By Phil Jarratt
While staggered voting over two weeks seems to have taken the drama out of the election countdown and much of the wind from the sails of election campaigning in Noosa, on social media the good fight is still being fought with considerable enthusiasm, although far too much of it is coming from the spittle-flecked haters who inhabit the Noosa Whingers, Sooks and Crybabies Facebook page.
This Village Glee Club for ancient vendettas, conspiracy theorists, Covid and climate change deniers and retired develop-or-perish lobbyists, where potshots are frequently aimed at this newspaper for an alleged political bias that doesn’t exist, seems to be broadly in support of the LNP’s James Blevin, although as I have pointed out in these pages before, young James is perfectly capable of taking care of himself without the hindrance of the haters, as he proved with a solid performance at the Chamber of Commerce debate last week.
The non-appearance at this event of Labor’s Mark Denham, who pulled the pin at the last minute, citing personal reasons, sent the Whingers into paroxysms of anti-Labor tirades. While this was totally over the top, Mark hasn’t really explained himself adequately, and dodging a debate at this late stage of the campaign sends a signal to the voters that your heart’s not in the race.
Meanwhile for the three candidates who showed up – the One Nation and the Animal Justice candidates didn’t bother to respond to the invitation – the debate was an adequate if uninspiring forum for them to strut their stuff. Watching the streaming, which unfortunately left out the opening remarks, my first thought was that it showed that in Noosa we have three strong candidates who are worthy of consideration for your vote. Maybe we have four, but Mark was otherwise engaged.
Since the debate debacle, however, Mr Denham has stepped it up on his Facebook page after what can only be described as a lackluster start, and has been showing some spirit in his attacks on frontrunner Sandy Bolton, although he could make more use of Spellcheck and perhaps an editor.
Although I’ve had trouble deciphering the true message of the Greens in recent years, I was impressed with the style and substance of Rhonda Prescott’s debate performance and her subsequent social media content. Soft-spoken but authoritative, she is the best Greens candidate we’ve had in Noosa for a while and I’m sure the polls will reflect that.
James Blevin is a bit wet behind the ears, but he’s a charmer and he’s proving to be one hell of a grass roots campaigner. It also doesn’t hurt his cause that he’s got a couple of cagey old operators like Bruce “Davo” Davidson in his corner. Perhaps his most embarrassing moment was when the Feds’ Llew O’Brien left him looking like a tree in the forest when he ignored him at the Black Mountain bridge photo call and presser, but Llew made good with songs of praise at a later stop.
And that leaves the indefatigable Sandy Bolton. Anybody who thinks it’s easy being an effective independent in Queensland’s one house simply hasn’t tried it, but Sandy keeps smiling across both sides of the aisle and never gives up. Like Jacqui Lambie, she’s smart and she’s a sponge and her limited experience in politics has become an asset rather than a liability. And her love of her community is what drives every level of her campaign.
It’s a formidable combination and right now she’s in the driver’s seat.
