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Stand and Deliver
Wednesday, January 10, 2007, 10:32 PM
Alex Mitchell
January 7, 2007
ARRANGEMENTS for the televised election debate between Premier Morris Iemma and Opposition Leader Peter
Debnam are up in the air because of a row over whether they should sit or stand.
Mr Iemma has insisted they sit in chairs during the hour-long live debate on the ABC but Mr Debnam favours
standing.
"I've been watching televised election debates from around the world for years and I've never seen the
protagonists sitting down," Mr Debnam said. "It's quite ridiculous."
Two other major differences have emerged:
Mr Iemma wants just one debate while Mr Debnam is seeking at least two and hopefully three.
Mr Iemma is insisting the debate be held on Friday, February 16, five weeks before the March 24 election but
Mr Debnam wants all three debates in March - after the election is called.
Mr Debnam said last night: "Mr Iemma wants a seated fireside chat, but I'm demanding a proper stand-up
debate at lecterns."
He said he would continue to oppose the "ridiculous restrictions" imposed by the Premier but, if he had to face
Mr Iemma seated, then "beggars can't be choosers".
Mr Iemma's insistence on a sit-down debate shows his sensitivity to height: he is 167 centimetres tall while Mr
Debnam, a former naval officer, is a ramrod-straight 182 centimetres.
The Premier's minders are concerned that Mr Debnam's extra height might give him an advantage if he is seen
to be a more imposing presence.
But television consultant Peter Cox said Mr Iemma was a capable TV performer.There have been great leaders over the centuries who have been short - Napoleon is a good example - and
there have been other celebrities like Michael J. Fox and Kylie Minogue and Sam Chisholm," Mr Cox said.
"My advice to Morris Iemma is that he should stand and deliver."
A Debnam staff member offered a compromise solution saying said that if the Premier wanted to stand on a
raised platform, the Opposition camp would not object. Stephen Galilee, Mr Debnam's chief of staff, has written
to Quentin Dempster, host of the ABC's Stateline program, saying: "The proposal for a seated debate is not
agreed.
"The Leader of the Opposition is very happy to stand for the full hour and our preference is for both the
participants to stand for the duration of the debate."
Mr Galilee protested about the date of the debate, saying: "It is two weeks before the date when the election is
called and five weeks before the election itself.
"It is ridiculous for the Premier to request that a campaign debate occur before the campaign has formally
commenced.
"He is clearly attempting to run away from his previous commitment to a campaign debate."
Mr Galilee has called for two additional debates in the lead-up to the election, saying: "Transport and
infrastructure issues deserve a dedicated discussion, as does the water crisis."
Mr Iemma surprised his Labor colleagues last October when he publicly agreed to a live televised debate with
Mr Debnam, the underdog.
It broke a 20-year stand-off between the major parties on election debates during which former premier Bob
Carr rejected any television appearances with his rivals.
Mr Carr conducted the entire 1999 election without mentioning the name of then Opposition leader Kerry
Chikarovski and only made one grudging reference to John Brogden during the 2003 campaign.
Labor's campaign team in the 1995, 1999 and 2003 elections took the view that TV debates would only provide
airplay to Opposition policies.
Mr Iemma is confident he can present a more engaging and likeable image than Mr Debnam.
Meanwhile, Mr Debnam is starting to come into consideration as the alternative premier and disgruntled voters
are keener to hear his policies.
Source: The Sun-Herald
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