RIVERINA MP Michael McCormack’s transformation from bush newspaper journalist to federal government minister is no doubt a source of intense pride for his family and supporters.
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And rightly so.
As an editor of this newspaper (the youngest ever editor of an Australian daily newspaper at the time), Mr McCormack was renowned both for this thundering editorials and staunch conservatism.
But the political bearpit – and indeed, party politics – does not always embrace firebrands.
Since entering the parliament in 2010, Mr McCormack has refashioned himself from tub-thumping journalist to National Party apparatchik.
Even his critics concede he has stayed on message and been a hard-working and loyal local member.
He has also largely escaped the ghosts of newspaper past, except for one breathtakingly homophobic editorial he wrote in 1993, which has haunted him on more than one occasion.
And while his appointment as small business minister this week is a positive for his career and the region, it has been somewhat soured by forces beyond his control.
In a move that seems to fly in the face of Liberal ideology, PM Malcolm Turnbull has shifted small business from the frontbench to the back blocks of the outer ministry.
The decision has been savaged by business groups as a retrograde step and a snub for smaller operators.
Mr Turnbull’s blithe defence that “every minister is a small business minister” rings hollow.
Small business is the oxygen of the Australian economy and of communities like ours.
Big business might be in a position to make million dollar donations and get in the ear of MPs at lavish dinners, but small business employs almost five million Australians.
And unlike big business, small business has a soul, supporting its communities rather than being beholden only to the bottom line.
Mr McCormack has myriad challenges ahead in a portfolio that is as dynamic as it is complex.
Small business deserves a powerful voice like his sitting around the cabinet table when the whips are cracking.
Sadly, that has been denied by a party that purports to be pro-business.