McGrady's office manager steps up for State elections

By Anthea Gleeson
news@longreachleader.com.au
THE announcement of Member for Mount Isa Tony McGrady’s retirement last week sent political tongues wagging: who would replace the venerable Australian Labor Party member and State parliamentary speaker?


Many called Mr McGrady’s Mount Isa office, hoping to get the inside word from his electorate officer, the personable Betty Kiernan.

Little did they know, Mrs Kiernan was trying hard not to spill the beans on her imminent ALP endorsement.

Mrs Kiernan was announced as the newly endorsed Labor candidate days after Mr McGrady’s retirement notice and is now ready to stand for the seat of Mount Isa at the next State election.

"It was quite funny, we had people ringing up the office and I automatically thought they wanted to speak to Tony, when in fact they want to talk to me," Mrs Kiernan said.

Mount Isa has been in the hands of Mr McGrady and the Labor party for the past 34 years, holding the seat with a 60 per cent majority.

While many would tag the Mount Isa electorate – an area that encompasses 367,305 kilometres and 31,848 people – a ‘safe’ Labor seat, Mrs Kiernan does not plan to count her chickens before they hatch.

"At the end of the day it is going to be a hard campaign," Mrs Kiernan said.
"Nearly everyone is saying that it is a safe Labor seat, but nothing is a given in politics.
"I will work hard to make myself worthy of their vote and confidence.
"And to do that I need to get out there and let people know who I am."

Over the years, Mr McGrady has been in the public spotlight, having held the position of Mount Isa mayor and councillor as well as ministerial portfolios including State development, mining and police, and most recently as speaker of the Queensland Parliament.

Unlike her Labor predecessor, Mrs Kiernan has stated she would much prefer to remain on the backbench to further serve her electorate.

"Tony has fought for us in the electorate through his ministerial portfolios, but the reality is I will be a backbencher.
"Through Tony I have learnt a lot about maintaining personal contact with the electorate.
"It’s all about the day-to-day stuff; the reality is that you can’t help every single person and I think you have to be honest about that."

Mrs Kiernan sees the challenges facing her local electorate in the face of the September 9 State election as the ‘big three’ – health, infrastructure and transport.

"But the key issue is the continued development of our communities."

While Mrs Kiernan received calls of congratulations on her endorsement, she also passed on messages of commiserations over the Member for Mount Isa’s retirement announcement.

Mr McGrady was diagnosed with a brain tumour earlier in the year, but with medication he is able to control its affects and is starting to see a reduction in its size.

The only drawback is that the once-a-week dose leaves him extremely drowsy.

"In this job you have to travel a lot and I was finding I was increasingly reminding myself why I had to go," Mr McGrady revealed.
"Once that happens, it is time to move on."

When questioned about career highlights, Mr McGrady reaches across his desk to a photo frame containing three smiling teenagers.

Mr McGrady explained that he was able to secure funding to revamp the Mount Isa private hospital and create a residential college for students living in remote areas, creating for them a home-away-from-home and the chance at a complete education.

These three students – two from Normanton and one from Bedourie – were the product of Mr McGrady’s rallying.

Inscribed on the back on the photograph was, "without you we would not have had an education".
"That’s what politics is about, it not about getting your picture in the paper.
"To me, doing what I could for these kids is what public life is all about."

While Mr McGrady’s days of breaking up political stoushes in the Queensland Parliament are numbered, he is still pondering the word ‘retirement’ and how it will fit into the McGrady lexicon.

"My wife and I have led such an active life for the past 34 years, and when I made my retirement announcement, probably the scariest part of it has been contemplating what to do next.
"I don’t think we are ready to take a complete step away from public service."