Poll Aftermath
The Age
Saturday October 10, 1998
Chris Miles, Braddon, Tasmania
``Nothing went wrong, we won government, that's the main game. In Tasmania there is an economic malaise and the Burnie pulp mill issue was pretty debilitating. The GST was obviously a component, but we know from our research that the Burnie mill issue was
a major issue. We had already lost 800 jobs over the last four or five years. The big downward trend on the north-west coast began in 1990. I think a lot of the women felt they were very insecure. Most of the issues were certainly outside the control of the Federal Government.
At the end of the day you have got to make good policy decisions and the Government did that. I will now take some time to think through what I will do next. We have not made any decisions. Obviously politics has been a very important part of my life for a long time
- over 25 years. I have not closed off any options at this stage. I guess that interest will continue; whether it leads back into Parliament is another question."
Ricky Johnston, Canning, Western Australia
``I can't really believe it's over. One Nation took 10 per cent of my primary vote, which I guess in the end came straight off my vote. One Nation said they would produce a two-sided ticket on how to direct preferences to Labor and the Liberal Party, but in the end it
was a one-sided ticket and two-thirds of their preferences went to Labor. The GST wasn't a big issue. Labor's primary vote, despite their scare campaign on the GST, only increased by 0.03 per cent. State issues had a greater impact on my vote than the GST or anything
else. In the end I was brought down by the trivial One Nation party. I've had hundreds of phone calls to my office from people saying I can't believe you're not the member any more. I think I was a very effective member and I don't regret a moment of my time in Canberra.
It's hard to come to terms with the fact that the triviality of a minor party can undo all the work I've done. I'm going to take a holiday and determine what my future holds. It is too early to say whether I'll run again."
Eoin Cameron, Stirling, Western Australia
``Even though I managed to hold One Nation's vote to its lowest level anywhere in Western Australia, in the end it was their preference decision that got me. The GST wasn't an influence; I won in 1993, with a 15 per cent GST. One Nation put me last under the instructions
of (former Liberal powerbroker) Noel Crichton-Browne' who is a cancer on legs. He really gave me a torpedo below the waterline. I don't know what I'm going to do now, I'm too shell-shocked to think about my future. I had 23 years in the media, so perhaps I'll go back
to that. It was money for jam. I have no regrets, it was a privilege to serve the people of Stirling. One thing I won't miss are the five-hour flights to Canberra."
Richard Evans, Cowan, Western Australia
``I'm 42,000 words into a book, so I'll probably finish that before I think about anything else. It's a piece of fiction, sort of Jeffrey Archer style. Maybe, I'll be the Jeffrey Archer of Australian politics. I don't blame the GST for my defeat. It was probably one of many issues
that contributed to the loss, but it was no higher than nursing homes, guns and Kim Beazley's popularity in Western Australia. It was probably the fact that I did not get One Nation preferences that got me in the end. I was also up against a legless Vietnam veteran who
attracted a lot of support. I have no regrets about my time in politics. The one thing I might say about the political system is that members in marginal electorates on both sides of politics do not get enough of a say in the parties. They can never become ministers because of their precarious positions, but in most cases they are more in touch with the community because they have to work harder for their support."
Andrea West Bowman, Queensland
``I was on such a tight margin that any sort of swing away from me would have resulted in a loss. When the Government does things like close the Medicare office in my area, without consultation, then there isn't much you can do to make people support you, especially when there is a high elderly population like there is here. It's a shame because I was a novice in 1996 and after two-and-a-half years I felt like I understood what I was doing in Parliament, but now I've been voted out. Obviously I would have liked to have fought the election without a GST. It's a lot easier to pick something to pieces than sell it to people. The Labor candidate was easily able to scare people with blatant distortions of the truth. I don't know what I'm going to do, I don't want to go back to teaching. I liked what I was doing and felt I had a lot to offer with the skills I'd obtained. I can't say that I will `never, ever' run again."
Graeme McDougall, Griffith, Queensland
I had been an elected member since 1988, so I have changed a lot. It will be difficult doing something else other than sitting in Parliament. I don't know what
I'm going to do now; I'm going to have to sit down and really think about the future. The GST brought me undone, but it was absolutely worth the risk. I have spoken to the Prime Minister since the election and I've told him that I'm still totally committed to taxation reform and a GST has to be part of that package. Labor knows there has to be a GST, but they made a decision before the election to do whatever it takes to win. I also lost because a lot of Labor supporters who voted Keating out in 1996 return to Labor. My vote was also undermined by One Nation. They took a lot of my primary vote and I only got 55 per cent of their preferences. I just don't know whether I would even run again.
Don Randall, Swan, Western Australia
``It's as simple as this - you cannot survive a five per cent swing when you are sitting on a 3.7 per cent margin. In New South Wales there is a Labor Government on the nose. We have a Liberal Government on the nose here. Having a state Liberal Government that
is not in favor in terms of the current polling. Nursing homes policy was a problem. I have told John Howard that. Instead of going out and having to retain our constituency we should have just been nurturing them. Dental health funding, too, was damaging even though Keating only put it in place for four years. I called for it to be reinstated on a shared basis with the states. I have the second-largest aged demographic in WA and they certainly let us know they were not too happy with us. And Labor ran a great scare campaign.
For me to go back to teaching now would be to commit hara-kiri. I am looking at business and government links and keeping my options open on politics.
Susan Jeanes, Kingston, South Australia
It was always going to be tough. I do not know what I am going to do. You do not have to think about that beforehand. In South Australia, supporters went back to the Labor Party either through One Nation or straight back to Labor. Chris Gallus got a 7.5 per cent swing, Andrew Southcott got a four per cent swing against him - from public housing and low-income earners - and it extended into my electorate. I think that the Labor Party in my area played very much on nursing homes and aged
care and the goods and services tax. They kept saying we slashed health. Labor uses words like slash and cut all the time and do not acknowledge any extra spending anywhere and that starts to stick. They certainly scared the pants off people by telling them everything was going to cost 10 per cent more.
It's a great career in that you can do get things done if you want to. Whether or not I get the chance to do that again, who knows.
© 1998 The Age
