By TANIA PHILLIPS
A Country Road: The Nationals,
Tuesdays, 8.30pm, ABC TV
THE passing of Gough Whitlam and Wayne Goss, state elections and funding cuts to the ABC has put politics and its history in this country in sharp focus in recent weeks – so this three-part series is rather timely
Presented by seasoned political reporter Heather Ewart the series charts the course of the National Party from it’s beginnings through to now.
Who better than Ewart, who grew up on a sheep and wheat farm in National Party territory in Victoria, to walk us through the colourful history of this interesting and diverse political party.
During an extensive road trip, Heather finds that there’s no other political party in the world quite like The Nationals.
Its roots are on the land and in the blood. It’s played a crucial role in Australian political life since the 1920s and been at the heart of pivotal moments in Australian history – including stories of the summer holidays when Deputy Prime Minister Doug Anthony – the party’s longest serving leader – ran the country from a caravan on the coast in Far Northern NSW.
During the series – which premiered last night (and is available on iView) we get a chance to meet every former living leader of the party. As well as the characters that make this such a unique political force from Lady Flo Bjelke-Peterson to Pauline Hanson. And the turncoats: Tony Windsor, Rob Oakeshott, Bob Katter and Clive Palmer.
The first episode explored the early history of the National Party, through to what many consider its heyday when the trio of Doug Anthony, Peter Nixon and Ian Sinclair reigned supreme. Known as the Mulga Mafia, these three men dominated the political landscape in the ’70s and ’80s, especially during the Fraser years, and even playing a critical part in Whitlam’s Government.
Episode two focuses on Queensland and the disastrous ‘Joh for PM’ campaign which almost brought down the party while the final episode follows the rise of the independents with three former National Party members deciding the fate of the Federal Government in 2010 and asks the question – in the world’s most urbanised society, is there still a place for a party from the bush?
