Goodbye and thanks Wazza

LAWRENCE MASON COLUMN

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Warren Entsch. Picture: Shaun Hollis

I first heard of Warren Entsch in the '90s when I used to travel a bit to Laura, and often stayed at Jowalbinna. Not many people know I actually bought two blocks of land there, long since sold on as times changed and a marriage failed.

I think the first I heard of him was almost mythical; a crocodile hunter who, I was told, was very rich, up and coming. A cattle baron. Most of what I heard was in the bar of the Laura pub, and thankfully the Trezise family gave a more measured idea of him.

Up until 1996 I am fairly sure I was a Labor voter. Warren was the first Liberal I voted for I think. What swayed me at the time was that he seemed genuinely interested in what the people thought. He talked like a local, not like an uptight pollie from down south. You could have a yarn with him. He didn't walk off when someone more interesting came along.

Not all my friends at the time were impressed though. One said "Warren will agonise over killing the forest, hear all the arguments then do it anyway".

I saw a different side; he was actually listening and learning, and did not always "do it anyway".

But please don't think that Warren and I always agreed. There have been a few very animated discussions over the years, and he recently described me as a "hemorrhoid", something that grows on you!

But like family, after an argument, there he was back again, always ready to talk. Not like many other pollies who write you off as soon as you dare challenge them. Or they respond by becoming invisible.

Of all the politicians I know, Warren is the one that I see most. Thinking about it, I have only ever been to his office twice and one of those visits was unrelated to his work, it was a collection point for donations his wife had organised. All the other times he came to my community. Even our councillors could learn a bit from that.

Warren has always been prepared to go in and take on the establishment to get what his community needs. It would be silly to say he always won, but for the most part he did his best for us. He certainly isn't perfect, but nor am I. Warren had a fair crack at doing the best for Leichhardt, and it is hard to ask for more than that.

He changed the way I decide how to vote. I no longer look at the "global picture"; I think about how well the potential representative will try to help MY community. Because the ones that bother to look after their own do the right thing globally anyway. Far too often we see candidates a lot during the campaign, then never again, or only if we make a LOT of noise. Except when they are on TV saving the world.

During the recent disaster he asked if he should visit. I said no; he was far more helpful just answering the phone and being available to assist us by lighting a fire under whoever needed motivation. Much better than a helicopter flight, coffee and empty promises. We sure got plenty of that!

The saddest thing about Warren's tenure was the number of times people stood up at meetings or wrote "I never vote right wing, but I like you". That might explain why there are so many useless pollies. If we just voted for decent people instead of trying to virtue signal or being rusted on, we might actually get a few worthwhile politicians.

Thank you Wazza for all you have done and for listening.  Hopefully this "hemorrhoid" won't cause you too much pain in retirement!

*Lawrence Mason has lived at Cape Tribulation all his life, and has been involved in farming, timber and tourism. He is a former board member of Tourism Port Douglas Daintree, founding chair of Daintree Marketing Co-operative, and has been a member of both Alexandra Bay and Mossman State High School P&C. He is also a member of the Douglas Chamber of Commerce and has a keen interest in local issues.

The opinions and views in this column are those of the author and author only and do not reflect the Newsport editor or staff.