Senator Andrew Bartlett gives his final speech around 6pm tonight. You should be able to catch it on NewsRadio, or streaming on the Parliament House website.
The silver lining is that he intends to keep blogging. While the Australian Senate will lack the benefit of his insights, the Ozplogosphere doesn’t have to. I look forward to his continued blogging contributions, and any other contributions he plans to make to Australian public life.
It seems profoundly unfair that people of the quality of Senator Bartlett are heading out the exit door while grubs like Belinda Neal keep their seats.
Hear hear, and best of luck to him in the next phase of his life.
I look forward to the new blog of unleashed, unrepresentative, nothing-to-lose Bartlett. C’mon AB, let’s see you tell it how you really see it.
It’s a sad thing really. Australia needs an intelligent centrist party that’s willing to do business with the Government.
Check out the Dems website (perhaps they’ve just given up):
http://www.democrats.org.au/people/index.htm?person_id=76&display=1&level=1
Devastatewd to see him and some of the better Democrats go. But look forward to AB’s continuing blogs.
Incidentally, in teply to a litter I wrote PM Rudd about taking the GST off books, the strongest argument Treasury came up with was that magazine publishers and newspaper proprietors might want the GST taken off their products too.
Best of luck Andrew, as Jack Gibson used to say “done good, played strong”
Thanks Andrew Bartlett,
cheers!
I suspect that Andrew and his fellow Democrats will be sorely missed before the next election.
As a recently lapsed AD’s member (when you’re in a deep hole, stop digging), I’m particularly sorry to see the last of them leave the red room.
Has anyone heard any more of Lyn Allison’s claim that she’ll be back - but in a new party with a new name and new buddies - the Climate Change Coalition, etc.? She was predicting a double dissolution before long would sweep them back into the Senate.
Any views?
I think we’ve seen the last of them. Amalgmating with a micro-party that failed to trouble electoral statistians won’t make any difference.
I voted for Andrew. Nowhere near enough people did.
Vale the Democrats. They won’t be back.
I’ve voted Dem ever since the days of Michael Macklin, so don’t blame me!
Meg Lees, the GST, then Andrew Murray and Lees not accepting Natasha’s leadership did it IMHO, and we’re all the poorer.
While I can’t say I’ve agreed with all of Senator Bartlett’s positions, the business of parliament will certainly suffer from his absence.
You did yeoman work on all those dull but vital committees behind the scenes Senator Andy. Beyond that you were a classic example of a citizen having a go at how to be a player in our nation’s peak deliberative body. Non of your detractors ever went for it like you did.
And best of all you’ve set an excellent example for future generations wondering if they can be both a pollie and cool as well.
They gave us the GST. Damn them all to hell.