After a long absence from Tasmania – living with my old friend Bacchus No-Smoke and his wife in India – I have returned for a visit and have been catching up on affairs of state.
I hear that Lisa Singh is positioning herself to step into the shoes of long time federal Labor member for Denision Duncan Kerr, who will hang up his hat before the next federal election. A wise move for an ambitious person, given Labor is on the nose in Tasmania and is likely to be punished at the polls in March.
Ms Singh was elected as a Labor member for Denison to the House of Assembly in 2006. She abstained from voting on the Lennon Government’s Bill for fast-track approval of the pulp mill in 2007, putting her on the outer with her colleagues. But with so many dominoes falling in State Government, Premier David Bartlett had no option but to elevate her to the ministry in 2008.
The indefatigable Ms Singh, who was born in Hobart in 1972, has her electoral office in Claremont and works the northern suburbs, while her stand over the pulp mill will ensure she doesn’t suffer a backlash from the environmentally conscious voters of the electorate, even if some wish she had voted against the Bill.
Ms Singh would appeal to federal Labor as a replacement for Mr Kerr, not only for her abilities but also because she is of Indian heritage. Australia needs to court India, particularly after the negative publicity in the rising giant since the attacks on Indian students. Kevin Rudd chooses to be surrounded by attractive, young, female, nodding heads when being filmed in Parliament. I’m sure the PM would be delighted to add our Lisa to the backdrop, even if she chose to smile enigmatically.
