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My program became oriented towards the need to generate at least two press releases each week. These might come from the visit of a minister, the local member handing over a government cheque to a worthy organisation, the turning on of a new set of traffic lights, and so on. A question I had asked in parliament could be quickly re-written and sent to the  Daily. Sometimes, to make up the quota, we simply selected one of the regular ministerial press releases and substituted my name for the minister's. The flow of editorial material was kept up, week after week, year after year.

  

Meanwhile the enemy was also preparing for another election battle. John Mason, who was soon to be deposed as Leader of the Opposition, had declared that the Liberal Party was prepared to throw its full weight, "behind finding an outstanding candidate who will have the confidence and trust of the people of Manly."

Just Like the ALP, the local Liberal branches had quarrelling factions. There were disputes between left and right wings, and also between the stolid older tories and an articulate younger generation. George Ashley belonged to the old faction. He had won preselection largely on the strength of his war service of almost forty years before and his seniority in the Manly Rotary Club. Now the "young turks" claimed that

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