Though his political career is officially done and dusted, Bob Brown still has plenty of clout when it comes to talking to voters about the Greens, and last night in Murwillumbah, Bob showed his support for Richmond Greens candidate Dawn Walker.
Last night in Murwillumbah a packed house of standing-room-only Greens supporters gathered at the Regent Cinema to glimpse Bob Brown in full flight in the lead up to the federal election.
Bob and his partner Paul are visiting several electorates, putting their weight behind the Greens movement and a vision of more representation in parliament.
‘I’m just delighted to be here with Dawn tonight, I’m delighted to be here advocating a vote for the Greens; advocating against a vote for Labor and the National party – and the Liberal party, even though they might not be standing in this seat.’
Brown spoke to a smaller group of about 50 in the theatre foyer fielding questions on everything from refugees to the bleaching of the Great Barrier Reef before arriving in the cinema to a welcoming standing ovation.
‘This election is very, very exciting,’ he said. ‘There are going to be huge moves in politics coming out of this election, big changes, and they are not all going to be good for the standard old big parties. What will be best of all, if we get a bigger team of Greens in the lower house of Parliament – as well as the Senate, of course – is that Adam Bandt will not any longer be there on his own. He will have somebody with whom he can get up bills – you need two for that – to get up motions – you need a couple for that. To ask more questions and to generally become a dynamic part, which you can’t so much as a single person on the floor of the house. Who better than Dawn Walker to be there with him?’
After an auction of some of his books to raise funds for Dawn’s campaign, Bob was again given a standing ovation by an ecstatic crowd who were enthralled with his inspirational words.
Dawn Walker introduced the man who would rank among the country’s most loved statesmen by saying how much she had looked up to him in the past and concluded by saying she felt she was truly in with a chance.
‘I don’t think we can lose after tonight after having someone like Bob come and be with us and get behind our campaign,’ she said.
Ms Walker also thanked all of the local Greens who have supported her in recent months.
‘I’d like to thank everyone so much for their help, I know so many of you have worked very, very hard to get us to this point. We have had a poll and the numbers are very, very good. That poll does say we are within a thousand votes of taking the seat in Richmond for the Greens.
‘We are now down to the business end of this. This is a community run campaign. What we’re offering is a voice for our community.’
Bob will be in Glen Innes tonight as he continues his pre-election tour.
