Vale John Anderson?
Isn’t it funny how when someone retires the tributes start flowing, just as if they had died! Deputy Prime Minister John (Nobody) Anderson resigned for the second time today and just about everyone has heaped praise on him.
I believe in respect for the dead, but Anderson is still well and truly with us.
His enemies within the National, Liberal and Labor Parties have had nothing but nice things to say about him.
An honest opinion came from WA Liberal, Wilson Tuckey, who said:
“I’m ambivalent about his activities; he’s done his job in this place and he of course has got to look after his own affairs,” he told reporters.
Mr Tuckey said he did not think Mr Anderson was quitting the party leadership because there are some difficult issues coming up for the Nationals.
“I’m not sure he’s at any time been comfortable in the job,” he said.
Everyone else was glowing in their praise for the man who has steered the National Party to the point of oblivion. Perhaps that’s why.
As a former National Party member I cringe at how close the Federal Party has become to the Liberals. I joined the Young Nationals when Doug Anthony was federal leader and Peter Nixon was our local member. They cut deals. They made sure the country voice was heard and acted on.
In the current Parliament a country advocate must deal with backbench Liberals as much as the National Party. Their numbers are so far diminished it’s hard to see them recovering.
I can’t recall the last time the National Party won a seat in a three-cornered contest after the sitting member retired. There might be one or two in Queensland, but look at Murray in Victoria and Farrer in NSW as seats the Nationals will almost never win back.
Anderson isn’t responsible for Murray, but he did nothing to arrest the decline.
I have different views about the Victorian Party. Peter Ryan has steered an independent course and for that he has my respect and support.
I'm a 41-year-old father of four working as a newspaper editor at Mount Gambier in South Australia.
