CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

DAY TWENTY-TWO – THURSDAY

Only three candidates eventually nominated for the seat of Melbourne, surprising the commentators who were expecting a robust contest. The day before declarations, Wolff visited with the Family First and the Shooters and Fishers candidates. Both candidates displayed little political ambition and Wolff easily persuaded them with inducements to withdraw.

His methods and offerings were contrary to electoral law, but both candidates were clearly advised on their rights if they spoke about the arrangements – they had none. Wolff had a unique set of skills he’d developed over many election campaigns. When he wanted something done, his persuasion skills got him what he wanted. In Melbourne he had the candidates focus on more important things in their lives other than politics, such as protecting their families from the rough and tumble of politics, and he was pleased with the negotiated outcomes.

With the two minor parties out of the running, the voters could now focus on a clear choice for the first time in many elections. There remained a core group of Greens voters keen to save the world with their unrealistic radical ideas that could reach twenty per cent of the primary vote. It was then up to Wolff to achieve a significant share of the remainder to change their vote away from Gerrard, or at least make a commitment to vote in the case of the high informal voters.

His plan was simple enough. Finish second after the primary vote count and have the third candidate’s preferences allocated to Rukhmani. But he knew politics wasn’t always that straightforward. Finishing second also required Gerrard to fall below fifty per cent in the primary vote so voting preferences could be counted – no point finishing second if Gerrard had an absolute majority greater than fifty per cent.

Getting preferences from the Greens would also be problematic – they never allocated preferences to a conservative party candidate. They often spruik about electoral fairness and supporting a candidate based on merit, yet coincidentally send their preferences away from conservative candidates, no matter their position on environmental or social issues.

Preferences were usually finalised about a week prior to the election so how-to-vote cards could be printed, so there was a window of negotiation opportunity of five days, six maximum, for Wolff to secure a preference deal.

Rukhmani received the coveted top of the election ballot paper position when it was drawn after nominations closed, which meant she could receive a big share of the donkey vote. These were usually residents who didn’t care about voting and only did so to avoid a fine. Not caring about who was standing, they usually marked their ballot from the top down in numerical order.

Wolff’s strategy to win the seat was also very risky. The Greens remained a strong threat, harbouring an ambition to win the seat. The candidate was an engineering PhD student who specialised in online gaming technology. A graduate of Melbourne University, Wolff liked the synergy between him and the professor. The young man was buoyant when Wolff spoke with him about his political ambitions, and he remained confident about a positive result for the Greens. He was yet to realise their core group of support had moved from the electorate, pushed out by the changing gentrification driven by hard-working new immigrants, weakening the Greens’ traditionally strong first-preference vote.

Wolff’s plan to achieve votes for Rukhmani was straightforward. Raise her profile and get people to advocate, convincing others to support her. There was a little over two weeks to generate momentum to convince fifty thousand voters to give their first or second preference to her. Not so easy considering she was running against the longest serving, most highly respected prime minister in the nation’s history. She’s also in the conservative party, and – black. Walk in the park.

Private polling Wolff had instigated confirmed the national campaign was going well. The plan for community engagement was ticking along with positive outcomes in the majority of campaigns and targeted marginal seats. On the other hand, Stanley was not doing so well in polling. Wolff had been involved in enough campaigns to know when a national leader was beyond help, and when creating as much media attention as possible toward him was needed to steer the focus away from the real election campaign.

Allow the lazy media to give Gerrard a false confidence he was doing well. Allow the commentators to nominate the winner and say the election will be a walkover for Gerrard. Let the pollsters believe their data reflects the electorate – because when it comes to election day, the result will be embarrassing for them. Whenever Wolff was involved, there was always a result the experts didn’t predict or understand – there is only ever one poll to be concerned about.

Wolff’s election strategy insisted that early in a campaign a public meeting should be organised in every electorate. His idea was for the community organisers to rally public interest for a public meeting where candidates could deliver a speech and then take questions from concerned local community members. Sitting politicians were very experienced at these town hall–type meetings and welcomed the opportunity to compare their experience and profile to those inexperienced candidates.

Conversely, novice candidates were usually shy and overly nervous, often causing a negative perception. It would be a challenge for conservative party candidates pitted against seasoned politicians, but his campaign manual set out in detail how to prepare and who should write the speech.

The Melbourne electorate’s debate was scheduled for later in the day. Wolff learned from operatives that Gerrard wouldn’t be attending. He also learned Gerrard had not asked any of his senatorial colleagues to represent him. It seemed he was annoyed he was even asked to attend, and therefore no-one should go. He was not leaving Admiralty House for anyone on such a sunny day in Sydney. Good news.

Robert Wong was instructed by Wolff to request the organiser, the local newspaper, to have three chairs on the rostrum just in case a government member showed up. He then urged Robert to prepare and then tape a sign reserving a seat for Gerrard prior to the candidates taking their seats. Wolff also advised he would be sending a prepared speech that he insisted should be read word for word without modification. Although concerned about the tone of the message, Wong acquiesced and assured Wolff that Jaya would deliver the speech as written.

Wolff’s next call was to Hancock. ‘Mr Hancock, have you redirected your journalist?’

‘Yes. I’ve also told her we are likely to run the Gerrard piece tomorrow.’

‘Very good, but you may want to hold it back until Monday or Tuesday. The shit is going to hit the fan after an event in Melbourne tonight. Tomorrow will be a huge media distraction and we don’t want to be diverted from our plan.’

‘What’s going to happen?’

‘Best I not tell you, otherwise it might lessen the surprise and your editorial tone may not be right. Can you get your girl to get to the public meeting in Melbourne tonight?’

‘I’ll make sure she’s there. Where is it?’

‘Too much information for you to know, tell her to get it from the local campaign office.’

Anita was trying to draw together a narrative that could answer her suspicions about the outside influences of the election campaign. She’d worked in the federal parliament for years, never once considering the influence outside power and money could have on politicians and the political process.

Of course, she understood the role of lobbyists and registered organisations working hard to influence and communicate their point of policy view. The many voices were indeed prolific and loud in the media around May when the federal budget was announced. Each group held their own self-interest, but she hadn’t considered there may have been a murkier arrangement of covert influence not seen by the public.

Gerrard always resisted the idea of a federal commission against corruption, believing the current strong regulatory system within federal politics was adequate. He often cited as evidence the state governments funding such bodies using their Supreme Court jurisdiction for little need for a federal watchdog, especially when it came to matters of land development. The prime minister argued the senate held significant anti-corruption powers and there was no justification for such a body in the federal system. Yet Anita was beginning to think there may be a case for a federal body, especially with the influence of lobbyists on federal parliamentary decisions.

What better place to set out her research than the prestigious State Library? She was ensconced at one of the eight long timber desks laid out like spokes in a wheel converging to a central information hub. The four-level octagonal atrium sat under an enormous glass dome. Allowing natural lighting, it was the perfect place to reflect and search through old newspapers. Anita always liked to have a direct link to history when delving into a research project. Google was a good resource, but she considered it shouldn’t be her only source when seeking creative ideas. She liked the libraries.

Methodical as ever, Anita noted a list of what she knew:

The Mercantiles – since mid 1800s

Membership – highest taxpayers and collectors

Private family-owned companies – no shareholders

Membership by invitation only – changed if tax level reduced

Hancock may be a member – grandfather definitely was

Twelve members?

Likely members Jameson (gambling) Buckley (beef baron) Connell (mining)

Other members? Check property? Finance? Manufacturing? Export?

Influence on government policy

Prominent when negotiating the prices and income accord in 1980s International affiliates – especially US

Trade benefits from influencing other governments

She then listed what she knew about the campaign and the mysterious man in black.

Campaign operative paid by printing company – Acclaim (Sydney)

Policy launch in pastoral company business – is this Buckley?

Hancock denies knowledge of operative yet confirmed sighting with him

Hancock defers stories critical of Stanley campaign

Assigned to Gerrard’s local campaign

The list may have been interesting, but Anita was getting nothing other than a headache from studying it. She searched the Mercantiles on the internet with over sixteen million results but zero relevance within the first ten pages of searching. Arthur Hamilton told her about Hancock’s grandfather being the chair, so she began searching Sir Frank’s achievements. She typed his name and the prices and income accord into the search engine and five entries linked both.

It seemed Sir Frank Hancock was outspoken, publishing editorials every day that supported greater labour regulation. Anita retained a grasp on this information from previous research, but what she didn’t expect to find was a social entry within the Melbourne Herald linking prominent businessmen at a political function in Melbourne to mark the first agreed pay rise under the accord. She clicked on the entry and was advised the page was no longer available, so swiped back to note the details of the event and the date in late September 1983. She then asked an information attendant stationed at the central hub if he could help, and within thirty minutes Anita was flicking through an original newspaper from the 1980s. The paper and print quality almost seemed as if it was printed that morning, let alone decades previously.

The news of the day highlighted Australia winning the America’s Cup, a nuclear catastrophe averted, political troubles, unions on strike and the mighty Hawthorn Football Club winning another premiership. What Anita was looking for was in the social pages, which she found after searching thirteen editions without luck. A handsome photo of twelve business executives at a dinner for the then prime minister. It was one of those staged photographs before the advent of the smartphone. There were twelve smiling faces and a look from the prime minister that suggested he was not enjoying himself.

Anita smiled as she looked at the credits. It listed the names of all the smiling faces, including a very young and rather handsome Arthur Hamilton. She blessed the subeditors – their companies were also listed. Anita was grateful for the internet, but it didn’t have everything an investigative journalist needed. This was a rare photograph of the Mercantiles.

It was a sound starting point, and she listed into her notes the companies by classification. Mining, banking, telecoms, retail, transport, insurance, energy. Gambling had a dashing Kerry Jameson smiling broadly, media was Hancock’s grandfather, then there was health and an airline. Hamilton’s gorgeous smile was a standout. All men of variable ages, but mostly pale and stale.

Anita then switched her search to the current top fifty privately owned companies in Australia, making a list with an eye to her membership listing decades earlier to isolate the likely members and their proprietors.

Kerry Jameson – Australian Gaming Operators

John Buckley – Top End Pastoralists

Allan Connell – Fitzroy Prospecting

Tony Hancock – Hancock Media

Then it got a little harder as she worked through the list. It seemed to be more a wish list without structure or logic.

Tasmanian Seafood Group

Newfields Property Group

New Women Clothing

United Health

Union Bank

Hyatt Transport

World Communications

Buckminster Building Group

From these listings, Anita was able to confirm John Buckley owned the company where Stanley held his recycling policy announcement, adding another line to her conspiracy list. The link was tenuous, but it was a link to the Mercantiles. Hamilton also suggested Buckley might be one of the group behind the Acclaim Printing Company sponsoring the man in black, Mr Hyphen, so Anita transferred her research to company searches within the government commission responsible for all company registrations.

She typed in Acclaim Printing Company and sure enough, as she expected, the Acclaim was owned by another company. She searched that company, which was owned by two further companies. She then searched those companies, then again, with Anita surprised by the web of structure trying to hide the real owners of the company. Why go to all this trouble for an apparent tax dodge? She didn’t understand the motives for doing this complex ownership structure.

By her sixth search a company name kept repeating as part owner of many companies within the web of ownership. Harborne Holdings Limited. Anita delved further into this company and looking through the ownership listed discovered it was part owned by Hancock Media.

She fell back into her chair a little deflated and confused by the entry. She removed her smartphone from her bag on the floor and snapped a screenshot. She felt uneasy and a little compromised by what she found, anxious her findings would confirm what she suspected – Tony Hancock was a Mercantile trying to influence the election.

Tony Hancock not only knew the Hyphen. He was paying him.

‘Robbie, I’m a little uncomfortable with this speech. Are you sure they want me to deliver it?’ Jaya Rukhmani asked her campaign manager. ‘Have you read it?’

‘Mr Sinclair-Browne specifically told me you must deliver it word for word. In fact, he insisted on it.’

‘Do you think it might be a little provocative?’

‘Ours is not to reason why, madam candidate, ours is to do what we are bloody well told. It’s in the manual, remember!’

‘But this might create a media storm. Are we ready for the backlash that will no doubt come?’

‘Head office said they will look after us. Let us do the speech, answer the questions, and get on with it,’ sighed a grumpy Wong.

Jaya dropped the speech to her side and looked at her student. ‘You sound a little tired. Have you been eating properly?’

‘Don’t ask me these things, you sound like my mother.’ Wong brushed his hand past his ear as if swatting away a fly. ‘I thought I’d gotten rid of that tough love years ago.’

Jaya smiled broadly, watching him busily tapping at the computer. ‘It’s only two weeks to go, can you last?’

‘Sixteen days to be precise,’ he said harshly. ‘Then I’m going on a holiday until the New Year.’

‘Can I come?’

‘No. I’ve seen enough of you to last me a very long time.’

Anita arrived at the candidates’ debate location, a community hall in the popular Carlton Italian restaurant district, flashing her media accreditation to the security attendant as she entered. She was surprised by the media turnout. There were two television camera crews, various radio correspondents and a number of political journalists. Surely, they weren’t expecting Gerrard to turn up? She surmised they may have been informed the prime minister could be attending so they took a chance. She was there because she was told to attend by her editor, foregoing a date with Barton in his electorate.

Barton hadn’t spoken to her since the Stanley media conference, and when she called to cancel, he left her a little cold. She occasionally questioned if her role as a political journalist would compromise their friendship, just as it may have done yesterday. She was doing her job reporting on the activities of the leadership group and should not be compromised by the thoughts she had for him. She was doing her job, that’s all. She felt a pang of regret and a little sorrow toward the way he must feel about her reporting and the implications to his career. She hoped they would work it out.

The hall was the community base for the Italian Club and ageing memorabilia, pennants and national flags were strewn across the walls, reminding local residents of their links to the old country. The standard, uncomfortably hard, stackable blue plastic chairs had been set out in rows with a centre aisle and surprisingly, most seats were already taken. Greens supporters were in a group with their signs declaring dismay with the current government, stating they wanted more done to protect the environment. A significant number of young people in the blue and white colours of the conservatives were scattered throughout the audience. The remaining audience seemed to be older local citizens interested in hearing from their representatives.

Anita made her way to the front where there were always seats available. Robert Wong quickly danced across the stage and placed a sign on the seat closest to the lectern – ABSENT MEMBER. An overt reminder to the audience and a subtle jibe against Gerrard, which would no doubt filter back to Sydney. Anita chuckled at the brazenness, and cynically shook her head at the amateurish attempt to ridicule the prime minister.

Within five minutes of the allocated start time, the two candidates were seated on stage with the appointed master of ceremonies, a local councillor. At the exact time for commencement, she welcomed everyone, outlining the rules for the debate. There would be an opening statement of ten minutes from each candidate, twenty minutes of questions, and then five-minute summaries in reverse order.

A coin toss was made to determine who would speak first – the coin bounced and rolled off the stage, bouncing and spinning further to the great glee of the audience and the frustration of the councillor. A staff member looked at the coin and called heads. Jaya Rukhmani walked confidently to the lectern, cleared her throat and spoke.

‘I came to this country, not as a volunteer, nor as a refugee, but as a child bride of twelve years of age, the wife of a husband some twenty years my senior. The marriage was an arrangement and provided my parents a substantial reward. I have not seen or communicated with my parents since my marriage.

‘I was brought to Australia under a family reunion visa and very soon fell pregnant. I had been in Australia for a little over twelve months when I gave birth to my beautiful boy, who is now a strapping thirty-year-old. I am extremely grateful for his love and the manner in which he lives his life.

‘After the birth, I was excommunicated from the family and forced to become their housekeeper; at eighteen I was driven from their home into a life of poverty and desperation. I spoke little English and had no education. I had no money, no job and no prospects.’

It was a proud start and Anita smiled at the confident manner which Jaya introduced herself. This was a woman of substance. She scribbled a note, looked about the room and observed the attentiveness of the audience. They were captivated with her story. She scribbled more notes.

‘Now I’m a professor of politics at Melbourne University and thankfully, I occasionally see my son and grandchildren. When I reflect upon those thirty years since coming here, I have achieved many things and continue to contribute to this great country, which is now my home and where my loyalties lie. I love Australia for what it has given me and the opportunities it will provide my family. I love its sense of community and the manner in which we care for each other – this is one of the values I hold dear when I think about my country.

‘But, ladies and gentlemen, I must say to you in all honesty, I’m saddened by what I see happening to our country. Specifically, the manner in which our immigration laws are flouted by those who would take advantage of my great country.’

Anita was surprised by the statement and looked to see if the camera crews were recording. This was only the beginning of the speech and after a strong start it was already becoming politically provocative. One crew was filming and the other rushed to reverse the packing they had begun once knowing Gerrard was not going to attend.

‘I see international students enter this country illegally to take advantage of our nation’s generous soul. I say illegally because they have no intention of studying their chosen course or degree and lazily turn up to register each semester sitting the required exams to maintain a pass. I have personally seen incidences of imposters sitting exams for students and, of course, university professors are acutely aware of the trade in writing academic papers for marking.

‘Instead of studying, these fake students are working in this country, sending the money they earn back home to support their families. The working conditions these so-called students suffer under are less than the standards of legitimate workers and because they’re here under false pretences, they accept less money, never complaining. But let me tell you, even working in this illicit trade of foreign workers and suffering extreme work conditions, it still allows them to earn more money than they could ever dream of earning back home.

‘These students – no, let me call them what they are – these illegals, are using this country to increase their family wealth back home, sadly at the expense of Australia. By any measure, this is a community and government moral scandal for it certainly devalues our tertiary education system and disavows the rights of other students who have missed a university place because of these so-called international students. It must stop.

‘Yet, when I read the policies of the major universities in Australia, it is clear their attitude is to accept increasing revenue from the international student market. It seems to me academic standards are slipping and perhaps our universities do not consider if they are acting ethically or not. Unfortunately, it seems it is only about the money for them, which is sad. But what is worse is when I look to government policy for a solution, I see nothing.

‘The immigration policy in my country is essentially an open borders policy with little control of the visa program. They care about stopping refugees but pay little attention to the real people smuggling in Australia.

‘The visa system, particularly the student visa system, encourages itinerate workers to take Australian jobs. It allows some international students to lower the academic standards of our universities and deny Australians opportunity.

‘Our immigration system permits the wretched of the world’s economic disasters to claim immigration rights and live a life on the generosity of the Australian taxpayer. They have more money and services provided to them by the government than they can ever earn back home and living here is a safer option. Why wouldn’t this country be the honey for the those who think work and effort is so last century.’

A number of positive interjections from the audience interrupted Jaya’s flow and she paused for a moment, calming further comment.

‘Australia is tough on so-called boat people who pay top dollar to smugglers to skirt the regulations and process of immigration. These are the people who take advantage of our laws and courts by using litigant lawyers who increase their own wealth, generously funded by the Australian taxpayer. By gaming the system, these people fraudulently seek to position themselves ahead of legitimate immigrants. As a result, we see a developing queue of wasters, leaners, and people who don’t care about Australia and its people – rather, they only care about plundering the taxpayer riches it offers.

‘Yet, if anyone deigns to speak about these matters in a considered way, we are branded to be racist or phobic in some way. It is not racist to protect our people. It’s not racist to help our people. It’s not racist to call out wrong government policy, and it is not racist to ensure new immigrants earn the right to live in this great country.’

Scribbling quickly, Anita tried to get the words down. Photographers were now sitting on the floor in front of her snapping the professor, checking ISO and white balances before snapping more from different angles. The Greens candidate stopped looking at his notes and seemed stunned by what he was hearing.

‘Australia is duty bound to provide sanctuary, but we are not duty bound to let this sanctuary become a haven for the unscrupulous, the dishonest and the fraudsters.

‘Government statistics clearly indicate there is a wave of migrants we have welcomed for the last twenty years, under the management of Andrew Gerrard, spiralling into a ghetto of welfare recipients taking advantage of the free and easy social security system we have created.

‘Why wouldn’t you want to come here? Free education, free health, subsidised housing, subsidised utilities, subsidised public transport. We offer funding incentives to have more children so that a family can live comfortably on welfare and have no-one work for generations. We offer free child care support, aged care support, and support for carers on this merry-go-round of taxpayer subsidy. My country provides too much to these cheats and we place zero requirements for these phony Australians to contribute to our nation.’

Someone interjected, ‘Hear, hear.’ Anita swung around to see how the audience was reacting. Many seemed captivated by the professor’s words as there were plenty of smiles, surprising her. The paradox of a migrant criticising immigration was compelling, and yet Anita wondered if this was the language the community should be listening to.

‘I would like to see the government place a cap on international students trashing our universities, demanding academics like me to pass them in their subjects no matter their academic standard. I would like to see a cap on social welfare benefits for new immigrants set at three years – either contribute to Australia or go home.’

One or two audience members clapped enthusiastically.

‘I would like to see the reduction of suburban enclaves and criminal ghettos springing up in various suburbs and regions across the country.’ Jaya paused for a moment and looked out into the audience. ‘Friends, if we are appalled by many of the grand European cities with their noble history being trashed by immigrants from countercultures, then see the early signs of this silent invasion happening right here in Australia. I do not want to fear going into a suburb because I’m female, yet this is how I’m made to feel by these ugly enclaves. I encourage the government to get actively involved in settlement planning and allocate new arrivals to cities and regional towns that are not deluged with the leaners and takers of our society.

‘These issues of immigration, segregation and cultural change are not new. They were here thirty years ago when I arrived, and there has been much political debate and community hand-wringing over that entire period since. Yet there is very little change to government policy and action to resolve the many critical issues within the community that face us all.

‘I was a victim of racism and ostracised from the Australian community when I first arrived here, but I was able to do something about it and change my world. I did not become a victim. The difference between talk and action is significant, and for me it has been very rewarding. My country supported me, now I give back to my community in many ways.

‘While Andrew Gerrard has talked, I have acted.

‘I’ve contributed to this great nation yet I started with absolutely nothing. No support, no family and no future. Friends, if I can help myself, why then cannot others? If new immigrants won’t use their God-given skills like I did, why then do I, as an Australian taxpayer, pay their indulgences and put up with their conflicting cultural attitudes?

‘Australia should not be a soft target for those who come to take advantage. Yet sadly, this is the position of the government and it is also the stated policy of the Greens. We must all earn the right to live here. There should be no free rides in the name of human rights and racial discrimination.’

The Green candidate said something to the professor, but Anita could not hear him. His supporters tossed a few interjections disputing her claims, but Jaya ignored them.

‘Of course, we must care for those among us who need our support. But all of us must work together to grow this fine country and ensure we are all rewarded for our efforts. It’s not just the taxpayers who have that responsibility; it’s everyone.

‘It ought to be hard to be an Australian citizen – it’s tough work and for those wanting to come here, it should be earned. Yet evidence suggests we are a very soft touch when it comes to immigration. Evidence clearly shows we are losing our culture to those who take advantage of our willingness to provide help – evidence confirms we turn the other cheek when the worst of society rages against us by continually demanding more from us. They take our money and soon they will take our culture and then Australia will be left as a failed experiment. England sent us their dregs over two hundred years ago and we built a great nation. We cannot allow the dregs of other nations to drag us down to their lowest common denominator.

‘Friends, I weep for my country. Australia has been taken advantage of by those who see us as an easy prey for the charlatans and cheats. As our national anthem says, if we are to provide wealth for toil, then we must stop this sit-down money concept Andrew Gerrard and his government wants to continue. This namby-pamby hand-wringing policy on immigration is supported by the regressive left, who have taken my dream for my country and turned it into a nightmare.

‘Ladies and gentlemen, I seek your support as your member of parliament so that I may bring sense to policy and reject this notion of taking before ever giving back to the community.

‘American President John F Kennedy said it well in his inauguration speech long ago. “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”’

‘I am sad to say we have stopped asking what we can do for our country because these ungrateful leaners have started demanding from us. Unfortunately, political correctness drives us to ignore what is happening because we’re too afraid to speak out, too afraid to say no, and too afraid to demand a review of our immigration policy.

‘I ask you now, send me to Canberra to be your voice so together we can ask the questions that need truthful answers.

‘Thank you.’

The audience immediately exploded as Jaya backed away to her seat. Many in the crowd got out of their chairs clapping, cheering and whistling salutation. A minority sat stony faced, intimidated by the response. Instinctively, Anita knew this was a front-page story and dashed to the back of the room looking for any Rukhmani staff who may have a copy of her speech. ‘Provocative, Robert,’ she said as he handed her sheets of stapled paper. ‘Whose idea was this?’

‘All part of the strategy to unseat Gerrard,’ smiled Wong.

‘My guess is Jaya’s speech will move beyond this seat and create a significant national story. Good luck – she will be hung out to dry for it.’