Trust, it’s not just about ‘them’: Forde wrap by @StephanieDale22

[clear] By Stephanie Dale 5 September 2013 The other day a smart, savvy, engaged woman I know told me she plans to vote informal on September 7 – her decision has as much to do with media coverage as it does with politics. In short: ” Can’t bring myself to vote for Tony Abbott, can’t forgive […]

Australia’s newest political party – interview with the president: @stephaniedale22 reports

By Stephanie Dale 4 September 2013 Talking to Keith Douglas is a lot like trying to talk to a ping-pong ball in a Lotto machine – he talks fast and ranges wide. I met the Australian Voice Party candidate at what has become the No Fibs office in Forde – the nearby Zarraffa’s Coffee outlet (one […]

Beattie Surprise: @stephaniedale22 reports

By Stephanie Dale 3 September 2013 We are in the dying days of the 2013 election campaign, a campaign that has boasted a handful of idiot policy announcements but in five weeks just one true surprise – Peter Beattie. It was a laugh out loud moment for the nation when the former Queensland Premier (1998-2007) appeared […]

Bob n Beattie BBQ: @stephaniedale22 reports

[clear] By Stephanie Dale 1 September 2013 There’s been a curious absence of fight in Peter Beattie during the last couple of weeks on the 2013 campaign trail – but today that changed, with the former Queensland Premier charging out of the corner into the Forde ring, following Labor’s campaign launch in Brisbane. Fiiiiiinally, Beattie had […]

The Greens candidate in Forde, Sally Spain: @stephaniedale22 reports

By Stephanie Dale 30 August 2013 Saturday September 7 is World Endangered Species Day – beautifully timed for an election in which ‘the environment’ (euphemism for the world that is our home) has barely rated a mention. “Where,” I ask Greens candidate for the seat of Forde, Sally Spain, “is the environment in the 2013 election?” […]

Where is the wild space in Forde and the environment in Election13, by @StephanieDale22

By Stephanie Dale 29 August 2013 Mt Warren Park reminds me of the Canberra of my youth. Wide guttered streets, brick houses, schools, laneways shortcutting suburbia, bushy hills in the distance, women in baggy t-shirts mowing lawns, cars with loud exhaust pipes parked on the lawns of mum-n-dad homes. The suburb is on the south-eastern fringe […]

Katter’s man in Forde: @stephaniedale22 reports

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

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

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

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 […]