wayne swan

[Myztiks#1Fan]

wayne swan is my local member. if he is my local member, how is he meant to be doign stuff for the local community if he is off and about doing everything else so often? is there a way to find out what he can bring to the community?

not really one to follow or take much notice of teh election things going on but curious to know as i pics of him in so many peoples yards but from what i can gather, he is barely at his office.

[Myztiks#1Fan]

stupid question i know but really curious

[Susan Mac]

Ministers have a team of staff helping them out in their electorate and their portfolio, as far as I'm aware.

[Bron]

It's a tricky job. Local members who are backbenchers (in other words, not ministers, shadow ministers or parliamentary secretaries), have much more time to devote to their electorates and you'll often see them out and about at local events and meeting their constituents. Ministers, opposition leaders, shadow ministers etc all have big, demanding jobs to do too, so have less time to spend in their electorates. However, they do have an electorate office and staff who can help people, so if there is a local issue, you can still contact their office about it.

This is particularly the case with people who don't live close to Canberra because people in senior positions in the parliament often need to be in Canberra for work.