The
pall of hurt, rage, disbelief and silence hanging over the
ultra-conservative Victorian seat of Higgins is palpable after Amanda
Vanstone last week lumbered into Costelloland and gave the Liberal
party faithful her thoughts on the republic (reported in the Ozhere).

In
another day and age, her attempts to reignite the republic debate would
have seen her hung, drawn and quartered, if for nothing else than
committing the terrible faux pas of referring to the Australian head of
state as “Sweaty Betty.” As it was, those present when Amanda the Brave
set her jaw and went to town were mostly from the Toorak and Malvern
set and they eased themselves out of their chairs, settled into their
walking frames and shuffled out, grinding their teeth in rage.

The
hapless immigration minister first provoked the monarchists on Wattle
Day, September 1, when she called for the Queen’s Birthday holiday to
be scrapped and replaced by Wattle Day. After that battle lines were
drawn – and Cossie wasn’t to be seen. Although he’s a republican, he’s
not saying a word about Amanda’s foot-in-mouth performance.

And
while Vanstone’s comments went down like a lead balloon with the party
faithful it’s worth noting that when the votes for the referendum were
counted, most voters in the Higgins area actually said yes.