Robe has probably never before hosted a 120-strong public meeting which was addressed by four serving and aspiring Federal politicians.
Local Federal Member for Barker Tony Pasin arranged the evening function at the Robe Golf Club last Tuesday with the assistance of Robe Liberal Party branch members headed by Jacqui Bateman.
Leading the speakers were South Australian Senator Alex Antic and his Queensland counterpart Senator Gerard Rennick.
Mr Pasin described the two senators as being “smart and strong and brave”.
Senator Rennick spent the night in Robe as he was a member of a Senate sub-committee which convened in Kingston the following morning to continue its probe into regional banking services.
Leah Blyth spoke briefly and she chairs the South Australian Liberal Party’s Women’s Council.
Ms Blyth hopes to win a place on the SA Liberal ticket for the 2025 Federal election and this will be resolved at the Liberal Party State Council next month.
All four politicians are aligned with the conservative wing of the Liberal Party.
The two senators came to national prominence a few years ago as their stance on COVID vaccines was at odds with government policy.
Some meeting attendees travelled long distances to be present and as far away as Warrnambool and the Adelaide Hills.
Among the local identities in attendance was Robe businessman Tony Dawson.
He is a past president of both the Robe Football Club and Robe Golf Club and his younger son is Adelaide Crows skipper Jordan Dawson.
Mount Gambier businessman and Clive Palmer United Australia Party candidate David Swiggs was also in attendance.
The first hour of the meeting was given over to speeches by the three Federal politicians while the second took the form of a question-and-answer session. Senator Rennick had the lion’s share of the speaking time with the audience obviously warming to his traditional stance on social and other issues.
His statement that “governments should serve people and not control people” was met with warm applause while many heads nodded when Senator Rennick said he would not tolerate people tearing down the Australian culture.
Senator Rennick took aim at overseas tax shelters, unions, bureaucrats, privatisation of public assets, climate change and the Reserve Bank.
He is expected to leave Federal politics in 2025 as he failed to win Liberal Party endorsement for a winnable seat on the Queensland Liberal Party Senate ticket.
Some of the matters raised were such bread and butter issues as the inadequacy of the mobile phone coverage at O.B. Flat, near Mount Gambier. Others expressed extreme views such as the alleged existence of a New World Order.
A constant theme from the three Federal politicians was for people to take an active interest in the political process, join the Liberal Party and attend meetings.
