Fairfax’s Cootamundra Herald re-printed a National Party press release July 31, 2017 stating the Nationals federal member for Cootamundra, Katrina Hodgkinson MP, had suddenly dummy spat with no explanation. Issuing a statement at 4pm on Monday July 31, Katrina Hodgkinson claimed it had been an honour to serve the Riverina.
Rubbish! Hodgkinson signed up for four years, so she should serve it out to March 2019. Do the time or don’t sign up. You are serving public office, not private.
Selfish Betrayal of the people of Cootamundra
Something smells. There was no clichéd “to spend more time with my family” party spin.
Recall the rehearsed exit by previous Nats leader Andrew Stoner in October 2014?
“After talking with my family, I made this decision in order to allow me to spend more time at home in the immediate future whilst enabling the new Leader of the NSW Nationals to stamp his own personal brand on the party.”
Where did Stoner suddenly reappear? As a Canberra lobbyist for the Chinese.
So Katy’s either so seriously pissed off with Armenian consort Gladys Berejiklian over her Liberal Party’s council forced amalgamations, or over forced closure of the NSW greyhound industry, or else Katy’s been offered one of those six figure lobbying salaries on some corporate board..too good to refuse.
Katrina’s exit interview included quotes like “the government needs to spend more time listening to people who’ve been around a while”, also stating “if anybody in the corporate world is looking for a slightly used MP, I’ll be available.” Katy’s got her 20 year polly pension anyhow at Cootamundra taxpayer expense thanks very much.
So she’s another ex-Nat lobbyist for more Chinese? Huang Xiangmo, Jiang Zhaobai, Chau Chak Wing, Huang Xiangmo, Ye Cheng, Ernest Wong, Paul Han, Simon Shuo Zhou, Zhongfu, Huawei, Yuhu Group, Genius Link Asset Management (Chinese front), Shanghai Pengxin, Shanghai Zenith, Xinyangfeng Fertiliser Company? – we shall be monitoring Hodgkinson’s corporate reappearance closely.
And since when did the Liberals care for anything west of the Divide?
Urbane Gladioli for Sydney, the whole of Sydney and nothing but Sydney
Either way, Katrina Hodgkinson (51) has become another Bush tart who again fleeced locals. After 20 years of Hodgkinson the roads, rail, schools and hospitals are still the same old run down facilities from when she was elected. Both the Liberals and their coalition partners the Nationals in the Bush couldn’t care less what happens west of the Divide.
The Nats lost their loyalty to the Bush long ago. They are just lapdogs for the urban Libs. The Nationals don’t listen to the needs of locals. That’s why locals in rural Australia no longer trust the Nationals to represent them.
Lucrative headhunting of Nats, makes Hodgkinson the fourth party member to announce their exit from parliament this year, following Duncan Gay, and Thomas George and Kevin Humphries who will retire at the 2019 election to guess where, but corporate gigs to exploit the Bush like as a mining lobbyist. Mr forced merger Troy Grant ‘s goneski. So is the uneducated Adrian Piccoli. In Victorian Nationals MP Russell Northe has resigned because of his gambling addiction. Where do they find these clowns?
Hodgkinson will take her disgraceful annual tax-free $100,000 polly pension and run…only to sprout up months later in a six figure lobbying gig as well.
Wat has she done in her twenty years except serve the wishes of the Liberal Party? Hodgkinson has slapped the locals of Cootamundra in the face, following the treacherous record by many Nats, and so triggered a short-notice by-election.
Former Gundagai Mayor Abb McAlister says Ms Hodgkinson never truly stood up for the town’s independence.
“Is it a decision made on guilt or did she really want to get out?” he asked. “She always showed support for us in Gundagai but once she went to parliament, that support just disappeared. She had a chance coming up this Friday to cross the floor and support us but she’s basically already said that she wasn’t going to.”
Ruth Fakin: da Nats “shiny new bauble” for Cootamundra
Yet the Nats still presume they rule the Bush. They’ve quickly shopped around and dug up Ruth Fagan within two weeks as their pre-selected candidate for Cootamundra. It’s the mandatory female quota see. She’s part of the swamp – a Cowra councillor. And Gladys will put her as Primary Industries ministerlike Hodgkinson. What’s Fagan know about agribusiness?
“Katrina has done a great job and there is huge following for the National Party. It’s the safest seat in NSW,” she said.
Ya reckon? Fagan’s another journo-come-polly. No wonder Fairfax’s Cowra Guardian is promoting her – free publicity. How much advertising revenue do Fairfax newspapers across the Riverina receive from The National Party every year?
And Fagan’s a leftie, backing Greens-Labor’s asylum seeker policy, and ‘cultural diversity’ and she’s behind Cowra’s Festival of International Understanding for foreigners. So if the Riverina wants more Third World scab labourers arriving, then Ruth Fagan’s your go to man.
She’d be into all that stuff that doesn’t matter to most Australians – gay marriage, renewable targets and Turnbull’s republican cause.
What about the increasingly unaffordable cost of living? Things that matter to most people like power costs, local work opportunities, local health facilities, decent roads and bridges. What about the harm being caused by mass immigration like islamic terrorism, the migrant crime wave and illegals bludging off taxpayer wealth? What about the ballooning deficit starving our governments of infrastructure cash at all levels?
It’s indeed time for some serious change.
Australia’s forebears who fought and died for our democracy would have had none of this.
LEST WE FORGET