As Andrew Landeryou reported at 4:11am (and The Age at 8:13am), last night’s Victorian Legislative Council recount in several seats resulted in the DLP indeed losing the last seat in Northern Metropolitan to the ALP, apparently as a result of 6000 Green preferences which had previously erroneously been allocated to the Liberals. However, it was “swings and roundabouts” on the recount because the ALP also lost the last seat in Western Metropolitan, where Labor’s Henry Barlow was defeated by a Greens candidate whom Landeryou describes as “nasty Greens extreme left candidate Colleen Hartland”. The result is that Labor still ends up with a 19 seat minority in the 40 seat Legislative Council, but with the Greens holding the balance of power whip hand with 3 seats (instead of the DLP and Greens each having 2 as it was prior to last night’s recount). The numbers according to Landeryou are now as follows:
This gives the extreme Greens three Members of the Legislative Council, leaves Labor with 19, the centrist DLP with 1, the Nats with 2 and Liberals with 15.
Ironically Bracks would probably have preferred the previous result, because it would have given the government the ability to shop around between DLP, Nats and Greens to muster a majority on legislation the Libs opposed, whereas now he’s stuck with just the Greens (and the Nats in the fairly unlikely event that either of them feel like doing a Barnaby). Anyway, it’s a good thing for democratic checks and balances I suppose, although I must say I would have preferred the balance of power to be held by a moderate, sensible party like the Democrats once were before they self-destructed, rather than either extreme greenies or Catholic God-bothering wowsers.
The other dimension to this story is the way Landeryou has managed (and not for the first time) to beat the mainstream media in straight news reporting. As I observed in a comment last night, whatever you might think of him (and I don’t like the extreme defamation and seemingly malicious personal smear campaigns), Landeryou clearly has some very good sources, including within the Victorian Electoral Commission. Gutter/tabloid though he may be, Landeryou is one of the few bloggers who is actually practising real news/investigative journalism, and I hope he keeps it up. I think he’s a really interesting blogosphere phenomenon and worth watching closely.
I wonder if we’ll see the emergence of more bloggers turning their hands to original news reporting and investigative journalism, as opposed to comment and analysis about the issues already covered in the MSM? Obviously most bloggers have severe time, money, resource and access constraints compared with paid accredited MSM journalists, but diligence, personal contacts and sheer rat cunning can sometimes achieve wonders. For example, there are lots of retirees out there with a lifetime of experience, wisdom, invaluable business and professional contacts, and plenty of time on their hands. It’s a wonder more of them don’t turn to political blogging.
PS – Not everyone has even slightly positive views about Landeryou. Quite apart from Glen Milne and Stephen Mayne, someone has gone to the trouble of hoisting Andrew with his own petard so to speak, by starting a spoof site called Slanderyou which adopts his hard-hitting, muckraking style but applies the smear tactics to Landeryou himself. I wonder who’s behind it? (Actually, further reading of that site reveals that they actually run a second anti-Landeryou site as well, called Make Landeryou Pay – an apparent reference to the (now deleted) Blogger site Make McVeigh Pay which targetted the liquidator of Melbourne University Student Union, in which Landeryou was somehow involved and about which I posted earlier this year).
Landeryou’s just a political hack who spreads smears about Labor Right’s perceived enemies.
He’s quick with the political news because of his Labor Right contacts, but everything he writes is seriously twisted. His accusations today that one of the new Greens MPs was responsible for Coode Island (Why stop there, Andy? Why not blame her for September 11 and El Nino?)… his smears against the Greens regarding Moreland Council’s decision against refrigerative air con for a child care centre (the Greens argued for evaporative air con)…
The thought that anyone would turn to Landeryou for “news” (let alone “journalism”) is quite terrifying.
(He’s reported to be able to get away with his smears as a result of bankruptcy and being judgment-proof.)
PS It’s quite amusing that he doesn’t grasp how ridiculous ending every post with “game on!” makes him look.
Ken thanks for the review, and link. However, we can’t take credit for Make Landeryou Pay, nor the other blogs. They belong to other patriots.
His blog fits in perfectly with the gossipy stuff you get elsewhere. This kind of writing has been round since the pamphleteers hitting the sovereign.
Sure there’s a place for it. 98% of his stuff isn’t much, but the 2% makes up for it.
As someone who dislikes much about the ALP, it’s worthwile to figure out goings on.
What makes him all that different from Crikey?
Thanks for the kind words, which are of course completely deserved.
It is sadly true – although something I could not admit at the OC – that I am in fact not a real journalist but am merely a mouthpiece for the musings of the all-powerful Labor Right Rooster/Dalek/Dad/Senator Steve Conroy or alternatively Pokies Pusher/Extra Terrestrial David White or alternatively ALP Boss/Chieftain/Wedding Host Fiona Richardson or the fun loving President of Israel. (sarcasm hopefully detected)
I do the best I can with the OC and hope it provokes lively debate, with data and views that you might not get from elsewhere, it is true I pull no punches, I call a pimp a pimp, but hopefully always with a wry smile. If writing isn’t fun, why do it?
Comrade Alex White, a rather dull young socialist writes the multitude of blogs about me, just in case anyone was wondering. A member of my self-styled OC Investigations Unit has even taken a photo of him posting on blogger sitting in the State Library. We’ll use it when he slims down and runs for public office one day. He doesn’t like it when we say mean thangs about him and his employers in the Socialist Left. He’s not quite at the standard of previous efforts (we exposed the authors on the OC when they grew tiresome) but we can only encourage him to fatten up prior to slaughter.
A journalist of my eminence surely deserves at least five blogs to be written about him. I’m hoping for ten by this time next year. A KFC $50 voucher or OC T-shirt to anyone starting one. Call the OC hotline 0415 99 33 26 to make delivery arrangments.
Game on.
JC is correct.
Landeryou’s stuff is no worse than that from the leftist gossip rag Crikey.
bad suit on!
We’re banned from commenting on Landeryou’s Vexnews, who keeps proclaiming his right to have a say, but bans us from a comment. Weird!
But Slanderyou New, which keeps an eye on Landeryou’s online defamations these days. is similarly unapproachable. It has a wordpress fault which prevents commenters from posting there.