By Stephanie Dale 28 August 2013 Paul Hunter is a hard political nut to crack. I put it down to the fact he’s a disciplined man, an army man, a focussed-on-the-upcoming-election man. We meet outside the pre-polling booth in Beenleigh’s George Street, where Hunter splits his time between me and the pre-pollsters wandering in to cast […]
Family First in Forde: @stephaniedale22 reports
August 28, 2013
By Stephanie Dale 28 August 2013 Family First candidate for Forde Amanda Best has stuffed a whole lotta life into her 34 years. As a teenager she survived anorexia and was a ward of the state, in her early 20s she was a pastor in a community church, in her late 20s she survived a plane […]
Former MSM journo @stephaniedale22 on the barren pollie-journo election dance
August 27, 2013
By Stephanie Dale 27 August 2013 OMG it’s a media alert! Quick! Jump! A media alert from the ALP! In my inbox! Logan GP Super Clinic, now! I stare at it, wondering for the umpteenth time why the major parties give local media no more than an hour’s notice on these events – even though I […]
Election13 youngest candidate is in Forde: @stephaniedale22 interview
August 26, 2013
By Stephanie Dale 26 August 2013 It’s Saturday afternoon in Beenleigh and I’m on my way to meet Joshua Sloss, the only independent standing for the seat of Forde in the upcoming election. This past week I’ve been on a Zarraffa’s Coffee crawl – three out of four of my candidates’ interviews so far have been […]
Beattie campaign launch: @stephaniedale22 reports
August 25, 2013
By Stephanie Dale 25 August 2013 Here is what’s impressive about Peter Beattie’s bid for a seat in the House of Representatives of the 44th Australian parliament: the humility of a man once at the top of his tree being willing to till the soil all over again to build a vision for his life anew. […]
Coming out in Forde: @stephaniedale22 reports
August 24, 2013
By Stephanie Dale 24 August 2013 Last night in Forde it was the Australian Christian Lobby’s (ACL) turn to host a candidates’ forum. Right up front I must declare my fondness for secularism, and a rock solid belief in the hard-fought objective that religion has no place in politics – and religious lobbyists ought to be […]
Jan Pukallus on poetry, free trade and politics: @stephaniedale22 reports
August 23, 2013
By Stephanie Dale 23 August 2013 For 12 years, Jan Pukallus has been running for election in Queensland – and today was a moment of celebration for the veteran campaigner: it was the first time she’d been invited for a sit-down interview by a journalist. Pukallus is the Citizen Electoral Council’s (CEC) candidate for Forde, the […]
Red-tie day: @stephaniedale22 reports belatedly on the shadow treasurer’s visit to Forde
August 23, 2013
By Stephanie Dale 23 August 2013 Oh look, page 6 of the Albert & Logan News – it’s Bert! Bert van Manen with the biggest watermelon smile of the campaign, arms over shoulders with the would-be treasurer, Joe Hockey, who must have coincidentally been in the neighbourhood. Unlike the rest of the candidates in Forde, I […]
Watermelon smiles: @stephaniedale22 reports on Forde candidates’ forum
August 22, 2013
By Stephanie Dale 22 August 2013 Well, that’s embarrassing. I’m sitting in the canteen-like barn that is the Logan Rec Club, filling time while waiting for the candidates’ forum to start. Early diners queue to order, half a dozen silent TVs flash Keno, the cricket and the news. It’s a very clean and shiny room, the […]
The foreign minister and the Beenleigh chocolate shop: @StephanieDale22 reports Forde
August 22, 2013
By Stephanie Dale 22 August 2013 Now what on earth is the Australian foreign minister doing in a chocolate shop in Beenleigh? Not even his adviser could tell me, fresh off the bus for the convergence of two former state premiers on her third flying electorate visit in one day. Foreign Minister Bob Carr spent morning […]
