Tim the candidate
I recall a novel written by Graham Greene called “The Comedians”, which is set on the Caribbean island of Haiti in the 1960s. Amongst the characters are an American man and woman, Mr and Mrs Smith. Mr Smith once offered himself to be a potential candidate for election to President of the USA, standing on a “vegetarian ticket”.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
What has stuck in my mind for all these years was the constant reference by Mrs Smith to her husband as “the Presidential candidate” at every opportunity. It became a standard joke across the storylines.
I find that I am now regularly reminded of this fictional joke, by the local media harping on about the “Labor Party candidate for the Federal seat of Riverina”. They are referring to Tim Kurlyowicz.
Article after article in the media refers to, or quotes him, as the “Labor Party candidate in the Federal election”, when any matter of local interest is being discussed.
Now Tim himself was a good candidate in his own right, and I think he has a great future in the public arena. He is active in local affairs and puts his name to statements that he makes. Good on him.
But his credibility and future potential are actually being damaged in the public eye, by the sycophantic, constant reference to an event in his past, every time there is an article where his name is mentioned.
The media is pushing what is basically an empty wheelbarrow, and it actually does him no favours.
Even if the media think this is somehow keeping his name in the public eye, people just shrug their shoulders and move on instead.
Gretchen Sleeman, San Isidore
Disappointed
This is ridiculous.
I am disappointed for hundreds of thousands of Australians that their Prime Minister has once again let them down.
The Liberals have spent yet another day arguing over whether or not gay and lesbian Australians should have their relationships judged by everyone else.
Wages aren’t growing, living standards are falling, power prices are through the roof, we’ve got a housing affordability crisis.
But instead of figuring out what to do about all of that – they all sat in a room and argued about marriage equality.
Another day spent fighting with each other over an issue that we could sort out in five minutes if Mr Turnbull would just let the parliament do its job and vote on it.
I can’t control what the government does. But if Labor is elected, we’ll legislate for marriage equality in our first 100 days.
We’ll just get on with it and get it done.
Ken Morehouse, Wangaratta
Danger, Will Robinson
Artificial intelligence has been much in the media of late, especially replacing drivers with driverless vehicles. Governments are going to have to come to grips with questions regarding insurance.
Who will be responsible when an automated vehicle has an accident? Will insurance companies try and escape their liability because no human was at the wheel?
Consumers will have to know their rights and liability before they take on a driverless vehicle. There are a lot of questions needing answers before people rush to the sale yards and buy a driverless contraption.
I hope folks consider carefully before buying these futuristic vehicles as an accident could be caused from something as simple as a loose battery terminal.
Yes, indeed, regulators will have to come up with concrete answers to a host of question before swarms of these vehicles hit the roads.
Jay Nauss, Glen Aplin
Same-sex marriage
I would not vote for any political party that thinks I am too dumb to have a vote on this issue.
Marriage is between a man and a woman.