{"id":44740,"date":"2019-04-17T07:26:58","date_gmt":"2019-04-16T21:26:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nofibs.com.au\/?p=44740"},"modified":"2022-05-02T13:05:50","modified_gmt":"2022-05-02T03:05:50","slug":"outshining-detractors-and-dirty-tricks-milesproust-reports-from-roboakeshott1-cowpervotes-campaign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/outshining-detractors-and-dirty-tricks-milesproust-reports-from-roboakeshott1-cowpervotes-campaign\/","title":{"rendered":"Outshining detractors and dirty tricks: @MilesProust reports from @RobOakeshott1 #CowperVotes campaign"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"800\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/ROBB-OAKESHOTT.jpg?resize=800%2C400&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-44747\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/ROBB-OAKESHOTT.jpg?w=800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/ROBB-OAKESHOTT.jpg?resize=300%2C150&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/ROBB-OAKESHOTT.jpg?resize=768%2C384&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/ROBB-OAKESHOTT.jpg?resize=600%2C300&amp;ssl=1 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><figcaption>Independent candidate for Cowper Rob Oakeshott and his family. Photo: supplied<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>High-profile independent candidate for the NSW electorate of Cowper Rob Oakeshott recently released his commitment to climate change action at the small Macleay village of Gladstone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His two-page document included a promise to vote against any new coal or gas power stations, calling out dirty money used for lobbying and to support policies that prioritise climate change action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oakeshott\u2019s candidacy comes six years after leaving parliament, when he and Tony Windsor supported the minority Gillard Government after the 2010 election delivered a hung parliament. During his tenure Oakeshott supported the emissions trading scheme of the Labor government, putting him at odds with his traditionally conservative electorate. In the 2010 election Labor received just 13.5 per cent of the vote in Lyne electorate with many voters seeing Oakeshott\u2019s support of Gillard as a betrayal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Oakeshott\u2019s past hasn\u2019t been forgotten by outgoing incumbent Nationals MP Luke Hartsuyker, who released a press statement this week slamming Oakeshott as a \u201csham\u201d for previously supporting Labor. Mr Hartsuyker said: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.portnews.com.au\/story\/6006549\/sticks-and-stones-campaign-tactics-as-cowper-race-heats-up\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">\u201cWe all know on the North Coast that he is Labor \u2013 Labor in Independent\u2019s clothing\u201d<\/a>. Oakeshott responded on Tuesday that&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RobOakeshott1\/posts\/2286253668298036?__xts__[0]=68.ARCOI9mUuhE93BbagBzHcJ5vhb-C2UOzVKJ90u0sFUrJnhBvwoyO-oszVZNACxFvpkgCPNdH4CXgPvs9bkPllJxfMXePCrzbXX6dJWjRTqQeDuTRa1GXxDwPFf2Z1IRopKE1KhSoVivnNMJKB8cMfWs-rOPF6Vf6kQF3iQHQc4gmfyduJzd-bQ286Y_4iiqHLm5Va2FGjJLLOV6DuJtlEnURu78FBGcE7gdRYQ0zNX5zwbwxqEXzG6ps-BNxkL6HBSpRfM4NRB3qbNtq9Wjkhyi5bPzkHv2ufkS3oc3EDywBAHt8jq4Yzej-xbDyl6NBYTR-VTbKTUMSCsk3oFTUvNEMfAmQ&amp;__tn__=-R\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cthe Nationals don\u2019t have a positive vision for our region so they\u2019ve started name calling.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9oHf3GTXWTI?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4>Running the gauntlet<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Mr Oakeshott isn\u2019t receiving any fanfare either from the Labor candidate Andrew Woodward, who shared this image on Twitter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Reducing unemployment, better funding for schools, strengthening Medicare, fixing the NBN, acting on climate change, accelerating renewables and establishing a National Integrity Commission with teeth to fight corruption. Labor will. It&#39;s time to change <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Cowper?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Cowper<\/a> to Labor <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/auspol?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#auspol<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/bpghfdfvCV\">pic.twitter.com\/bpghfdfvCV<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Andrew Woodward &#8211; Change Cowper (@CowperLabor) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CowperLabor\/status\/1114774206082768897?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 7, 2019<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>As an Independent, Oakeshott runs the gauntlet with critics on both sides of politics. Some conservatives disparage him as being a Labor candidate in disguise and that he ran in the 2016 election for financial gain from AEC election funding. Critics on the left argue he doesn\u2019t go far enough in supporting progressive environmental policies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4>Dirty tricks<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Adding to Oakeshott\u2019s woes was the appearance of a fake Instagram account claiming to be him last week. The<a href=\"https:\/\/www.abc.net.au\/news\/2019-03-27\/police-probe-fake-instagram-account-linked-to-rob-oakeshott\/10942528\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">&nbsp;ABC reported<\/a>&nbsp;that an unknown user behind the fake profile attempted to solicit a $25,000 political donation and flirted with a woman in Oakeshott\u2019s electorate. Mr Oakeshott became aware of the account after the woman involved notified him and the account has since been deleted. The issue is being investigated by police but for some it\u2019s clear that a campaign of dirty tricks has begun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, Oakeshott supporters are unfazed and believe action speaks louder than words. During his 18 years in politics \u2013 12 in state and six in federal, Oakeshott negotiated $110 million for an expansion of the Port Macquarie base hospital; encouraged Charles Sturt University to bring a campus to the town of 45,000, and secured federal funds for important infrastructure including roads, bridges and community centres all making him a popular figure in the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With Port Macquarie\u2019s inclusion in the Cowper electorate after major changes were made to its boundaries in 2016, Oakeshott will hope to capitalise on his achievements there so he pickup votes from Coffs Harbour. With youth unemployment at 23.3pc in Coffs Harbour (the second highest in Australia), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oakeshott.com.au\/oakeshott_on_high_youth_unemployment_in_coffs_harbour_we_can_fix_this_i_ve_done_it_before\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">Oakeshott can point to Port Macquarie<\/a> at just 8pc youth unemployment as evidence of his success. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIn the past Port Macquarie had high youth unemployment, up in the high teens,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe dealt with it by bringing a range of local groups together \u2014 employment agencies, the business community, council, Indigenous bodies, TAFE and other areas of education \u2014 as well as state and federal governments.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With Kerryn Phelps\u2019 win in last year\u2019s by-election and Zali Steggall\u2019s strong campaign in Warringah, Oakeshott may be able to ride on a wave of popularity for Independent candidates <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oakeshott.com.au\/is_there_really_a_chance_that_rob_will_win_a_safe_seat_like_cowper\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">but he is the first to admit<\/a> that winning the seat of Cowper will be no easy feat. Either way, with a high public profile and previous experience, Oakeshott\u2019s chances are better than ever. The voters of Cowper are in for an interesting election.<\/p>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>High-profile independent candidate for the NSW electorate of Cowper Rob Oakeshott recently released his commitment to climate change action at the small Macleay village of Gladstone. His two-page document included a promise to vote against any new coal or gas power stations, calling out dirty money used for lobbying and to support policies that prioritise [&hellip;]<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on get_the_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":44747,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[3434,2969,3395,3404,3324,3548,585,3450],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/ROBB-OAKESHOTT.jpg?fit=800%2C400&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t0mw-bDC","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44740"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/118"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44740"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44740\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57729,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44740\/revisions\/57729"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.nofibs.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}