The making of a reluctant politician: [1 All-round Country Edition]
Stapleton, John. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 21 Feb 2003: 12.
Show highlighting
Abstract
Looking at Chamberlain, it is impossible not to think back to the 1980s: to Azaria and Lindy Chamberlain and the dingo, to the days when Chamberlain was themisunderstood father swathed in a thousand camera flashes, the husband standing loyally by his wife, who was regarded at that time as a monster, the man some thought was a member of some weird cult because he was a Seventh Day Adventist.
It is apparent Chamberlain feels it is his destiny to take on this role at this point in his life, running as the Liberal candidate in the overwhelmingly safe Labor seat of Lake Macquarie. In his speech later in the night, he refers repeatedly to miracles. “By God’s grace, who knows what will happen,” he says. “I recognise that in placing your own dreams before the public and the media you face ridicule and to face overwhelming odds you face failure. But not to risk overwhelming odds or to have your dreams fulfilled is to risk the greatest hazard of life — to do nothing.
AUS NEWS AUS NEWS 18/02/03…….. [Michael Chamberlain] running for the Liberal Party in Lake Macquarie in the up coming March Election. pic Matthew Vasilescu $Photographer VASILESCU MATTHEWTrue blue: Chamberlain looks to the future; Photo: Photo
Full Text
Michael Chamberlain has come out of the wilderness. John Stapleton reports
IN the era of the media tart Michael Chamberlain stands out for not wanting to talk to journalists at all. It’s an odd position to adopt for anyone running for theNSW parliament.
But then, no one has suffered at the hands of the media quite as Chamberlain has.
After being coy for weeks, Chamberlain finally spoke to reporters at his campaign launch this week. They were given 10 minutes in a park on the shores of Lake Macquarie. It had taken quite some effort to persuade him to spare those minutes. Even then he was trying to manage the outcome, attempting to ensure that he was not misrepresented in any way. No one minded. Everyone understood. Everyone knew the hardship he endured during what was perhaps the worst media feeding frenzy Australia has seen, and for years afterwards.
Looking at Chamberlain, it is impossible not to think back to the 1980s: to Azaria and Lindy Chamberlain and the dingo, to the days when Chamberlain was themisunderstood father swathed in a thousand camera flashes, the husband standing loyally by his wife, who was regarded at that time as a monster, the man some thought was a member of some weird cult because he was a Seventh Day Adventist.
At the hands of the media and the public, Chamberlain went through shocking physical and psychological harassment. He woke day after day to find themedia camped on his lawns, his every move followed, his intentions misrepresented, all while grieving the loss of a child, and later his marriage.
“The psychiatrists say I have been through four lifetimes,” Chamberlain said this week. “The media is always a concern to me.”
Shy he might be, but he is also a churchman used to speaking in front of gathered assemblies, and he has one of the most recognisable faces in Australia. Once he gets going, he’s a very evocative public speaker. He says he hopes his profile will not work against him. “I hope I am accepted by everyone. I am equal to anyone. I am not allowing my profile to affect me. What I have gone through is an apprenticeship for what I am doing now. I have seen the best and worst. By God’s grace, I am willing and able.”
It is apparent Chamberlain feels it is his destiny to take on this role at this point in his life, running as the Liberal candidate in the overwhelmingly safe Labor seat of Lake Macquarie. In his speech later in the night, he refers repeatedly to miracles. “By God’s grace, who knows what will happen,” he says. “I recognise that in placing your own dreams before the public and the media you face ridicule and to face overwhelming odds you face failure. But not to risk overwhelming odds or to have your dreams fulfilled is to risk the greatest hazard of life — to do nothing.
“To do nothing would be irresponsible for me.”
It will certainly take a miracle to overthrow the incumbent Labor member, Jeff Hunter, who is sitting on a comfortable 19.3 per cent margin after having taken over the seat from his father. It has been in Labor hands since its creation in 1950. Labor benefits both from the traditional voting character of nearby Newcastle as well as the large welfare vote drawn to coastal areas.
Chamberlain is running purely on local issues with the slogan: “Is it good enough?”
“I am a reluctant politician,” he says. “But if you want to call me a community activist I am happy with that.”
As well as traditional Liberal concerns such as law and order and education, he is particularly keen on infrastructure and transport issues. “Lake Macquarie is frozen in time,” he says. “Lake Macquarie is stagnating, it is becoming more and more of a backwater. The promises given by Bob Carr in 1996 just don’t appear to have been honoured.”
But however solid his political arguments may be, Chamberlain says he knows the odds are against him. As a spiritual man, he often reaches for explanations beyond the concrete. In this fight, he talks of David and Goliath, of others who have come from 20 per cent behind to win.
He speaks of his own travails, almost as someone who has crossed the Red Sea. “So it is I who have come out of the wilderness,” he says. The first time he “felt the wind beneath my wings” occurred when he stopped reacting to other people and came to some inner core of belief.
Why Liberal?
“I just want to be true blue, I don’t want to be green, I don’t want to be red, I don’t want the media to think I’m yellow. I am not here to be in petty fighting or factionalism.
“I am here to be a true-blue Liberal, someone who is favourable to progress and reform.”
After all the furore and the shouting that has dominated so much of his life, Chamberlain appears surprised to find himself running as a political candidate and dealing with a new generation of journalists who, unlike so many he faced in days of old, are curious but not hostile.
He might yet give his Labor opponent even more of a surprise.
Illustration
Caption: AUS NEWS AUS NEWS 18/02/03…….. Michael Chamberlain running for the Liberal Party in Lake Macquarie in the up coming March Election. pic Matthew Vasilescu $Photographer VASILESCU MATTHEWTrue blue: Chamberlain looks to the future; Photo: Photo