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        Now I could submit to being photographed as an aspiring parliamentarian.   The photographer had advised choosing a light colour:

        "Dark suits make politicians look like crooks," he said, referring to several ministers who favoured dark blue pinstripes.

        And so I posed in a light grey suit, with a green university tie, as another educated professional.

         The photographer's name was Jim Fairburn, a lecturer at Sydney Technical College.   He was a strong Labor supporter, although critical of the party machine's skills in advertising and public relations.   He invited me to meet an academic from Sydney University who was interested in "market research" for political campaigning.

        Several other candidates were also invited but I was the only one who turned up for lunch at the Teachers Club in the city.   The Academic himself was absent, bed ridden with the flu.

        We were seated around a small table in the otherwise deserted dining room:   Senator Kerry Sibraa, Bruce Childes (another Assistant General Secretary), Fairburn and me.

        "Market Research" Fairburn explained, was a method of sampling an electorate with door-knock interviews, similar to the Gallup Poll.   Its aim was to elicit responses to a wide range of issues which might be  

  

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