to Labor’s Kristina Keneally’s 36.06. Minor parties benefited from the fracturing of the body politic too.
on his or her business – does not have the time or resources to cope with the political structure as well.
In the Queensland seat of Ryan, Greens candidate Elizabeth Watson-Brown was declared elected on a primary vote of 30.21 per cent - the LNP incumbent received 38.5. In nearby Brisbane, the Greens candidate was again successful with a primary vote of 27.24, in comparison to the LNP’s 37.71 per cent.
Never has having a strong voice on the ground in Canberra been more important and we are very lucky to have our CEO Stephen Ferguson down there telling it like it is. Never has having the proper resources in place in Canberra been more important - and it has one of the reasons the AHA NSW Head of Communications and Media Jason Bartlett has been tapped to also work at the national level (given his strong background in media and politics).
Never has having properly resourced strong state and territory branches been more important.
We need stability and certainty to run our businesses and employ our staff – to do this securely we need the shield of the AHA family representing us at the highest levels in Canberra, in Sydney, in Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Hobart, Darwin and Brisbane and the regions. I am proud of the teams we have in place at the state and federal levels and the job they all do, so we can do ours. Federal issues affect each and every one of us – from immigration rules to health edicts and, of course, the ceaseless lobbying of the anti-alcohol, anti-gaming, anti-fun brigades. Rest assured they are already beating down the doors of new MPS pushing their agendas. With elections in Victoria towards the end of this year and in NSW in March next year it will be interesting to see what happens – particularly if the ‘Teal Independents” can replicate their extraordinary success at the state level and we see an increasing fragmentation of state politics. After all – anything can happen in politics… even Churchill was voted back into office in 1951 at the age of 77.
I could go on…
My point is this fracturing of the body politic means the Government now has to deal with a block of crossbenchers and minor parties in the lower house (many with differing agendas, views and motives) as well as a Senate in which they do not have a majority (and probably never will). It also means organisations like the Australian Hotels Association have never been more important. For more than 100 years the Federal Parliament has had a stable lower house with most Governments having a comfortable majority. The AHA dealt with Labor or the Coalition on policies beneficial to our members, their workers and the millions of Australians who use our venues. We have been the voice of reason and common-sense and while we might not win every battle, we are always heard. That dynamic has shifted. We are now dealing with a range of elected lower house MPs with a wide range of views and perspectives who are keen to make a mark.
A single publican – already working around the clock
15 Tasmanian Hospitality Review August/July Edition
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