Dad in politics : and other stories

SYNOPSIS n qWe want a man,q Fahey added, qwho'll go to Brisbanenan' put the sufferances of the farmers plainly an'mnan'mwell before Parliamentma man who'll talk t' thim,nan' talk straightforredly t' thim, an'man'mtell thimnwhat's right an'man' what ought t' be done. An' there'snno one can do it better'n yeou.qn n Dad stared at the floor in silence. He seemed impressednwith Fahey's argument.n n So began Dad's career in Politics, and although hendoesn't know much about Parliamentary protocol, he isndetermined to have his say; his spectacular entry into thenHouse, his subsequent brushes with the long-sufferingnSpeaker, and portraits of the Member for Fillemupagen,nthe Minister for Lands, the Premier and the Treasurer,nand the qChesterfieldq, make this one of the wittiestncriticisms of its kind. The book was written not long afternRudd had been retrenched from the Public Service, andnhe worked off a personal grudge by making many of hisncharacters clearly recognizable among the State politiciansnof the daymsmall wonder that there were moves tonhave him called before the bar of the house and disciplined.n n Steele Rudd's works are now part of the Australiannimage, and his chief heroes, Dad and Dave, part of thenAustralian myth. They have, unhappily, been out ofnprint for a long time, and a whole generation has grownnup without knowing characters who were a householdnword to their parents and grandparents. People who havennever read Steele Rudd can now appreciate a uniquenpart of the Australian heritage; and those who do knownhis characters will doubtless be glad to renew oldnacquaintances and memories.n