Rob Oakeshott - who is he really?

The 3 Musketeers or Amigos? Oakeshott, Katter and Windsor. Photo: news.com

Tomorrow it will be three weeks since the Federal election in Australia. For much of the time since the election, Rob Oakeshott, Independent member for Lyne in NSW, has hogged the spotlight.

After criticising Rob Oakeshott for treating us all like schoolkids waiting for the verdict on a debate, I did some further research on the man who has been an interesting phenomenon in Australian politics.

The further research was inspired by Helen Pringle's article in Online Opinion on 7 September.

She argues that Rob Oakeshott is not necessarily the conservative he is made out to be. There was obviously some opinion in his electorate that he should have backed the National/Liberal Coalition, instead of Labor. However, as an experienced Independent, has has become used to the situation of being able to argue, decide and vote how he likes. And by backing Labor he has merely exercised this freedom once again.

The painfully long announcement. Photo: streetcorner.com

Oakeshott seems like a genuine guy, albeit a little eccentric in his own way, not in Bob Katter's way - that's an entirely different thing altogether. The further end of the spectrum would be Wilson Tuckey who bowed out of politics the other day by criticising Tony Crook, the National/Independent MP who beat him. Nothing like a graceful exit.

But back to Oakeshott. Pringle's article brings two salient points to light. The first is that people shouldn't be straight-jacketed into pigeon holes of right and left, conservative or progressive. Those terms may be trusty guidelines for describing someones position within a political party or across a political spectrum, but they are dangerous ways to categorise people and predict decisions.

If politicians think independently and use their brains more often, we can expect more examples of leaders who buck the trend of 'party lines'. This is particularly relevant when discussing the new Government, and that brings me to the second point.

Pringle concludes that this is a good thing for Australian politics. And while I didn't like waiting 17 days for the decision, and pessimistically doubt that the Government will be stable enough to last the three years, I agree that the lack of a mandate can be a good thing. Pringle argues, "Oakeshott, perhaps unlike the other musketeers, will make trouble for whichever side of politics he comes to support. And that kind of trouble is a very good thing in politics."

I couldn't agree more.