Albany is in a unique spot come the next State Election less than a year away. We have an incumbent member retiring from politics and we have a very open race.
We have 3 parties who're in the box seat to win the seat but (all things being equal) it's likely to be a very slender win whoever wins it.
Labor has held it for a long time but now everything has changed.
Peter Watson is a really nice bloke, has never done anything bad, controversial or scandalous but fair to say he hasn't actually brought anything to the region either. He was openly backing the now failed Carnegie Wave Energy until it went belly up into loss mode. Even when it was above the red line the jobs were scant, all in Perth & strangely some in the UK with one in Albany. Now all gone.
Peter Watson was very loud about overcrowding in the Albany Prison whilst in opposition, talking of the need for expansion or another prison. Now he's been in office as a member of the government for 3 years & he's virtually silent enough to hear crickets chirping.
As was predicted 3 years ago, the government took power and Peter Watson was elected to be Speaker of the House signalling his forward silent announcement of retirement. He's 72, about to turn 73 and for the last 3 years as the Speaker he has no involvement in Government business at all.
As Speaker he cannot vote on anything unless there is a tie in the vote. He's not been the most strict Speaker, at times failing badly relying on direction of the clerks and has let things slip badly. Several times the opposition has complained about comments from seated Government members has said "Sorry I didn't hear that"
Yes he does the schools thing, gives away a bike, jumps in front of the camera every chance he can & dons a silly hat to entertain the elderly during the free meal he delivers. He does advocate for those who grace his door with issues, sending correspondence up the chain where required but he hasn't stood loud for any issue.
He hasn't crossed the floor & avoids certain topics like Deregulated Trading Hours.
His replacement the aspiring Rebecca Stephens has entered the fray and will no doubt find the hustings for State Parliament to be far more arduous and mean compared to running for a seat of Councillor of the City of Albany.
In her recent ABC Radio interview she refused to answer on the topic of deregulated trading hours. Why? well apparently she was new to scene of state politics & the Labor party and would have to consult the community.
WRONG.
As a City of Albany Councillor, deregulated trading hours has come before the council and the council, including Rebecca ACTUALLY VOTED AGAINST IT. So she has ideas about it, she has a stance on it, she has been briefed on it and for 2 years on the City of Albany council she has or should have been engaged with the community & what they want.
So what happened?
She didn't know what Labor wanted her to say or stand for.
Now we turn to the Adele Farina Incident. Labor put forward the Voluntary Assisted Dying legislation in the Lower House. The Premier declared the legislation was sufficient and that wasting time on amendments was not required, that the Upper House should just pass it.
In the end we saw a very slow passage through the Upper House with in the end 55 amendments to the legislation, none of which the Lower House dumped on when it returned to the Lower House. They were needed. Small handful were even put forward by the government. Some were put forward by Upper House Labor MP Adele Farina. All Labor MPs were given a conscience vote, meaning they could vote how their conscience told them without any political reprisals.
WRONG.
Adele voted against the legislation & now she's been thrown under the bus.
Her conscience vote was a Clayton's vote, the conscience vote you have when you don't have a choice.
If it was a normal vote, a non conscience vote and she crossed the floor she would be expelled from the party & opposed at every following election, targeted and socially ex-communicated.
This was a conscience voted where she was expected to vote with the Government by choice, she didn't so she won't be expelled, she will just be prevented from re-entering office. She is to be placed 3rd on the ticket which is virtually unwinnable. She has Alannah McTeirnan taking the number one spot on the ticket so Pierre Yang can take Alannah's spot so he, a very compliant party member & part of a dominating faction, can be kept in Parliament.
This is how Labor operates. No free thinking. No proper representation of the electorate in Parliament.
This is what Rebecca Stephens is walking into & she will not be able to navigate the treacherous waters of the state's Labor Party. Peter Watson stayed low within the party, was one of the few who stayed out of the factions but in the end he was a beige fence sitter in the party and in the Government as an MP. Never set the world on fire, never burnt anything down either. He just sat quietly and smiled nicely.
Whether or not you like Rebecca or not, she's a cooked goose before she even starts. She is a pawn & in her ABC Radio interview even came out saying "Not particularly" when asked if she was a long supporter of the Labor Party. Apparently only recently & her lack of knowledge on the vicious play pen of the state's Labor Party is showing.
This next election is one of the first open contests we've seen in the seat of Albany. Even if you're an avid fan of Councillor Rebecca Stevens, do her a personal favour, don't vote her into State Parliament. She will be a lamb unto the lions. The very hungry lions, she cannot beat the Party Machine & you will in the process lose a young city Councillor. Should she get elected Albany will lose out twice.
In her 7 minute ABCRadio interview she said no comment several times & whilst well spoken she was not telling us anything except she isn't ready for the political cage fight ahead in State Parliament. Our best hope in Albany is to change which party represents it to get more attention & focus "down here" instead of the steady as she goes, token efforts meaning nothing. She will not deliver more than Peter Watson, he didn't deliver much at all. She will be hamstrung from the get go and won't be in a position to deliver anything at all. Our best hope is she loses the state election and decides to return to the City of Albany Council & the Albany seat becomes a more swing seat where you don't get re-elected if you don't perform.
Peter Watson got re-elected but hasn't performed. His retirement has headed off his electoral loss at the pass. Peter Watson is the only winner here if Labor is re-elected. Rebecca Stevens will be devastated if she's elected into the controlling coven and so to will Albany lose through no fault of Rebecca.
Ironically both Albany & Rebecca will actually be far better off if Rebecca loses the election to a conservative. What will be hard, perhaps impossible for some to accept but there's a number of Labor supporters are thinking and very quietly saying this. I expect they'll cease comments lest they get expelled and ex-communicated from the party too.
Next March, if you have a vote, don't waste it. Some will vote Greens but their vote is already wasted. They cannot win the seat & their vote will end up being redirected to the Labor candidate.
A election loss will be a blow to Rebecca personally, but bot she & Albany will be far better off if she loses the election. I wish Labor could lose the seat without the personal blow that Rebecca will receive. So its despite Rebecca and because of Labor that I won't vote for Rebecca and hope few others will.
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