Out of the frying pan......seriously Jeff, are you proposing that "each-way" Mackay (minster for lots of irrelevant things) and Bob "sack the whistleblower" Coombes are in any way superior to the hereditary peers they supplanted? The Labor gene needs to be exorcised from the Hunter if any candidate of any quality whatsoever is ever going to get up. As for young Morris, is he really a Labor member? His little info desk at Westfield has a conspicuous absence of Labor regalia - maybe he thinks the brand is on the nose, even in these parts....?

The whole idea of a citizen going along with a policy just because it is the policy of a particular party appears to me to be just sheep mentality and infantile. (ie. "I am Labor/Liberal so I support X because the party does.") Each citizen should consider each policy separately and MAKE THEIR OWN DECISION. I'd love to see the end of political parties - but perhaps someone who is interested in such matters could tell me what is the problem if ALL the candidates were Independent? I can't see the problem - apart from how would they choose who leads the country? It seems ONLY a political party can hold majority government and power - why IS that?

Irrespective of how she got there, Jodi Mackay has worked harder and been more effective than any of her recent predecessors. Has she done a good job? Different question, but i'd say better than the past members and given half a fair go by the viscious and disenfranchised local members then she'd have achieved plenty in a terminally ill govt. I think there's almost no chance of her retaining the seat, and the ALP only need to look within to see why. They won't though, that's not the ALP way.

Aristotle thought Government should be by those people with enough time on their hands (and the inclination and ability) to pursue virtue. Virtue!Regardless of where they are chosen, or who chooses them, we are most unlikely to get a worthy candidate from the Labor machine. Or the Liberal machine, for that matter. The intelligent and capable people I know wouldn't waste their time being in politics, so, for the time being, we do have to put up with the flotsam who have nothing better to do, or no more worthy contribution to make.

Jaded, have you ever seen a group of seagulls fighting over a chip?

G - good point. All I can imagine is it could be constant (and worse) backstabbing than there already is within established parties. I thought it morbidly amusing how they would conduct elections in USSR - something akin to The Party (of which there was only one), would nominate their preferred candidate, and you were free to vote for whomever the Party nominated! I guess formats of government will plague us for as long as there are any group of humans living together.

Mrs Corbett i thought i would pass on further details of the upcoming World Husband Dragging Championships to be held in March. The event would require Jeff to be seated at a bar drinking a schooner or two of beer before you drag him by the scruff of the neck or your normal prefered means down 30mtrs of a soap sudded sheet of plastic .Then Jeff would be required to do a few domestic jobs,cleaning,folding clothes before returning to the bar to finish drinking.The quickest time wins a thousand dollars so i think with your likely experience you may be a shoe in for the money.Perhaps Abundance or intouch may be a chance also. google Australian Wife Carrying Championships.

You are wrong Jeff to suggest that the Labor candidate will automatically be elected around here. In 2007 Labor State Member for Lake Macquarie since 1991 Jeff Hunter was defeated by Independent Greg Piper. If you were here in 1988 you would remember that the Labor candidate in Newcastle was defeated by Independent George Keegan, along with the Labor member for Swansea by Independent Ivan Welsh, and also in Cessnock by Liberal Bob Roberts. Next year when the swing is on in March 2011 there will be a whole swag of Labor casualties.

It is quite irrelevent who the Labor machine parachute into a safest of Hunter seat. The inherent hatred of any opposition will continue to see this area treated as a political backwater. Labor cant lose, Liberal cant win - why should anybody spend any money on the place, regardless who is telling us the most lies. Until the Hunter becomes a swinging seat, nothing will change unless its the Minister for everything unimportant making an unimportant notice about nothing at all.

MizJasper i am afraid your correct. There is currently a fair bit of backlash and talk about how bad Labor is here in Newcastle, but from memory, there was the same at the last election, even more so with the expulshion of Bryce Gaudery. But again, people voted as they always have. The thing with Newcastle is that there is an absence of a quality alternitave. The liberals in NSW are really not much chop either so what do you do? What independants do we have to vote for? Tate??? Buman?? Who??? No offence to Buman who is a very nice and apprachable person on a personal level and does throw ideas around alot at council level but he has alot more to prove to Newcastle if he is to be a credible alternitave. And Tate, well, have never warmed to him and i don't want to be slanderous too much or out Lord Mayor so i'll just leave it at that. There is no credible alternitave so as much as i have never voted Labor before in my life, I can not see any other choice in the state election. Federally is a different story all together.