Campaign Indi Voter.
Mirabella’s letter pleading for preselection this time says her “time out of the Canberra bubble has provided me with a renewed perspective… The North East is where my home and heart is.”
Whilst conceding she got it wrong last time by neglecting her electorate, in words very reminiscent of her old boss, she says the “humbling” loss changed her but she remains the party’s best chance of winning back Indi from the “ineffective independent” Cathy McGowan, who she accuses of having run a campaign “masquerading as conservative” with Labor and Greens’ support.
“We clearly require our candidate to have a high profile in our community… have local media knowledge, skills and ability to strongly demonstrate how ineffective the incumbent independent has been,” the letter reads.
“We need to be able to contrast Ms McGowan’s lack of achievement with someone who already has a strong track record of delivering for our local community.”
Sophie has already begun her smear campaign.
A further reminder of what the voters in Indi thought about their local member’s 12 year track record prior to the last election…
Dear Editor of the Mansfield Courier,
Our local MP, Sophie Mirabella, is a big presence in our local communities. She frequently visits schools in the district, where she helps young children to read, or vice versa. She has a diverse range of interests that bring her into contact with real Indi residents, including her passion for gardening, cooking, and recreational whaling.
Yours sincerely,
Contented of Mansfield.
—
Dear Editor of the North East and Goulburn Murray Farmer,
I am writing to let you know how impressed I am with the impressive achievements of Sophie Mirabella, in particular, all of them, which are impressive.
Yours reverently,
Long Time Reader, First Time Writer.
I decided to investigate Ms Mirabella’s claim that Ms McGowan had been ineffectual and I found an amazing record of exactly what I consider to be the perfect local member. It is far too voluminous to share with you but I will give you a very short taste of how hard this amazing woman is working both for her electorate and the country. I would encourage anyone with the time to follow the links which show someone who does their research, knows their stuff, and has an open door to her constituents and an understanding of local issues.
In the last two weeks of sitting parliament, Ms McGowan made 16 speeches.
7/9 Public transport and the need to replace aging rolling stock highlighted by a young boy missing an appointment with a specialist in Melbourne due to a train breakdown.
7/9 The erection of a new mobile phone tower at Mount Dorothy with more planned.
7/9 A petition regarding the need for internet service for Allans Flat.
8/9 The launch of the Spirit of Anzac Centenary Experience national touring exhibition in Wodonga. (She was too polite to mention how Abbott excluded and snubbed her in favour of Mirabella at the official functions).
8/9 The Water Amendment Bill and how proposed changes to the Murray-Darling will affect farmers in Indi.
9/9 The decline of local news in rural and regional areas.
10/9 A delegation from Australian Women in Agriculture to talk about “an inland fast rail route, telecommunications, particularly access to broadband and the impact of the government transferring services to internet is having particularly in rural communities where we do not have broadband. They also want to talk about the impact of changes to the working visas and students who are coming and working as WWOOF – willing workers on organic farms.”
14/9 A speech as co-sponsor of the Marriage Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 citing support from local clergy and constituents.
14/9 Several petitions from constituents concerned about the treatment of asylum seekers.
14/9 Students from Mount Beauty Secondary College in the Kiewa Valley who went to Canberra because they have just completed a semester of study of Australian politics.
14/9 The work the Army Aboriginal Community Assistance Program is doing to provide services and facilities to a small rural community an hour and a half south of Alice Springs.
14/9 She congratulated the Catholic College’s adaptation of Romeo and Juliet to the contemporary Albury-Wodonga scene and said how much she had enjoyed the performance.
15/9 She spoke about the work Landcare groups were doing in her electorate and congratulated them on some recent awards.
16/9 She spoke about rural and regional health funding for multipurpose services, specifically “two MPSs in my electorate of Indi: Upper Murray Health and Community Services in Corryong and Alpine Health in the Kiewa and Ovens valleys. Recent changes to the Aged Care Act and the establishment of Primary Health Networks jeopardise the viability of these services. We have a problem.”
17/9 She introduced representatives from Northeast Health, based in Wangaratta and servicing most of north-east Victoria, to advocate for $22.5 million to support the long-term strategic approach to deliver services in north-east Victoria. She pleaded “do not cut health funding for capital works in the next budget; make it a priority. Communities in north-east Victoria, like Wangaratta, need more money. We need to develop our service providers. Please, please, please.”
But I think my favourite speech was one made on the 14/9 inviting all of her constituents to a community summit:
Colleagues, I would like to tell you today about a really exciting event that is going to happen in my electorate of Indi on Saturday, 24 October, in Benalla. Today, particularly, I would like to address all the young people in north-east Victoria: this day is for you. Here is your chance to get involved in parliamentary democracy in our own community. Come with your voices. Bring your solutions. Share your visions. Tell your friends, your family, and your cousins: Benalla is the place to be on Saturday, 24 October.
The Indi Summit will bring together people from right across the electorate to talk about what we want for our community in the short, the medium and the long term. We are going to focus on building a strategy and having a plan for the future of north-east Victoria.
There is an opportunity to be involved pre the summit to come and talk about some of the main themes into the arts: how do we get the arts, music and culture in Indi recognised? What is the future for agriculture and food? What are we going to do about community transport into the future? How do we solve the problems of mental health and jobs? So on Saturday, 24 October, come to Benalla. All are welcome—details on the webpage.
Cathy McGowan is a woman of integrity who is tireless in representing the people of Indi, and who injects reasonable common sense into the theatrics of political combat. And then there’s Sophie.
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