Federal Government
DOUBLE TROUBLE: Gillard ramps up public defence of Laurie Ferguson but is silent on Chris Hayes
Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard took her crusade to save government middle-bencher Laurie Ferguson to the next level yesterday, publicly and repeatedly declaring her strong support for her fractional colleague.
A transcript of a doorstop released by her office showed that while the DPM was silent on the subject of the future of Werriwa MP Chris Hayes, Gillard explicitly declared that Ferguson had her “full support” as he’s a “valued member of the team, doing a great job.”
I’m very happy to take people’s questions.
JOURNALIST: Why are you trying to secure a seat for Laurie Ferguson?
JULIA GILLARD: Laurie Ferguson obviously is a valued member of the Rudd Labor Government team. He is our Parliamentary Secretary for Multicultural Affairs and doing a great job. As a valued member of the team obviously Laurie has my full support as do all members of the Rudd Labor Government team.
JOURNALIST: But is it fair on Chris Hayes to move him?
JULIA GILLARD: Pre-selections are a matter for the Party and a matter for the New South Wales Branch. My view of course is that Laurie Ferguson is a valued member of the team, doing a great job for us as a Parliamentary Secretary.
JOURNALIST: Are you concerned though, that it’s causing a lot of disruption?
JULIA GILLARD: Pre-selections obviously are administered by the Party. The pre-selections in New South Wales will be administered by the New South Wales Branch. The only point I’m making obviously is Laurie Ferguson is a member of the executive of the Rudd Labor Government and doing a great job.
Good to see Laurie’s low-profile efforts being rewarded with the DPM noticing what others hadn’t. And yet at the heart of Laurie Ferguson’s case seems to be:
“My much preferred option would be to have ballots in all electorates, with rank and file members determining their candidates. But at the executive level, I think I have significant support. If they weren’t to run ballots of membership and then I was denied pre-selection, that would be very undemocratic, given my level of support.”
Cynics close to the action in Sydney explain this is all code for Laurie Ferguson and his family has “stacks” of support in a number of safe Labor western suburbs seats in Sydney, where he’s been allowed to multiple-recruit.
Ferguson’s stacked numbers form the heart of the non-union part of “Soft-Left” in NSW, which lines up against the “Hard-Left” in the form of minister Anthony Albanese and his wily deputy sheriff and SCG member Luke Foley. While supposedly “harder” Left, Albo and his merry band at least had the wisdom to support Kim Beazley against the Mark Latham for the Labor leadership, so “harder” doesn’t necessarily mean “dumber” in this context.
Gillard apparently figures that without Laurie Ferguson, a stable stalemate within the NSW Left could be massively destabilised.
Ferguson is going to fight to the death and he’s clearly going to have Gillard – and eventually Rudd – in his corner.
Meanwhile a lot of Chris Hayes’s colleagues in the federal caucus are looking on at the special treatment given to Laurie Ferguson and questioning why Hayes isn’t getting the same level of protection.
Hayes certainly enjoys strong support in local branches in his federal seat of Werriwa. And he’s also a member of the Rudd Labor Government team. It seems that in the Caucus Farm, some caucus members are more equal than others.
One of Gillard’s NSW caucus colleagues was very disappointed in the approach telling VEXNEWS:
“Gillard is abusing her power on this. She could have a position of principle, of supporting all incumbent MPs, as she did in Victoria or she can have her current position where she backs members of her clique like Laurie Ferguson but is happy for a sitting MP to be removed from his seat and put into a different area in what is a marginal seat on a 0.1 per cent margin. If it’s such a good deal, why not let Laurie run there?”
Another party insider explained that Laurie Ferguson had no plans to stay on for just one more term either despite racking up twenty-six years of parliamentary service so far. “He’s planning on staying through to 2019 and even then he’ll be going reluctantly. This is the family business.”
“Gillard and Rudd have been given an unprecedented level of trust by the caucus. Rudd can appoint ministers at will. They can’t have it both ways by enjoying the fruits of that trust and then acting to selectively protect just a few caucus members who have lined up with them in the past. They are being watched very carefully on the Chris Hayes/Laurie Ferguson issue, so is Arbib” they explained.
Discussion
28 comments for “DOUBLE TROUBLE: Gillard ramps up public defence of Laurie Ferguson but is silent on Chris Hayes”
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I hope Laurie has done something about his dandruff, I was walking behind him once and his back looked like a lamington.
Oi Andy! Where’s the story on my shadow cabinet reshuffle gone?
It was disposed of like all the other trash.
A typical peice of inner city late left wankery!
Go Laurie!
The journalist should have asked the question all Australians want an answer to:
“Julia Gillard – does your carpet match your curtains?”
It’s amazing that Laurie the Log is being protected by Gillard.
Other than serving a factional purpose, he does nothing except stack out his area and adjoining electorates.
The Log needs to be tossed on the fire!
Chris Hayes is turning out to be a man with a real backbone. Good on you Chris. Don’t let the bastards get you down.
Why do the ALP right want to put Ed Husic into Fowler?
http://macarthur-chronicle-wollondilly.whereilive.com.au/news/story/chris-hayes-nick-bleasdale-stand-tall-in-macarthur/
Some say Hewson lost the unlosable in 1993, but Ed topped that effort in Greenway 2004. I can assure you without his expertise, we couldn’t have won back then
Leave Laurie alone. He still has some worth to the cause.
What on earth is the log wearing in this photo? I am not talking about the hat.A total waste of space and no dress sense as well.
Go and get them you old chestnut Laurie! How old is he?
So the porcelain moll is trying to get a seat for the sloth.What a fine comrade she is.Chris Hayes is doing a fine job in Werriwa and this is his thanks.Chris has walked kilometers doorknocking and meeting people in his electorate. The sloth can,t even walk to the kebab shop in Granville.
Louise Markus fan …. I suppose the name says it all really. How convenient that you happeened to leave out the race/religion scare campaign waged against Ed Husic – which, when repeated in 2007 in Lindsay was widely condemned.
Anyhow, we all wish Louise the best for next time round – karma’s a funny old thing isn’t it ?
Julia Gilliard is barren so what does she know…
Time to piss off Laurie Ferguson as you have achieved next to nothing as an MP.
Two Fergusons do not fit into one. Someone has to go as renewal should be a gradual process and not a bang one hit. Victoria will soon suffer from this. Just to many mates!
Jane Austen, no one doubts there are one or two crazies in the flat earth far right of the libs. I was as appalled as you were the actions in both cases, that has no place anywhere in this country. I was referring to a lack of charisma on the behalf of ed – surely no-one will contest that he did not connect with the electorate like louise did, or even on a personal level is not as outgoing – and that is nothing to do with religion. You are very correct, lets hope the crazies stay away from Macquarie
Julia Gillard doesn’t have children so has no right to comment on public affairs.
Lisa Neville must now resign.
Lisa Neville is as culpable as if she wielded the knife herself.
This article and comments are so riddled with bullshit, I’m not surprised no one’s bothered to correct it.
I wonder if Julia will accomadate Father Chris Reily? Will she stand up to the catholic church?
Definately wont go down well if she bullies Father Chris from Youth off the streets.
I dare her too
Oh Laurie, times up, go spend your superannuation already!
hot red head on left (not Julia), txt me.
Will be fun.
Dontcha just love the way Julia spreads the legs on that chook….oh baby…it’s so hot.
How come an moron like Louise Markus get preselection and win two terms as a federal MP when I only lasted 18 months? I’m much fatter than her.
Laurie Ferguson is trusted by non Union Jack wavers. He is an intelligent,contributive,accessable polititian who has helped out with unpopular causes like,tree planting,community garden maintenaince, World Aids Day,People with Disabilities, and Palestine Remerbrance Day. He is genuinely grassroots active with local residents, interested in fair dinkum History like Pilger, and is very well informed almost academic. A fitting person for the multicultural western suburbs demographic. Even his political opposites like myself recognise his sincere belief in being inclusive with all in the local community. John Koch.
So the Circus moves to Werriwa. Just when we thought we had seen the last of Laurie Ferguson and his no good staffers Maurice Campbell and Steve Christou they are all parachuted in to the safe seat of Werriwa so they can pollute those branches and waste taxpayer money with their Branch Stacking and ALP work against their opponents. Ferguson is a factional war horse hence why he was saved and Maurice Campbell is a serial branch stacker who spends his time looking after the branches and rigging internal voting, as for Steve Christou better known as the Granville Warlord it is a known fact that he has strong ties to the boxing community and used as muscle to intimidate opponents. He also has learnt the art of stacking branches. What a waste of taxpayer money this mob are.