The Outing of David Campbell

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.

F3 - in the House - No Confidence Motion

The Minister for Transport today survived a No Confidence Motion moved by the Deputy Leader of the Opposition and Nationals Leader, Andrew Stoner. There was never any doubt of the outcome, the Government always going to exercise it’s substantial majority in the Legislative Assembly.

David Campbell used his full allocation of twenty minutes to put the case why such a censure shouldn’t succeed. I listened to both his speech and that of Andrew Stoner. A normally effusive speaker, the Minister this time was flat and seemed tired. I’m sure that he believes what he said but you wouldn’t have known it from his delivery.

David Campbell no doubt has many things that he can rightly claim as positive outcomes of his tenure as Minister for Transport but the severity of recent failures deserves a much higher level of scrutiny and contrition than the public has seen.

Supporting the motion was not an easy decision however the appalling situation with the F3 debacle on 12 May and the subsequent limp response demands higher accountability. Thousands of people trapped in their vehicles for in the order of 10 hours without any effort to the implement contra-flow exposed many travellers to very real risks. Diabetics, asthmatics or persons with other medical conditions were surely involved. The fact is, those responsible for managing the crisis would have had no answer to any medical emergency that may have occurred. The fact that this didn’t happen was by good luck and nothing to do with good management.

The Minister carries the ultimate responsibility for this fiasco and his protestation and apologies have been as flat as his defence on the No Confidence Motion. The fact is that David Campbell enjoys executive power and he should have used it. Residents of Lake Macquarie that have been speaking to me and who were caught in this traffic jam would want me to support this motion. They want their anger expressed. More than that, they want answers to how it happened and they want changes that will ensure that it never happens again!

F3 Debacle

With the huge outcry over the debacle on the F3 last Monday night it seems that there could be little more to say.  The incident was blamed on an accident between a truck and a petrol tanker but the reality is the issue is really about the RTA response to that accident.  The incident left thousands of people stranded for hours in gridlock and was not just a major system failure; it was an indication of the contempt, arrogance and incompetence of the Roads and Traffic Authority in dealing with people. 

The accident that caused the problem needed to be dealt with in the most appropriate way by the emergency services however the management of the resulting problems also needed to be considered equally as seriously.  The risk of another medical emergency amongst people including many families was high, and I consider it only good luck that such an event didn’t occur.  It certainly wasn’t thanks to any action by the RTA! 

The standing aside of RTA CEO Michael Bushby is only part of the appropriate response and is no doubt in part an attempt to apportion blame neatly to one person.  The reality is that in this instance the Minister does share blame but steadfastly refuses to acknowledge it.  It is a farce for the Minister and the Premier to distance themselves from responsibility by stating that it would have been inappropriate to intervene in RTA operational matters.  Just when would interference be warranted? How many hours? How much distress or how many people? 

The reality is that Ministers and the Premier frequently involve themselves in operational matters and an example of being able to act quickly occurred only hours before when the Premier directed the Health Department to investigate claims of a cancer cluster in the Upper Hunter.  What were they thinking? Why when it came to the F3 was the Minister not on the phone to Mr Bushby ensuring that he was getting regular situation reports and stressing the urgency of implementing the contra-flow system? 

Residents of the Central Coast and Hunter or others needing to travel this road are rightly furious with the Government.  The impact on business in dollar terms would be huge but nobody should discount the value of the time lost to commuters returning home or other travellers needing to get somewhere as well.  

Ken Moroney has been appointed to head an inquiry into what occurred. I don’t know where he lives but I think it would be preferable if whoever was carrying out the inquiry regularly needed to commute on the F3. 

One outcome that must come from the inquiry is a change in culture of the RTA.  They are notorious for being difficult to deal with and even members of Parliament report that they are treated with disdain.  I feel a certain irony in that only two months ago in a speech to parliament I specifically referenced the contra-flow system and said “I compliment the Roads and Traffic Authority on its implementation of that strategy.”  I sure got that wrong!

NSW Parliament 2010 - Sitting 1 in review

With the NSW Parliament resuming this week with a new Premier and a re-jigged Cabinet people could have been worried that there might have been a change in the way the Parliament behaves.  They need not have worried! If consistency is a significant benchmark of how a Government, or for that matter, an Opposition performs, both sides did very well. 

It is true that Kristina Keneally works the crowd well – media opportunities that her predecessor, Nathan Rees would have failed to make an impact with even though he threw everything into it, have been masterfully managed by Premier Keneally.  Under the glare of the Parliamentary spotlights, Ms Keneally took to the stage in the latest episode of the longest running theatre production in Australia – “Question Time”. 

The critics have given mixed reviews including the predictable commentary on the Premiers attire.  In that regard she apparently did well.  The rest of the show seemed to draw heavily from old scripts with the main theme being allegations by the Opposition of Government incompetence.  David Campbell, now sporting the addition of Roads to his Ministerial titles certainly helped the Opposition.  His attack on the media for having apparently illegally obtained and then published details of the new Transport Blueprint was great theatre, a real bombshell; which unfortunately for the Minister and Government blew up in their own camp when it was revealed his information was wrong.  An embarrassment that would have seen a lesser performer stumble and freeze.  The masterful improvisation must be commended though it was beneficial that an off stage player, the online consultation website, Bang the Table, was there to take most of the blame.

This unusual mistake from the Minister lead to some improvised lines by the Premier in his support.  Performing to a gallery audience including visiting dignitaries from Vietnam and Bangladesh, the Premier’s defence initiated a raucous response and verbal exchanges across the stage leading to the need for the Speaker to rise and admonish the members for of all things – “unparliamentary behaviour”!  This term always causes some amusement for anyone who has been an observer of parliamentary behaviour.  

The first sitting week of 2010 scored well for consistency – unfortunately, that may be the best that can be said.