Imperial Fruit: Bananas, Costs and Climate Change

The curved course of the ubiquitous banana has often been the peel…

The problems with a principled stand

In the past couple of weeks, the conservative parties have retained government…

Government approves Santos Barossa pipeline and sea dumping

The Australia Institute Media Release   Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek’s Department has approved a…

If The Jackboots Actually Fit …

By Jane Salmon   If The Jackboots Actually Fit … Why Does Labor Keep…

Distinctions Without Difference: The Security Council on Gaza…

The UN Security Council presents one of the great contradictions of power…

How the supermarkets lost their way in Oz

By Callen Sorensen Karklis   Many Australians are heard saying that they’re feeling the…

Purgatorial Torments: Assange and the UK High Court

What is it about British justice that has a certain rankness to…

Why A Punch In The Face May Be…

Now I'm not one who believes in violence as a solution to…

«
»
Facebook

Who’s going, who’s staying, who’s running, and who may be coming to Senate 2019

Regardless of the result, there are going to be many fresh faces in the Senate after the 2019 election, and some old ones we may wish we did not have to endure any longer. The following is a brief guide to who is going, who is staying, who is running, and a few who might be coming to the 2019 Senate..

In NSW, three of the six – John Williams (Nats), Doug Cameron (ALP), and David Leyonjhelm (LDP) – will not be recontesting. Jim Molan (LP) has been shunted to an unwinnable 4th spot on the Coalition Senate ticket (though section 44 got him there from an unwinnable spot last time) and has had a dummy spit saying he cannot bring himself to defend his party after preselectors dropped him.

Ex-PHON Senator Brian Burston will run for whatever Palmer’s party is called now, and Mehreen Faruqi, who beat Lee Rhiannon in a pre-selection contest for the first spot on the NSW Greens Senate ballot at the upcoming election and then filled the casual vacancy left when Rhiannon quit, will also run. She is a civil engineer, originally from Pakistan, who has served in the NSW Legislative Council for 5 years. She was the first Muslim woman to be a member of an Australian parliament.

Father Rod Bowers will run as an Independent in NSW. Everything I have seen of him points to a man committed to social justice and inclusion, a man dedicated to being a voice for the marginalised and vulnerable. Tony Windsor has hinted in the past that he may have a tilt at the Senate though I have heard nothing more on that of late.

Arthur Sinodinis’ term does not expire until 2022 but he remains on sick leave (since October 2017). Also safe until 2022 are Marise Payne and Connie Fierravanti-Wells for the Liberals, and Kristina Kenneally, Jenny McAllister and Deb O’Neill for Labor.

In Queensland, Ian Macdonald (LP) and Barry O’Sullivan (Nats) have been dumped and Claire Moore (ALP) has announced her retirement. Larissa Waters will run for the Greens and Fraser Anning will recontest, for what party, if any, is anybody’s guess.

I admit to never having heard of Chris Ketter (ALP) who will presumably recontest. A cursory look reveals he is linked with the conservative Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association and he voted against marriage equality.

Unfortunately, we are stuck with Matt Canavan (Nats), James McGrath (LP) and Pauline Hanson (PHON) for another three years, along with Amanda Stoker (LP), Murray Watt (ALP) and Anthony Chisholm (ALP).

In South Australia, Lucy Gichuhi (LP) has been relegated to an unwinnable 4th position on the ticket. Liberal Senators Ann Ruston and David Fawcett will be 1 & 2.

Former state secretary of the TWU, Senator Alex Gallacher will recontest for the ALP, Sarah Hanson-Young for the Greens, as will ex-Xenophon now Independent Senator Tim Storer.

Those continuing for another three years are Simon Birmingham (LP), Rex Patrick and Stirling Griff from Centre Alliance, Labor’s Penny Wong and Don Farrell and… sigh… Cory Bernardi.

In Tasmania, the ALP have done it again, relegating Lisa Singh to the unwinnable 4th spot despite her having been elected on below the line first preference votes last time they did that and despite the rank and file putting her at number 2. Australian Manufacturing and Workers Union state secretary John Short will be at number 3 behind Senators Carol Brown and Catryna Bilyk.

Nick McKim will recontest for the Greens. Richard Colbeck replaced Liberal Senator Steven Parry when he fell foul of the citizenship laws and will head the Liberal ticket. Former Tasmanian Young Liberals president Claire Chandler got second spot on the Senate ticket which gives her a chance to be the first female Liberal to be elected for Tasmania in 33 years. Senator Steven Martin, who filled Jacqui Lambie’s vacancy, will contest the election as a National. Presumably Jacqui will throw her own hat in the ring again.

David Bushby’s resignation to take up the role of Consul-General in Chicago – yes there is such a thing apparently – will mean a senate spot will be gifted to a Liberal until 2022. Others who will remain are Peter Whish-Wilson (AG), Labor’s Ann Urquhart and Helen Polley (who was the other Labor Senator to vote against marriage equality), and from the Libs, Jonathon Duniam and… another sigh… Eric Abetz.

In Victoria, it took Scott Morrison’s intervention to secure James Patterson and Jane Hume’s positions at the top of the Liberal ticket after Kroger’s Christians tried to stage a coup. Derryn Hinch will run again for his justice party as will Janet Rice for the Greens.  Labor’s Gavin Marshall, who was an official with the Electrical Trades Union before entering politics, will recontest but Jacinta Collins will not.

Continuing Senators include Richard di Natale (AG), Scott Ryan and Mitch Fifield for the Libs, Bridget McKenzie for the Nats (unless she gets a better offer), and Kim Carr and Shorten’s pick, Kimberly Kitching, for Labor.

In WA, Labor’s Pat Dodson and Louise Pratt will face the polls as will Liberals Linda Reynolds and Slade Brockman. The Greens Jordan Steele-John, who replaced Scott Ludlum, will presumably recontest and who knows (or cares) about accidental PHON Senator (and Rod Culleton b-in-law), Peter Giorgiou.

Remaining senators for WA include Labor’s Sue Lines and Glenn Sterle, the Greens Rachel Siewart, and the Liberals Dean Smith and his traitorous colleagues Matthias Cormann and Michaelia Cash.

Territory Senators only get three year terms. For the NT, Nigel Scullion (CLP) is retiring and Labor’s Malarndirri McCarthy is recontesting.  In the ACT, Labor’s David Smith and Liberal Zed Seselja will face off.

Control your own vote by voting below the line. Choose wisely. The Senate are the gatekeepers.

Like what we do at The AIMN?

You’ll like it even more knowing that your donation will help us to keep up the good fight.

Chuck in a few bucks and see just how far it goes!

Your contribution to help with the running costs of this site will be gratefully accepted.

You can donate through PayPal or credit card via the button below, or donate via bank transfer: BSB: 062500; A/c no: 10495969

Donate Button

35 comments

Login here Register here
  1. Kronomex

    My gag reflex almost kicked in when I saw that photo…urgh…

    “Control your own vote by voting below the line.” Always do Kaye Lee. 🙂

    The friend that I live with was not impressed, and neither was I, when we heard that Lisa Singh had effectively been dumped and passed over for some union member.

  2. Kaye Lee

    Lisa Singh is inconvenient. She just won’t keep quiet when Bill wants her to. If I was Tasmanian I would absolutely give her my number 1.

  3. corvus boreus

    I have seen a lot of hand-wringing, pearl clutching and straight out whinging about the 2016 senate voting reforms, but little informed comment about the positives within the ‘below the line’ reforms .
    Previously, anyone wanting to make an informed vote for individual representative candidates rather than trusting to preference allocations/deals within/between parties/blocs (which is how our democratic constitution is supposed to work) had to number every single square below the line on the upper house bed sheet (a hugely onerous task given the number of prospectives).
    Now we have the option of only numbering the number of senate seats up for grabs in our particular state/territory, with the option of continuing to number squares until we run out of positives rather than having to go through the motions of reverse-prioritising all the negatives.

  4. Kaye Lee

    I must admit it gave me pleasure to number certain people #379 below the line. (I may be exaggerating a tad but not much. Hubby would say what the hell have you been doing as he waited not so patiently for me to emerge. We now go to the booths separately)

    I have just realised that I made the Freudian slip of omitting all mention of Mark Latham’s bid to ride on Pauline Hanson’s coattails into the Senate. As I have written previously, for pity’s sake NSW, prove Antony Green wrong and send this guy back to the public bar.

  5. Corby boreus

    Kaye lee, do you know whether ‘ father Rod’ will be running as an indi or if he intends align with any particular party or bloc?
    For a dick-god devotee, he actually seems to have a reasonable head and heart

  6. Yvonne Robertson

    Leyonjhelm and Latham are both heading off to finish the destruction of the NSW parliament in the Senate I believe.

    I too, always vote below the line.

  7. Kaye Lee

    Oh yes Yvonne. Latham is heading for state govt too…thanks for reminding me (I’m getting election punch drunk)……but that just brings back the memory of his ideas about how he will transform education. ARRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH

  8. Kaye Lee

    Another bonus about voting below the line is you can override the factions. How utterly ridiculous was it for Labor to sacrifice a competent sitting Senator in Louise Pratt to give Joe Bullock the job only to see him storm off in a homophobic tantrum and be replaced by the woman who deserved to be there in the first place. It seems the same thing is happening again to Singh.

    Being a union leader does not mean you will make a good or bad politician. But Bullock?? That made me very cross with the Labor Party. Voting below the line is a great way to tell them that.

  9. corvus boreus

    Yvonne,
    I admit that 2016 was the first time I have voted below the line for the federal senate because it was the first time that the procedure did not involve me sequentially numbering a several hundred figure long selection that ended up in me making pointless choices between disturbing unknowns and patent impalatabilities.

  10. Keitha Granville

    I for one will be putting Lisa Singh at 1 – perhaps they will learn this time that we mean to have her. Brown and Bilyk are good value, but we don’t need a token male dropped in !

  11. Aortic

    Bernardi and Abetz, the absolute epitome of unrepresentative swill. At least O’Sullivan and McDonald won’t grace the chamber which is something to be thankful for I guess.

  12. Michael Taylor

    How can we afford to lose Doug Cameron?

    Is there a politician who fights for the worker harder than he does?

    On top of that, he’s Scottish. 😀

  13. paul walter

    It is true, the ones who should be leaving stay and some who should stay, go.

    No, can’t say more…lost heart.

  14. New England Cocky

    Uhm …. help?? How do we get a Senator for the seventh state of New England, located between the Hunter and the Queensland border???

    For over 160 years, politicians in Macquarie Street Sydney and Canberra have ignored the needs of these Australian voters.

    OK, OK … I know that the good ladies of Tamworth are unhappy about being residents in the Country Adultery Capital, but when they vote for Barnyard Joke what else can you expect except the Notional$ “family values” of Adultery, Alcoholism, Bigotry, Avarice, Bigotry, Misogyny, Philandering & Racism??

  15. terence mills

    The loss of Ian Macdonald (LP) and Barry O’Sullivan (Nats) should increase the general productivity of the Senate and I don’t think that anybody will miss MacDonald’s filibustering : I wonder who the Liberals will anoint as there new filibusterer in chief ?

    O’Sullivan’s sole contribution seems to ave been as a heckler and misoginist : plenty to replace him,sadly

  16. Kaye Lee

    “I wonder who the Liberals will anoint as there new filibusterer in chief ?”

    Eric Abetz is seasoned in the role.

    And just to help him ensure productivity (or honesty) doesn’t improve we have Matt Canavan, James McGrath, Pauline Hanson, Cory Bernardi, Mitch Fifield, Bridget McKenzie, Matthias Cormann and Michaelia Cash.

    Three more years of these clowns will be hard to endure. At least they won’t be Ministers (unless the country goes mad)

  17. helvityni

    Michael, I too will miss Doug, but I didn’t even know who those two Queenslanders were…had to Google them…nothing lost…

    When living in Sydney, we had a Scottish roofer replacing our crumbling slate tiles with galvanised zinc….he was very popular with the ladies…

    When people asked what he does for living, is usual reply was: I screw on roofs…

    (sorry, off-topic)

  18. Rhonda

    It’s always tease, tease, tease…. 🙂
    Will really miss Doug Cameron. Impressed with Jordan Steele-John, but but but what’s happening with Scott Ludlum?

  19. Michael Taylor

    helvityni, sticking with the Scottish theme (and you’re never off topic when talking about Scotland), when we hopped off the train in Edinburgh last September – with my arm stretched an extra foot and a half after dragging Carol’s suitcase everywhere (it weighed about the same as a jumbo jet) – and grabbed a taxi, the driver races to my assistance and with ease picks up our suitcases and plonks them in the back.

    Impressed with his Herculean strength I remarked, “My god! What a strong fellow you are.”

    “That’s because I’m Scottish,” he quipped.

    Ah, Scotland.

  20. Michael Taylor

    Carol and I were thrilled to meet Doug last November. But I made one really, really, really, really BIG mistake as we were ending our chat.

    I asked him to say hello to my old boss, Julia Gillard.

    Doug went cold.

    I can’t tell you what he said, other than he was a fan of Kevin Rudd.

    Oops.

  21. Egalitarian

    Good to see Kevin had some supporters.Plays a straight bat does Doug.

  22. Vikingduk

    With a conga line of disaffected libs running as independents, all proclaiming climate change as their major concern whilst supporting every other bit of lnp bullshit, could this be a tactic from these traitors to increase their reelection chances? Admittedly this travesty of a government, ruled by a bunch of incompetent, lying, treasonous bumbling buffoons would be hard pressed organising their way out of a wet paper bag, doesn’t preclude their ability to be cunning as shit house rats.

  23. margcal

    If not quite 300+, I’ve always had the same enjoyment as Kaye when putting Liberals last at #147 or so. Even when I’ve mis-numbered along the way at my first attempt and had to ask for a new ballot paper. Oops!

    I always appreciate all that you write, Kaye. Thank you.

  24. Kronomex

    “Eric Abetz is seasoned in the role.”

    He should be baked then seasoned then put in a roll and sold to cannibals. Although I think they may need to have their stomachs pumped after eating him.

  25. Kaye Lee

    You are not suggesting he should be a-salted I hope?

  26. Kronomex

    Could also be peppered with invective?

  27. Kaye Lee

    Even if he gets kicked off the gravy train, the public purse will still be the sauce of significant income for him.

  28. Vikingduk

    Are you pair suggesting he may come to resemble a battered sav? The integrity of a dim sim? Slurping and snuffling in the trough of ignorance? No doubt that sauce dripped from the smirking buffoon’s pie. He cod always choose the life of a raw prawn. Dolphinately a chance.

  29. helvityni

    Como’n Kaye, one has to be proud of SOMETHING…as my four-year old grandson would say: how would YOU feel if you had nothing to be proud of….

  30. corvus boreus

    margcal,
    The trouble with numbering every single BTL senate square, whether out of procedural necessity or simply to gain some gratuitous satisfaction by putting PHON candidates even lower than Christ-Dems, is that overlooking a single error (eg duplication) in the sequential numbering of the 100+ selections can mean that you have accidentally submitted an informal vote.
    Thus I prefer to keep things simple and only mark the squares of people I actually want representing me in the senate.

  31. margcal

    corvus boreus, you wrongly assume that I think numbering 100+ squares is a good thing. I mentioned the only good thing about it.
    As I acknowledged, I did make a mistake on one especially lengthy list and asked for a new ballot paper.
    Numbering to ten, max, is far better since, deformities aside, no one has more fingers than that.
    And if anyone can’t count to ten and realises it, they can ask for a new ballot paper too.

  32. corvus boreus

    margcal,
    You assume my ‘assumptions’ regarding your thoughts.
    I merely pointed out the potential perils of trying to number 161 squares without error just for the pointless pleasure of putting someone last.

  33. corvus boreus

    BTW, in a full senate there are 12 seats per state up for grabs(or 6 per territory), so most non-mutant semi-numerates might have to take off their shoes in order to make the full count.

  34. Kaye Lee

    cb,

    Until recently we did not have the choice. If you wanted to direct your own preferences (ie vote below the line) you HAD to fill in all the boxes. Thankfully we no longer have to go through that.

    I wish we could vote for our top 6 (or 12) but sadly, I only get to vote for one person. If none of my choices are still standing as the count goes on, my vote gets wasted.

  35. corvus boreus

    For anyone who genuinely gives a rat’s puckered anus about placing an effective vote for decent representation the house of oversight, here’s a basic rundown on how senate voting works.nowadays;
    https://www.aec.gov.au/elections/candidates/scrutineers-handbook/senate.htm

    KL, yes, I am aware of all that, and thus within my limited selection I try to include a handful of candidates with a reasonable prospect of actually obtaining a seat.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The maximum upload file size: 2 MB. You can upload: image, audio, video, document, spreadsheet, interactive, text, archive, code, other. Links to YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and other services inserted in the comment text will be automatically embedded. Drop file here

Return to home page