The Only One

A snapshot of Australian parliamentary politics under Chairman Rudd:

"If they haven't caught up with her already, it's a fair bet that Labor's re-educators will be out in force this weekend trying to track down their Federal Member for Fowler, Julia Irwin. Irwin has a reputation as a forthright backbencher who is unafraid of rattling the Labor cage when she feels the need. Last year she attracted widespread attention when she boycotted a parliamentary motion moved by Kevin Rudd to commemorate the state of Israel's 60th birthday. She was far from the only member of caucus who felt strongly about Israel's conduct of its dispute [!!!] with Palestine. But after the party whips made it perfectly clear to all that the boss wanted everyone there for the vote, she was the only Labor MP to give voice to her notoriously strong views about Israel and to boycott the parliamentary motion. Raised in a working-class family in Western Sydney, Irwin has been an ALP member since she was 15 and - despite many veiled threats to her pre-selection - the member for Fowler since 1998. Some in her party consider Irwin to be 'old Labor' - sadly a perjorative, really, which means she holds fast to the ideals of equality and, above all, a fair go for the working man and woman... sometimes at the expense of the party line. And there she was, at it again, last week, banging on about unemployment and sticking up for the workers in her electorate." (It'll be hard labor for the jobless, Paul Daley, The Sun-Herald, 17/5/09)