#VoteYes in the #MarriageEquality survey, just don’t expect a unifying moment: @burgewords comments

A sad, embarrassing uncle – let’s call him Malcolm – is trying to get us to pull his cracker, but we know what’s coming. A PUBLIC vote on marriage equality is delivering what some Australians have craved for years: an excuse to publicly trash LGBTIQ dignity. The usual pundits are hailing the Coalition’s survey as […]

#MarriageEquality on the never never: @burgewords on the politics of hope

It’s clear marriage equality will remain just a high hope TONY Abbott has knocked Australian progressives and moderate Liberals into motionless disappointment on marriage equality. The biggest political football of his government has been booted around by parliament again. There’ll be a few free kicks when the cross-party marriage equality bill comes before parliament, but […]

Voyage to the new news world: @burgewords #CreatingWaves on online media

Margo Kingston asked me to kick-off a new series on No Fibs about the experiences of citizen journalists working with professional journalists in online media. Here is my response. A WEEK after the 2013 federal election I was driving to my casual sub-editing job on a Fairfax weekly newspaper when I let a brilliant photo opportunity go. […]

Pie in the sky in Redland City: @burgewords reports Bowman’s first candidates forum

Despite some expectation that our sitting member for the LNP, Andrew Laming MP, would be a no-show like so many of his party colleagues across the nation, all candidates submitted themselves to questions from voters in the Redlands this week, in the Queensland division of Bowman. The Cleveland District State High School Language Centre was […]

Trolls, tweets, cheats and Bowman’s new hashtag: @burgewords reports

We’ve had a bit of a dark time in politics here in the southeast Queensland seat of Bowman, with a storm erupting on social media over campaign tactics. It all began when one Redlander went to the Cleveland Farmers Markets last Sunday morning and tweeted about having to avoid a number of supporters of the […]

Bowman election wrap-up by @burgewords

It’s been an interesting year for voters in the Redlands, the federal division of Bowman in south-east Queensland. A few key incidents have put this region on the political map, but unfortunately none of these was a result of good political representation for residents. First and foremost were the infamous tweets from our sitting federal […]

The Greens face in Bowman: @burgewords reports

The first time I became aware of Penny Allman-Payne was from a flyer on the Coochiemudlo Island Progress Association noticeboard at the jetty on my way to the mainland. This teacher, lawyer, and Greens candidate for Bowman was coming to my island. I couldn’t make it to that meeting, but Penny agreed to meet me […]

Bowman owned by @AndrewLamingMP: @burgewords reports

View Larger Map Bowman Seat Profile At the 2010 federal election, the Queensland division of Bowman was retained by Andrew Laming MP for the Liberal National Party with a whopping swing of 10.4 per cent, making a notionally safe Liberal seat out of a highly marginal one. Many in the electorate remember the 2007 election, […]