Bryce Eishold
Senator Derryn Hinch returned to Morwell on Friday after last visiting the town three decades ago – but this time it was for a more pleasant purpose.
“The last time I was in Morwell was in 1987 I came here in a paddy wagon after naming a Catholic paedophile priest,” Senator Hinch told The Express.
“I named him as a sex offender and the Supreme Court hit me with three contempt of court issues and I was jailed. I got three months jail but it was reduced on appeal to 28 days and I served 12 of those here at Morwell.
“I spent the first night in Pentridge in the city and then I was bought by paddy wagon to Morwell where I spent the next 11 nights.”
The Derryn Hinch’s Justice Party leader was in Gippsland as part of a tour through regional Victoria which he said was an important aspect of representing people in the regional and rural communities.
“When I got elected … I thought ‘I want to go country every few weeks’ and I’ve recently been to Bendigo and Mildura and we were at Swan Hill also,” Senator Hinch said. “You’ve done it tough with Hazelwood … but I’d never heard the expression ‘green drought’ before and it’s quite a big problem here in Gippsland.
“It’s an illusion; there’s a bit of grass growing but it’s not going to stick around and that’s deceiving because it looks like you’re doing it better compared to northern Victoria and New South Wales but you’re not.”
The party plans to run 16 candidates across in November’s state election in the upper house, with a handful in the lower house as well, but Senator Hinch did not provide an insight into Gippsland’s possible representatives.
“I want to campaign by train … the passenger rail has been stuffed in Victoria and it’s so sad,” Senator Hinch said.
“In the old days … people used to go from Melbourne to Mildura for a treat on the train and spend the weekend and go home again. You can’t do it [now].”
