On Peter Garrett
Back in 1984, I was swept up in the fervour of the fledgling Nuclear Disarmament Party and its platform of :
NO Uranium Mining
NO Nuclear warship visits
NO US bases, including Pine Gap
As I lived in NSW at the time, I worked enthusiastically to get Peter Garrett into the Senate.
During the election the NDP operated on an ad hoc constitution,
and after the election we turned our attention to writing a proper constitution.
Two draft constitutions emerged,
one which put most of the power in the hands of the Spokesperson and 'the management',
whilst the second put most of the power in the hands of the Members.
As a Regional Delegate from the Mid-North Coast I attended the 'Constitutional Convention' ( I forget the exact name ) in 1985.
The debate was rugged - I was appalled that people purporting to be peace-lovers should act so belligerently.
As the day progressed it became clear that the Members Constitution ( my personal preference ) was going to have the numbers.
Peter Garrett was not a Delegate, so he had to have his friends move that he be allowed to speak before the final vote.
Instead of arguing his case, he performed the most venomous attack of the day,
accompanied by the grotesque gyrations he is recognised for in Midnight Oil performances.
The culminating tirade was him stabbing at all the Members with his outstretched finger, myself included, as he said in a bitter, sneering tone :
"I can't work with you lot - you're all a bunch of communists ! "
And with that he stormed out.
The next day he organised a press conference where he did everything he could to try and kill off the NDP
and stamp its reputation into the ground.
Now it seems that if the ALP thinks uranium mining, nuclear warship visits and Pine Gap are OK, then Peter agrees.
What a slimy two-faced bastard.
The ALP is welcome to him.
Dave Kimble April 2005
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