LETTER TO THE EDITOR:
THE week before last Darren Chester told Gippsland that Bronwyn Bishop shouldn’t resign, that her apology was good enough and we should all leave her alone.
He even sung her praises and described her as an “icon” of Federal Parliament — a woman who has rorted the system and wasted taxpayers’ money on exorbitant travel claims.
A few days later, all of a sudden Mr Chester thinks yes, Bronny should resign.
Even ABC Gippsland presenter Jonathan Kendall stated, “that’s not what you said on Friday”.
This is another in a long line of inconsistencies.
Darren prided himself and the National Party on being “open and transparent” about their position against gay marriage.
On June 18, 2012, he even told parliament that “there have been no surprises in relation to the view of the Nationals and my own personal view”.
A few years later this same person drops the biggest bombshell his party and his electorate has seen on social policy.
And my personal favourite Chester quote, “if we wanted to adopt a different position (on same sex marriage) I think it would be incumbent upon us to take that back to the people who elected us in the first place.”
So why didn’t he take a monumental policy shift to his electorate or his party?
It went to the national media.
Mr Chester’s defence raised more questions.
He claims he in fact did give us all warning because he “relaxed” his position late in 2013.
Does he believe changing a blurb on his website to vaguely state he is sitting on the fence counts as adequate notification that he will turn on six years of commitments?
And if he was reconsidering his position in 2013, he had ample time and opportunity to raise it with his party and his electorate for discussion.
Why didn’t he do that?
Why did he go into his pre-selection allowing his party to believe that he would uphold the Nationals’ values and policies in parliament — a phrase we have heard him say countless times before — when he intended to go against one of its core beliefs?
It’s no wonder some in his party want him out.
When faced with all of these serious questions Mr Chester’s best defence is a grand statement that has not been substantiated.
He claims his office has been “inundated” with messages of support and encouragement from constituents and MPs.
Mr Chester’s Facebook page “consultation” on same sex marriage only lasted a week, yet supposedly brought him to a revelation about same sex marriage.
He needs to face up and admit he has done the wrong thing.
To re-phrase my favourite Darren quote: “if he wants to adopt a different position I think it would be incumbent upon us, the people who elected him, to vote him out at the next election”.
