THESATURDAYPAPER.COM.AU MONTH XX – XX, 2014 THE SATURDAY PAPER 3

As a scandal over expenses threatens to dethrone the speaker of the house, a litany of prior missteps highlights self- belief run amok. By David Leser.

Bishop’s gambit

On May 31, 1994, Bronwyn Bishop Bronwyn Bishop prepared to use numbers and use people president of the Five Dock branch of the outside the organisation to raise funds for delivered her maiden speech in the house at a news as Bishop. There was always antipathy Liberal Party in 1974. her senate re-election campaign. of representatives. conference between the [progressive] Group and Bishop shared – without The intervention followed a The speech was remarkable last weekend. the Uglies – but … they [the Uglies] were attribution – Kabriel’s thoughts in her cocktail party in which Bishop reportedly for a few reasons, both then and now. people who were working for an interest maiden speech. She told the House that received pledges of up to $5000 a head, First, because after two decades of or an ideal and you could respect them the remedies employed by the Labor money she wanted to put into a private political ambition – beginning with her for that. There’s a big difference, however, “collectivist” government were based on bank account for use as she saw fit. unsuccessful tilt in 1974 for the seat of between acting for self-interest and two assumptions: This breached party conditions that retiring NSW premier Robert Askin – acting for the interests of an ideal.” “... first, that people said neither members of parliament nor Bishop was finally in the chamber where Bishop was loathed by the party’s will accept a further restriction of their candidates could accept money on the national governments were formed. moderates, not just because of her alleged liberties in order that negative trends party’s behalf for their own campaigning. Second, because after 14 months preparedness to do business with people might be averted; and, second, that every As former party director Peter of actively undermining ’s accused of branch stacking, character solution requires an increase in the Kidman told me in 1994: “No one in leadership – and indeed helping to mortally assassination, racism and anti-Semitism, centralisation of power and more control modern political history could have wound him – she was no longer a contender but because of how her personal of government.” been more aware of the fundraising for the job that might have delivered her ambitions were seen to trump party unity. On page two of Egoessentialism, guidelines than Bronwyn because it was the prize she’d always coveted. Both her state director, Graeme Kabriel wrote: “Every major remedy is unfortunately during her reign as president “I am definitely going to be the first Starr, and his successor, Peter Kidman, based on the assumption that (1) people that the issue came to such a head.” Australian woman prime minister,” she saw Bishop’s constant barnstorming will accept a restriction on their liberties Two months after her maiden had told nonplussed friends in 1955, at the of branch meetings around the state as in order that the trend might be averted speech, Bishop was in trouble again age of 13. a thinly disguised attempt at wooing and that (2) every solution requires over another alleged breach of funding had won the preselectors for her 1987 senate bid. They the increase of centralised control and guidelines. During her last months in the Liberal leadership ballot a week earlier saw it as a breach of convention. government.” senate, and following her move to the and the new member for Mackellar had The state president was meant to Bishop then said: “The continuous lower house and appointment as shadow withdrawn from leadership consideration provide a sense of harmony, and yet her rise in tax of every sort imaginable, minister for health under Downer, Bishop owing to lack of support among colleagues. ability to stir up the pocket branches on government plans and controls restrict had employed a researcher whose wages Her extraordinary rise from virtual issues such as the monarchy, flag and individual decision making. All result in were being paid by Rodney Adler’s FAI obscurity in the polls to the country’s family values ensured a level of hostility the inability of small, new enterprises to Insurance. preferred leader over the previous two and division that the organisational wing establish themselves.” The donation of the staffer only years had come to a screaming halt had never experienced. Again on page two of his manifesto, became public because she was required two months earlier at the Mackellar It would be wrong, however, to Kabriel writes: “The continuous rise to declare “gifts” in the register of byelection where – thanks to independent suggest – as John Hannaford did – that in tax of every sort imaginable, the members’ interests. She listed the candidate and local writer Bishop was not “acting for the interests various plans and controls which gift as an “additional staff facility”, a – she’d suffered a 4.36 per cent swing of an ideal”. She did have ideals. And this restrict individual decision … all result nondescript term the then Australian against her on primary votes. was the third remarkable aspect of her in the inability of small, new enterprises Democrats leader Cheryl Kernot said But there she was in the house of maiden speech in 1994 – that, unbeknown establishing themselves.” could have meant a fax machine. representatives in the late autumn of to anyone at the time, she had decided to Kabriel divided the world Bishop was forced to sack the 1994 – seven years after becoming the borrow heavily for her speech from the between “egoessential” societies and employee after it was pointed out to first Liberal Party woman from NSW to pages of one of the most bizarre political “egoregressive” ones. Those who believed her by the party’s then federal director, be elected to the senate, nine years after tracts ever written in . in the primacy of the individual were Andrew Robb, that the appointment becoming the first female president of the The book was called “egoessentials”. Those who believed in breached the party’s rules on fundraising. NSW party, 13 years after being elected Egoessentialism and its author, Bedrich collectives were “egoregressives”. She later re-employed the staffer. the first female chairman of the state (Rick) Kabriel, was a Czech-born migrant As a man known to defend white Bishop claimed she was unaware convention. It was a stunning testament who had arrived in Australia in the 1950s South Africa, murmur against racial of the fundraising code, despite the to her undoubted intelligence, self-belief to set up Fontana Films, a film studio and co-existence and political compromise, memorandum on fundraising having and tenacity. production company in ’s inner and conceive the world in terms of been issued to all state divisions as Between 1974 and 1987 Bishop had south-west. “egoessential” lovers of freedom and far back as 1985, while she was NSW made seven separate attempts to enter It was there in the grounds of “egoregressive” enemies, he was a curious president. The memorandum specifically state or federal parliament, and when all Fontana Films in the mid-1980s that choice from which to draw inspiration. proscribed the very thing Bishop had but the last of these had failed she had Kabriel’s friend, Lyenko Urbanchich, Unless he was a political mentor. Which done in accepting the FAI donation. poured her superhuman energy into the established his Liberty Research office he was. In the twilight of her career organisational wing of the party. – a consultancy firm for right-wing The focus is now, of course, not Bronwyn Bishop is now in the eye of But her emergence as a political organisations. on Bishop’s ultra-conservative politics, a hurricane. For 35 years her narrow force also coincided with a factional war Urbanchich was the most but rather the very serious allegation of conservatism, combined with her inside the NSW division – a war to which controversial figure within the Uglies, inappropriately claiming entitlements personal ambition, sense of privilege and she was central. a man who the Yugoslav War Crimes – namely, chartering a helicopter at capacity to polarise, have infuriated many Although she has always denied it, Commission had dubbed “Little taxpayer expense to attend a party of her colleagues, although obviously not she relied heavily on the support of the Goebbels” for his role as a fanatical fundraiser. her prime minister. ultra-right wing of the party, the so-called propagandist for the Slovenian puppet Bishop’s sense of entitlement Despite her considerable successes “Uglies”. This, together with her personal regime during World War II. Urbanchich around money has long caused and, at one time, her almost rock-star style, saw Fahey government police DAVID LESER always denied the allegations. consternation among her colleagues. appeal across the country, she has often minister Ted Pickering describe her as “the is a journalist Urbanchich and Kabriel saw There was the question of travel seemed to ignore the old maxim about unacceptable face of the Liberal Party”. and the author of eye to eye on a range of issues – both expenses, but there was also the question being nice to people on the way up John Hannaford, the former NSW Bronwyn Bishop: were virulently anti-communism and of fundraising activities. because you’re going to meet them on the attorney-general, went further. “In my A Woman in fanatically pro free enterprise, and both Four months before the 1990 federal way down. 25 years in the party,” he said at the time, Pursuit of Power. were active on the fringes of the Liberal election, the state executive of the NSW There are legions waiting for her AAP IMAGE “I have never come across somebody so Party, although Urbanchich had become Liberal Party ordered Bishop to stop going to fall. •