[tfrommer at mindspring.com]

Nathan, thanks for the link. 

A couple questions for you patient Aussies from a Yank trying to understand this all. Was PG previously a member of another party and that is contributing to some of the outburst about his joining Labor, or were people just *hoping* he would join the Greens? As I understand it, the ACF is not aligned with a specific political party so his presidency there didn't require specific membership. Then another issue seems to be his being appointed to a spot and not voted to it by party membership? I guess PG thinks he can more effective in a party with a bigger profile? It's tough enough trying to be a political junkie and making sense of the US let alone Oz!

many thanks for any insights,
Tim