Alex Hawke - Federal Member for Mitchell

As expected, Alex Hawke has coasted into victory in Mitchell with very little scrutiny. There was a massive swing against him of more than 9%, which is the kind of swing that loses a seat in most parts of the country.

After the disturbing incident in Lindsay in final week of the campaign, it is worth noting that Jeff Egan, who was photographed distributing the offensive flyer, is from the same faction of the party as Alex Hawke. From the Sydney Morning Herald article:

Mr Egan was a deputy mayor of Blue Mountains City Council and is a director at a public relations firm, Flagship Communications. He is close to leading figures on the right, such as the upper house MP David Clarke and the candidate for Mitchell, Alex Hawke.

Crikey has a story about the lack of talent in the Liberal Party after the annihilation in the election, which makes an interesting point about the new generation of Liberals:

Fairness never goes away. Most of what Tony Abbott, Alex Hawke, Sophie Mirabella and others believe in, in their hearts, is actually not part of the Australian political tradition at all. It is either European conservatism (Abbott), US Christian neoconservatism (Alex Hawke) or student-union contrarian Toryism (Mirabella). Australians find the ideas and their advocates creepy and disturbing.

The Hills News typically ran a soft story about Hawke’s win with no mention of the extreme positions he has stated in the past. Now that Mr Hawke is our member, I would like to see him clarify his position on the environment, social policy, indigenous affairs and the divide of church and state. He has had some very vocal opinions on these issues in the past and I think it needs to be made clear if he is now more moderate or whether he intends to pursue an agenda on these issues as his position in the Libs grows.

The SMH has run a story on Alex Hawke’s quiet imminent cruise to victory in Mitchell.

There is an interesting comment from Col Allison, the editor of the Hills News:

“They were all branch-stacking left, right and centre - it’s just that the other blokes got outstacked by Hawke…”

I wonder why Hills News hasn’t been harder on this issue…Mr Hawke has not come under any scrutiny or criticism from the local paper at all.

The article states:

Yet Hawke’s campaign in Mitchell has been subdued, leading some to suggest he is hoping to cruise into Parliament with as little attention as possible.

That’s exactly what Mr Hawke has done - hidden himself away in an office somewhere keeping a low profile and creating online video’s:
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Funny, no mention at all of guiding Australia towards a U.S Republican model of government, relegating old Liberal leaders to the Greens Party and the forced implementation of extreme right-wing ideology into the Liberal Party!

The Daily Telegraph today ran a report about the impending implosion of the Liberals due to the rise of the right wing power brokers:

“There is a genuine concern that David Clarke and his former adviser Alex Hawke, who will probably be elected on Saturday, could take absolute control,” a senior Liberal MP said.

Alex Hawke recently declined to attend a local forum where political candidates and church leaders discussed international aid.

According to the Age, Alex Hawke has been forbidden from doing media interviews. This doesn’t really come as a surprise. Based on some of the comments he has made in the past, it is wise for the party to keep him away from the limelight altogether.

I hope our local media will do their job properly and inform locals about the things that Mr Hawke has said and the things he stands for ( yes, I mean you Hills News).

No one deserves to win a Federal seat without clearly communicating their values and policies to the electorate they seek to serve.

Conservative rag The Australian comments on the moderate vs hard-right tug of war happening in the Liberal party. I think this quote sums it up perfectly:

“The problem is that zealotry does not fit well with the pragmatism required to win elections.”

This is my issue with Alex Hawke running to lead this electorate. I don’t have a particular concern with a Liberal being my federal member. I live in a conservative electorate and that’s how people around here vote. I think Alan Cadman has done a good job representing the interests of this area and it probably was time for him to retire anyway.

What annoys me is that the hard right faction have pushed hard to get Mr Hawke running in the federal election in Mitchell, because it is a very very safe Liberal seat. People around here will just put a number 1 next to Mr Hawke’s name on the ballot sheet simply because it says “Liberal” next to his name. This is what they are counting on.

I have no doubt that Mr Hawke will continue to keep under the radar and just quietly cruise to victory. I believe many conservative people of good conscience in Mitchell would think twice if they took the time to find out what Mr Hawke’s views and values are. I don’t think he is any hurry to express them loudly out here for this very reason.

It is a small relief however that he will most likely be a sitting member in opposition for a very long time.

What a surprise! Even Alan Cadman is concerned about the growing influence of the Liberals’ hard right in NSW.

The allegations of branch-stacking just wont go away.

“Fears that allegations of branch stacking could be extended to investigate the recent preselection of former young Liberal President Alex Hawke in the seat of Mitchell, were dismissed by party sources on the basis that the branch under investigation - Kelly Glen - had been moved out of Mitchell and into the electorate of Greenway.” - Daily Telegraph

So the branch has moved electorates, therefore there is no need for any further investigation? Pretty weak reason not to look into it…

I found this juicy nugget in the Four Corners message board. This pretty much sums up how Liberal pre-selection now works in NSW. It does not bode well for the democratic process!

Hills News ran a story this week about Hawke forcing Cadman out of Mitchell.