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racetracks with doubtful characters, unconcerned by the notoriety that this brought. There was a story told in caucus that he had only been able to scrape into the ministry in 1976 by persuading several of his "mates" that he needed the extra salary to cover his gambling debts.
Jackson was a time bomb for the Government and the fuse had already started ticking when I entered parliament.
Lunch was served every working day in the ancient members's dining room. ( When parliament was in session the dining room remained open until the house "rose" for the night, serving dinner and sometimes breakfast.) It served members from both the Assembly and the Council. Round tables, seating eight, were assigned to each party and to certain senior officers of the Legislature. A separate room, "The Strangers", was used to entertain guests.
On our first day, Tom and I went to lunch early and modestly sat at a vacant table on one side, not wishing to intrude on the groups at other tables. We were quickly moved by one of our older colleagues.
Apparently, we had chosen a table which was reserved for the clerk of the house. The etiquette was that members were expected to join groups of their own party at random, to avoid the appearance of cliques. All the ALP tables were at one end, then came the