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Proof that Most Journalists Knew Very Little

Wednesday, 25th January, 2006

Almost to a journalist, the predictions were for Malcolm Turnbull and Andrew Robb to enter the Federal Ministry, Nary a mention of Gary Nairn, Bruce Billson, and Santo Santoro and just an occasional suggestion that Sharman Stone might be a possibility. So the Canberra press gallery got it quite wrong once again with all their speculation about the shape of Prime Minister John Howard's ministerial reshuffle.

Nairn, Billson, Santoro and Stone are the new people on ministerial salaries. Turnbull and Robb have to settle for unpaid posts as parliamentary secretaries where they will serve an apprenticeship which might eventually lead to one of the real jobs. Yet such is the preoccupation of political correspondents with their own imaginary star system that they will probably write more words in the next year about the new parliamentary secretaries than the incoming quartet.

Yet if ever a politician deserved to be noticed it is Gary Nairn. He was not given the privilege of standing in one of the Liberal Party's blue-ribbon seats likes Messrs Turnbull and Robb. His entry to the House of Representatives came from winning the marginal Eden Monaro from Labor in 1996 and turning it by the last election into a seat with a two party preferred vote of 52.1% Liberal to 47.9% Labor.

I saw the hard work required for that at first hand while living in Eden for a couple of years. Our local member was approachable and had the knack of getting the Government to deliver on his promises. At the parish pump level there can rarely have been a better MP.

But this former surveyor - he sold his successful business after entering Parliament - had a wealth of practical political experience before becoming a candidate. For many years he was president of the Country Liberal Party of the Northern Territory at a time when a CLP government reigned supreme. Gary Nairn came to Eden Monaro well equipped to succeed.

Even if the press missed his efforts, John Howard didn't. A year ago the PM made Nairn the Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Prime Minister. That he passed the test is shown by his new position as Special Minister of State where he will take over the task of tuning the electoral system.

At least Malcolm Turnbull can take comfort from the Nairn promotion as he succeeds him as Parliamentary Secretary assisting the Prime Minister with a specific task of developing policies on water.