Dick pics. You’d be forgiven for thinking this was a Tinder rant, but no, I’m talking about western Sydney, and more specifically, voting in Lindsay. Why, because I think that western Sydney gets a crappy deal. I’d use other words, but they won’t let me publish those.
This all started after reading Troy Dodds’ article in the Weekender last week. It felt like he blamed us, the readers, for the election result, our standing as a community, and yes, the dick pics.
It feels to me he gives a free pass to our local MP, Melissa McIntosh, and then implies it’s not her fault she delivers very little; it’s the Labor Party and yours.
Western Sydney is stronger and more vital than we think. I’ve lived here for over 20 years now, and I’ve always been a little dismayed at how locals are just happy to put up with being treated terribly as an area.
I lived in the eastern suburbs briefly during uni, and let me tell you, they don’t cop what we do. They demand; we just hope for the best.
Some western Sydney facts worth shouting:
– 2.12 million residents, that’s 47 per cent of Sydney’s population.
– We generate seven to 10 per cent of the NATION’S GDP.
– We make over half of Sydney’s goods and services.
– But we earn, on average, $20,000 less than other Sydney suburbs.
– Our kids are less likely to go to uni.
– And we’re about to cop 24/7 aircraft noise, something the eastern suburbs shut down 30 years ago.
My mate drew a dick on his ballot this year. He grew up in Mount Druitt. Before you judge, this guy runs a multimillion-dollar western Sydney business. When I asked on socials why people draw dicks on ballots, he replied: “No one was worth a sensible vote.” He’s not dumb. He sees value, and he’s not seeing it in our political parties.
“Politics is show business for ugly people,” or so the saying goes. Once upon a time, parties picked candidates from local teachers, tradies, or small business owners.
Now? If you haven’t worked in a pollie’s office or don’t have a big Insta following, good luck. A “communications executive” is your likely next MP and currently is.
I disagree with Troy; I think it is reasonable to question why pollies only seem to be around for photo opportunities. Yes, I want them to give us a buzz every now and then. Yes, I want them to door knock! Or at the very least, not pop in for a photo op and then disappear.
In years gone by, David Bradbury set up mobile offices in parks around the local area and advertised for locals to come down and chat to him and his team about the stuff that mattered to them. More recently, I want to give credit to Stuart Ayres, who was omnipresent at the early stages of his career.
Melissa McIntosh dropped 6.6 per cent in primary vote, and it didn’t go to Labor’s Hollie McLean.
Nearly four per cent of the electorate went informal. Dick pics. Blank papers. Angry scribbles. That’s not apathy. That’s disillusionment.
Another friend wrote, “None of you are any good”. That’s the real message coming out of Lindsay, and political parties still aren’t hearing it.
Western Sydney is the engine that drives Sydney, but we aren’t holding the wheel.
“I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve,” said a Japanese admiral after Pearl Harbor. Political parties might want to keep that in mind, because western Sydney’s getting restless.
“Penrith is the Paddington of the West,” a mate once told me. In 2019, the real Paddington ditched the Libs after 74 years and voted for an independent. Maybe they got tired of being taken for granted.
Maybe we should, too.
Brenden Brown
Brenden Brown is a small business owner, health practitioner, husband and father to two young ladies who are exceedingly more clever than him.