First, all the best to Tauto.
Regrettably, both Labor and the Greens are prone to nominate Aboriginal candidates, but always it seems in positions which are unwinnable.
No, ‘unwinnable’ is not an Aboriginal word, it is english (I think) meaning ‘for losers’.
It is ‘Clayton’s politics’ to accept a losing political candidacy to simply boost a party’s image, like putting a recognition of us as the first Australians in the constitutional preamble, along with a legal disclaimer stating that no rights, as the first Australians, exist when in fact international law recognises the the inherent rights of Indigenous Peoples exist and should be protected.
Wake up Australia! Hellooooh Australians? Black people running ….
Of course, a major swing of 5% to ALP will see Tauto elected and that would be fantastic. Tauto, if elected would hopefully not suddenly become ‘an Australian first, a party politician second, and an Aboriginal third’, as has happened in at least one previous instance. Why is it that the conservatives are always the ones willing to put Aboriginal candidates in winnable (another english word, meaning ‘Crown sovereignty trumps Aboriginal sovereignty’) seats?
To all the Aboriginal candidates in these national elections, regardless of party affiliation, what are your plans after the elections? (Hee hee) Are you interested in joining the APG and getting involved in the reality politics of the Aboriginal people?
les
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Tauto Sansbury
Labor Candidate for Grey
About Tauto
Tauto Sansbury is a proud South Australian, born at Point Pearce Aboriginal Mission on the Yorke Peninsula.
Tauto’s career, spanning more than 25 years, has seen him at the forefront of Aboriginal Affairs, working in the areas of law and justice and health. He has recently taken up a position with the Northern Division of General Practice to work on the Federal Government’s Closing the Gap initiative in relation to Aboriginal health.
Tauto has strong family ties and close personal and professional links with the Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula and the Northern areas of the State, which were further strengthened during his work as CEO of Ceduna Koonibba Aboriginal Health Service during 2008 and 2009.
He has chaired numerous national and statewide bodies throughout his career and developed a high profile as a strong and committed leader. He received national recognition in 2003 when he was awarded a Centenary Medal from the Commonwealth Government for his extensive work
in law and justice.
Tauto’s many years of experience working with, and for, people from all walks of life and listening to their concerns, have allowed him to develop sound
political acumen. He is widely acknowledged as a man of his word who is not afraid to address the difficult issues.
Tauto is committed to providing a strong and effective voice in Canberra.
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Margin: Liberal 4.4%
Location: Western Regional/Outback, South Australia
In a nutshell: The decline of the industrial cities of Whyalla and Port Augusta has wrought an electoral transformation over the seat of Grey, which has switched from safe Labor to safe Liberal. The margin was substantially garnished when long-serving member Barry Wakelin retired in 2007, but Rowan Ramsey was nonetheless able to keep the seat in the party fold.
The candidates
Electorate analysis: Grey has covered most of the vast South Australian land mass since federation, apart from a period between 1934 and
1951 when the interior was divided between Grey and Wakefield. With population growth maintaining it
s long-term failure to keep pace, the redistribution before the 2004 election saw it absorb the entirety of the Yorke Peninsula from a radically redrawn Wakefield. Until 1993 the seat was usually safe for Labor, having been held by them for all but one term since 1943. Barry Wakelin then won it for the Liberals when the retirement of Labor member Lloyd O’Neil coincided with a redistribution that gave the Liberals a 4.3 per cent boost, adding to the electorate Port Pirie and part of the strongly conservative Clare Valley. Wakelin enjoyed swings of 6.4 per cent in 1996, 1.9 per cent in 2001 and 3.2 per cent in 2004, with only a 0.5 per cent swing going the other way in 1998. There as a sharp 9.4 per cent swing to Labor when Wakelin retired in 2007, but the Liberals nonetheless retained a comfortable 4.4 per cent margin. The incoming member was Rowan Ramsey, an Eyre Peninsula farmer.
Analysis written by William Bowe. Read Bowe’s blog, The Poll Bludger.