Pastel green ex-local councillor and now Independent candidate to boot Tampa Phil Ruddock out of Berowra, Matthew Benson, drops by to call for policy input and invite all to check out his campaign website. Well worth a good browse if you live in this 'Very Safe Liberal' seat and you're fed-up with Ruddock being treated like an Australian National Treasure by JWH and his right-wing chums, simply for playing base-instinct button-presser-in-chief throughout the 'Border Protection' beat-up.

Older smaller-l Libs in Berowra might remember the days when the Liberal Party actually felt compassion for refugees, having been the ones to blow away White Australia and set in train the new accord that bequeathed Oz politics a few brief decades of bipartisan avoidance of race politics; the days when Phil Ruddock even crossed the floor rather than pander to Howard's dog-whistle-xenophobe tactics, and 'bleeding heart' Libs could feel proud of their MPs on immigration issues for more honourable reasons than their ability to pull a frenzied standing ovation at an election campaign launch. (For best effect, every time Mr McPhee says 'Asians' in his magnificent speech, insert 'Afghani fruit pickers' or 'Iraqi mums' - or indeed, if you prefer to go backwards in Oz history from 1988, rather than forwards, try saying 'European Jews' for McPhee's 'Asians' instead; note also the Hawke motion division at bottom).

Do you miss those gentler days, Berowra small-l Libs? (And reading those old immigration debates, does anyone still seriously believe the Howard Years haven't shifted the country to the hard right on race-related issues?)

If you do miss those more edifying times, Berowrites, go and suss out Matt's hot-off-the-presses weblog comments on 'kids overboard' reprised. He might suit your vote a little better than PR.

Good luck, mate - wipe that grim cadaverous smirk off his dial 'for all of us'...in the gentlest democratic way, of course!