Anyone who watched John Faulkner ruthlessly cross-examining a helpless witness in Senate estimates quickly gained a vivid picture of the smooth precision of his mind.
First, he would encourage full disclosure. His voice was mild. Patiently, he would seem to suggest that it might just be best for everyone involved to come clean and reveal the full extent of their own treachery and the corruptness of the previous government. No one ever took the bait.
So next would come the exploratory questions. Slowly, like an eagle, circling wide and high in its gyre above some prey, he would gently probe first one issue, then the next. Finally, once the relevant incriminatory details lay fully exposed, he would strike, swift and sure, repeatedly picking at the scabs of answers until blood flowed generously through the committee rooms. Then Faulkner would pause silent, and for just a second longer than strictly necessary making sure everyone was aware of the kill, before moving on to the next item. The pain had taken on an almost physical presence in the room.
In Opposition, this forensic style gave Faulkner a reputation for integrity and precision, and accuracy and command of detail. Now he's become the new Minister for Defence. Surely there is divine justice after all, because now the great inquisitor is in charge of the single department where every mistake is hugely magnified when it's reluctantly pulled, shyly blinking, into public glare. And problems there will be, make no mistake. The military edifice is just too huge for any one person to make a difference. The surprising thing is that Faulkner, Labor's first left-wing Defence Minister, actually desired mission impossible. This will test whether the bespectacled Clark Kent actually can turn into Superman.
Apparently, he had originally hoped to get the gig at Russell Hill after the election, but more important factional paybacks had priority. Despite all the rhetoric about Kevin Rudd choosing who will be in the ministry, he's very aware of the need to keep the ministry balanced and pay off the support he needs to keep him in the top job. That's why Joel Fitzgibbon received the jersey the first time around. Nevertheless, this was Faulkner's chance and he's seizing it. Being along for the ride might be just as much fun as the eventual outcome.
No one doubts his tough-minded approach to what's meant to be the ''game'' of politics. But Faulkner isn't playing games, and never has. He wants results. He faced the lowest point of his political career after Labor's 2004 election defeat. He had worked closely with Mark Latham on that tumultuous campaign and been drained by the gruelling experience. He had urged Latham to ''be himself''; Faulkner knew there was no alternative. After all, he had been a bitter factional opponent of Latham in the early '80s. Then, two nights after Labor's cataclysmic defeat was finally revealed, Faulkner sat down to draft a letter. He resigned from the party's Senate leadership. Later he said he didn't have any ''petrol in the tank''. He wasn't leaving Parliament, but he wanted to make way for fresh new leadership.
It would have to be victory enough to see the party come into government, but he didn't think he would have enough fuel for the drive. Kim Beazley picked up the pieces and rebuilt the party. When Rudd took over Faulkner found he did have the energy after all. Working to provide critical behind-the-scenes back-up throughout the campaign, he became special minister of state after the 2007 victory, and now, finally, has taken over one of the most difficult tasks in the Government.
At his first media conference as Defence Minister, Faulkner's vulnerability showed, just for a second. Asked how he would feel about sending people into mortal danger he didn't give the usual glib, pre-prepared response. He almost seemed to stumble as he searched for words, repeating the word ''responsibility'' five times in four sentences. That's the surprising thing about Faulkner although he's ruthless, and capable of coming out with the smoothest political response, there's also the odd bit of raw honesty.
Sometimes it appears as if this former teacher of disabled children isn't capable of bending his rigidly self-enforced integrity; certainly not just to ease normal social intercourse. Earlier, Coalition parliamentarians found his maiden speech so offensive they left the chamber. Only a lone moderate Liberal, Chris Puplick, remained to hear Faulkner condemn the ''years of neglect'' that veterans had suffered while Labor was out of office.
His waspish tongue hasn't been used simply to excoriate those on the other side of the chamber, either. Back in 1989, Faulkner was busy lashing his factional enemies in the NSW right-wing machine. The Left believed it had the numbers to get preselection for the state seat of Liverpool, but the Right thought it owned the electorate. A quickly redrawn boundary line went down a cul-de-sac and up through a park, excluding two Left preselectors. There was a car chase through Sydney, and (later prominent) politicians acted like petty gangsters, or perhaps (as Julia Gillard might say) construction workers. Faulkner publically fingered the Right's machine as being responsible for this ''monstrous miscarriage of justice''. Given that he hadn't yet been confirmed in his Senate position, this showed he was prepared to fight even against his own party for what he believed was right.
That moral integrity will make his new job easier. No one needs to waste time going through Faulkner's pecuniary declarations looking for missing trips to China or gifts from insurance companies. And although it was the Sussex Street Right that always had the reputation as military history buffs, Faulkner developed his own extensive understanding of strategic affairs. The former veterans' affairs and defence personnel minister won't be starting from scratch. Neither will Greg Combet, who will fit comfortably into the seat as Defence Personnel, Materiel and Science Minister while ridiculously attempting to balance this with his duties as the Minister Assisting the Minister for Climate Change, Penny Wong. This spectacle makes an utter farce of the reshuffle's pretensions to good governance. Combet is capable that's not the issue but really! Exactly why is it desirable to spread his skills? Obviously Rudd must believe Wong desperately needs someone competent to help her out; otherwise, he would allow her to handle the issue by herself. If Rudd is serious about a double dissolution on climate change, he'll need to sort out that portfolio quickly as well.
Nicholas Stuart is a Canberra writer.
nicstuart@hotmail.com
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