‘Camell’ faction earns its stripes in Canberra

Western Australia has 27 members and senators in the federal parliament, and while some are very good at generating headlines, there is a group of five who are clearly the most influential.

On the Liberal Party side, the three top people are those holding ministerial positions in the Howard Government.

Senator Chris Ellison is the most experienced minister from WA, having been a minister since 1997 and having held his current portfolios of justice and customs since 2001.

Senator Ian Campbell has been a minister since 2003 and his current portfolio is environment and heritage.

Julie Bishop, a former managing partner at law firm Clayton Utz, also joined the ministry in 2003 as minister for ageing and has held that portfolio ever since.

Senators Campbell and Ellison are often discussed in tandem, since they are seen as close allies and active powerbrokers within the state Liberal Party. As a result, they are sometimes dubbed the leaders of the ‘Camell’ faction.

Ms Bishop, whose partner is City of Perth Lord Mayor Peter Nattrass, is seen as being increasingly influential in the party in both Canberra and Perth.

Earlier, her career prospects had been seen as limited because of her support for Treasurer Peter Costello, who is keen to succeed John Howard as prime minister.

However, her elevation to the ministry in 2003, and her prominent work as a fund raiser for the party, have put paid to such concerns.

A fourth influential MP on the Liberal side is Senator David Johnston.

He has been a senator for only two years but has been very active in the party for much longer, including as state party president from 1997 to 2001.

O’Connor MP Wilson Tuckey generates plenty of copy for journalists and is an agitator in WA politics, most recently during the state election when he clashed publicly with former Nationals state leader Max Trenorden over preference deals.

But having been demoted from the ministry, Mr Tuckey does not rank as a major player in federal politics. 

On the Labor side of politics, Opposition leader Kim Beazley is currently fighting an uphill battle to be regarded as an alternative prime minister.

His dogged resistance to the Government’s planned tax cuts was widely seen as a tactical blunder, but given the leadership ructions in the Labor Party over the past two years, he is sure to be given more time to prove himself.

The 56-year-old Mr Beazley has been a federal MP since 1980.

He held a range of ministries during the Hawke and Keating governments, including defence, finance and transport.

Mr Beazley was Opposition leader from 1996 until 2001 and lost two federal elections, before being replaced by Simon Crean.

He returned to the Opposition leadership in January this year, after the retirement of Mark Latham.

One of his most influential supporters is Perth MP Stephen Smith, who is currently opposition spokes-man for industry, infrastructure and industrial relations.

Mr Smith has been a federal MP since 1993 but has been heavily involved in Labor politics all of his adult life.

The 49-year-old Mr Smith worked for former WA attorney-general Joe Berinson in the 1980s, had a three-year stint as state secretary of the ALP and then worked as an adviser to former prime minister Paul Keating.

He has long been regarded as one of the key factional powerbrokers in the Labor Party and, more critically, is seen as someone driven by opinion polls and his own judgement about what is politically palatable.

Fremantle MP and former state premier Carmen Lawrence was elected national president of the ALP last year but she has been unable to use that position to achieve meaningful change.

She is seen as a passionate idealist, in contrast to the hard-nosed pragmatists such as Mr Smith who currently dominate the parliamentary party.

FEDERAL POLITICIANS

• Senator Ian Campbell
  Environment Minister.
   

• Senator Chris Ellison
  Justice Minister.
  

• Senator David Johnston
  
• Julie Bishop
  
• Kim Beazley
  
• Stephen Smith
  Industry, Infrastructure and Industrial Relations spokesman.

Opposition leader.
Minister for Ageing.


Former party president, powerbroker.