ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
Shadow Treasurer Angus Taylor has been spotted cautiously adjusting a Kevlar stab vest this morning, as the redistribution of his electorate of Hume forces him to campaign in areas he previously only knew from A Current Affair crime reports.
Taylor, a quiet, strikingly good-looking country boy from Nimmitabel, was seen testing the fit of the tactical vest in electoral office before stepping out to meet constituents in Sydney’s southwest, an area recently grafted onto his once-genteel, agrarian electorate.
The redistribution, finalised last year, saw Hume shed its vast tracts of rolling farmland and quiet Riverina townships, instead taking in suburbs such as Macquarie Fields, Liverpool, and Minto.
Speaking to The Advocate via wired telephone, an audibly anxious Taylor admitted he was still getting used to the new lay of the land.
“Look, I’ll be honest, this is a bit of a shift for me,” he said.
“My electorate used to be full of cattle breeders, wool farmers and townies. Now it’s full of gentleman with car loans they can’t afford and black hair!”
The redistribution has placed the blue-blooded Liberal MP in an unfamiliar political landscape, where key election issues extend beyond diesel subsidies and keeping the XPT running on time to include things like affordable rent, shisha bar smoking exemptions, and pulling the ladder up in terms of immigration.
Despite the early jitters, Taylor insists he is committed to serving his new constituents, even if it means engaging in small talk with people whose surnames you wouldn’t see on the King’s School honour boards.
“I’m happy to listen and learn,” he said.
“It’s the least I can do. But if we could start with a local Men’s Shed or a rotary meeting, that would be ideal.”
Sources close to Taylor say he has already requested additional security briefings from his office and a discreet installation of run-flat tyres on his government-issued vehicle.
Meanwhile, residents of Hume’s newly incorporated suburbs say they’re keen to see what Taylor has to offer.
“Angus who?” said one Campbelltown local.
“Is he the bloke from Farmer Wants A Wife?”
More to come.
