Well we all know a bit more than when I first wrote on this matter last Thursday night. David Campbell has lived with a deeply personal secret for who knows how many years. Clearly someone knew or suspected but we haven't been told how Channel 7 and Adam Walters came to know about the Minister's "personal choices". I think this is relevant as it goes to the veracity of any claim that 7 and Walters has made that this "outing" was somehow in the public interest. I think we need to know their source, their motivation to follow Campbell, before we could e convinced that this was anything other than a grubby and wicked use of a person's sexuality to add to the ratings of an organisation and to elevate the career of an individual journalist.
Walters has been much more than an arms length observer and reporter of State politics. He has worked for the Government as an advisor and as long as all matters personal are on the table, we shouldn't forget that he became former Minister for Health, Reba Meagher's lover and partner. No longer together, they do now share a child. Walters tried lamely to raise the issue of public interest as Campbell had used his Ministerial car to visit Ken's at Kensington. Well, he was entitled to, wasn't he? He could have even used it to go to Ken's Kebabs at Kellyville if chose. Walters would no doubt have known this having spent more than a little time with a Minister. He and Meagher famously apparently enjoyed a night together forgetting to let the Minister's driver know her car wouldn't be needed! Not so flash for that driver.
With Channel 7 alluding to more to follow I can only imagine that they are desperately trying to find a story to shore up what has become a bit of a PR disaster for them. This grubby intrusion into the personal life of a politician in this way has been shown to more about titillation and ratings than it ever was to do with public interest.
KK seems to have received some good reports over her stance as well. She certainly read her script well (shown by cameras peering over her shoulder) though it really was arrogant of her to utter those words that what Campbell had done was "unforgivable". And this from someone who parades her Christian faith as part of her public life. This wasn't Christian, it was Old Testament. Apart from that pious statement from a clearly morally superior person, I think her overall message was correct. I am glad though surprised, that David Campbell appears to be facing up to the situation so well. But then again, this bloke would be one of the most immovable politicians I have ever seen.
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Yes, as you say there was no crime, not even the improper use of a Ministerial car.
ReplyDeleteWhy then did he feel the need to resign? More importantly, why did the Premier accept his resignation? Why did they not stand together at a media conference and say that this is a personal matter for Campbell and his wife and family?
Apparently when this Premier doesn't have steadier factional hands holding her strings she reverts to the Roman Catholic theologian of her training, and her words spoke volumes.
Keneally is the worst of the Labor Premiers, and that is saying something, and if she lasts that long we only have another 10 months of her.
When she finally meets her electoral judgement day, be on record as having denounced her and her Labor government.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/06/04/2918459.htm?site=newcastle§ion=news
ReplyDeletePerhaps we do need more police numbers in Lake Macquarie, or maybe we have less crime.
Perhaps you should be more concerned about crime figures than the number of highly paid unionised police officers.
Most times when I travel at Cardiff Station there are blue uniformed police officers collecting train tickets from passengers. It must be demeaning for the trained and skilled police officers to be doing the jobs of railway staff.
Police officers and dogs are also on the trains either side of Broadmeadow Station. Do they really think that major drug suppliers move their people and products by public transport? Most of the young people I have seen being harassed in this manner have nothing on them and merely have come into contact with prohibited substances earlier.
It is about time that the community and governments weighed the cost of policing, processing, and punishing people for using relatively harmless prohibited substances against the negligible harm to the community.
So Greg, when are you going to take action in the NSW parliament on drug law reform?
Why on earth would Newcastle with a population of only 150,000 go to an Australian major cities conference, yet Lake Macquarie with 200,000 not go?
ReplyDeleteJohn Tate talking of a population for Newcastle of one million is ridiculous when they only have 150,000 now. Next time you see him Greg, you should give him a clip over the ear for stealing our suburbs and pretending that they are his.
The only way for Lake Macquarie to get the government funding that it deserves for projects such as the Glendale Transport Interchange is for you Greg to be vocal about it. Get the media man working on a publicity strategy to advance Lake Macquarie. If you don't do it, nobody will, until others want your elected positions.
Comment re police. There is no doubt that we need more police and I am hearing of examples where response times have been bad and also too many examples where the incident is not pursued because it will bog down officers on paperwork. While police might be accused of not doing their job on these occasions I think that would be pretty unfair when it is a fact that we have around half the police per resident of the state average. They also have to patrol from Catherine Hill Bay around the lake to Wyee. I don't apologise for raising the issue because Labor members around here have ignored these things for years.
ReplyDeleteOn the issue of prohibited substances, I understand your point and used to argue similarly. I have seen too many people screw their lives with this stuff, including marijuana, to say it doesn't affect anyone else or causes only negligible harm. The impact on children is particularly a problem and unless you have had to help families and kids who live in atrocious circumstances due to drug use you might hold the view you do.
Newcastle, John Tate etc - Newcastle is called the Capital of the Hunter and there is no doubt that in many ways it is. It is not however the centre of our universe and it is frustrating that many decision makers still think that it is or that it should be. Newcastle describes itself as the 6th largest city in Australia which is far from the truth. It has about 50,000 less people than Lake Macquarie and only makes this claim based on co-opting our population. That might not be so bad if some of the benefits (proportionally) came to Lake Macquarie.
ReplyDeleteI am disappointed that you think I need to get vocal about these things. I have been raising them in all areas for years and even to the point of trying to secure an identity for LM by creating a suburb of that name. While I had a lot of supporters behind the scene they were very quiet when it came to supporting me publicly. It was also my idea to get NBN to at least mention LM on the evening weather. A small thing but that even took a huge effort. The Lake Macquarie Transport Interchange at Glendale is a focus for these issues of identity and changing demographics in the region and I have written about this in the Herald, done interviews on every station (nearly) and written to and spoken with Federal and State politicians including Premiers starting with Bob Carr. I have also raised or debated the matter with the Hunter Business Chamber and other influential groups.
Unless we are recognised as a major city in our own right we will continue to see Newcastle as the focus for spending by both the State and Federal Governments. This need for pump-priming in Newcastle is a worrying indication that many live in the past and cannot see that most people in the regions don't choose to travel to Newcastle unless they have a particular need. Newcastle was and will be a great place but I ma very proud of what residents of Lake Macquarie have achieved over the years, particularly as they have not had the amounts of money thrown at them that Newcastle has.
Why was the visit by Kristina Keneally to announce lifts at Cardiff Station not promoted as a visit to Lake Macquarie? Why is she only earlier reported as wanting to visit Newcastle and then a big fuss is made when she gets there? She should have been told to talk about visiting Lake Macquarie. Labor MPs Sonia Hornery, Kerry Hickey and Matthew Morris do a fantastic job of continually snubbing Lake Macquarie despite representing significant chunks of it. And don't get me started on Greg Combet.
ReplyDeleteLMCC should pass a resolution condemning the backwards step of The Herald in using the term "newcastle" in the masthead. Council should resolve to exclude the foreign press from all meetings.
ReplyDeleteYou need to separate the issues of child protection and drug law reform. The intersection of these two issues is very small and can be dealt with by specific measures.
ReplyDeleteWhat about the children whose welfare is at risk from alcohol drug abuse, gambling addiction, second hand tobacco smoke, and the risk of physical, sexual and emotional abuse? These problems continue while the prohibition of some substances continues.
Yes there are users of marijuana who later become parents and there are rare circumstances where their drug use has a very bad impact on the welfare of their children. If that is what you want to prevent then there should be specific government attention directed at this circumstance, rather than criminalising the vast majority of marijuana users whose drug use has no effect on children.
If smoking can be prohibited in a car with children then marijuana use can be prohibited in a house with children, or by parents of young children.
A blanket ban and prohibition of certain substances does nothing to alleviate the other factors listed above which may have a detrimental effect on the welfare of children.
The costs to the community of prohibition are well known and it is time to reduce that cost to the community.
Dealing with these issues us not simple or easy, but we need to try. So Greg, when are you going to take action in the NSW parliament on drug law reform?
http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewiStockNews/articleid/4267981
ReplyDeleteBahrain 'gateway to Mideast'
Thursday, July 01, 2010 4:09 AM
(Source: Gulf Daily News, Manama, Bahrain)By Patrick Salomon, Gulf Daily News, Manama, Bahrain
International coverage for Lake Macquarie