1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,680
Speaker 1: Now it's that time of the year, isn't it where

2
00:00:01,680 --> 00:00:04,320
Speaker 1: we pick our politician of the year, And for me,

3
00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:06,720
Speaker 1: it's the same person that I picked last year. Now,

4
00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:09,600
Speaker 1: what I want to say is political commentators, myself included,

5
00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:13,040
Speaker 1: at times, have an unfortunate tendency to sometimes choose politicians

6
00:00:13,080 --> 00:00:15,440
Speaker 1: because the politicians are good at playing the political game.

7
00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:17,880
Speaker 1: And if you're into that kind of thing, you might

8
00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:20,439
Speaker 1: have picked this year Hannad Arfady might be Clark because

9
00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:23,880
Speaker 1: she collected her Time magazin Time Magazine Award this year.

10
00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:27,720
Speaker 1: You might pack Chris Hopkins because he's resurrected his party's

11
00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:30,240
Speaker 1: fortunes from a horror twenty twenty three election result. Maybe

12
00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:33,080
Speaker 1: Ardena Williams from Labor for giving good speeches, or Shane

13
00:00:33,159 --> 00:00:36,040
Speaker 1: Jones for getting attention. But at a time when we

14
00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:37,760
Speaker 1: all acknowledge that our country is in a little bit

15
00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:40,080
Speaker 1: of a poly crisis, slipping further behind the pack, I

16
00:00:40,080 --> 00:00:42,400
Speaker 1: think the most important measure is not actually whether a

17
00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:45,559
Speaker 1: politician is good at politics. It's whether a politician is

18
00:00:45,560 --> 00:00:48,760
Speaker 1: making an actual difference, and no other politician is making

19
00:00:48,800 --> 00:00:52,120
Speaker 1: as big a difference or as quickly in an area

20
00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:56,080
Speaker 1: as important as Erica Stanford is already kids are learning

21
00:00:56,160 --> 00:00:58,720
Speaker 1: more than they have for years now. The results from

22
00:00:58,720 --> 00:01:00,600
Speaker 1: her phone exchange is just a couple months ago was

23
00:01:00,640 --> 00:01:02,840
Speaker 1: so dramatic that a staff member in her office burst

24
00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:07,240
Speaker 1: into tears. She is doing this despite increasing resistance from teachers' unions.

25
00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:10,240
Speaker 1: Parents are raving about the changes that they're seeing. Teachers

26
00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:13,920
Speaker 1: themselves are noticing the difference. Nothing is more important than

27
00:01:13,959 --> 00:01:17,000
Speaker 1: our kids and educating our kids properly. And on the politics,

28
00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:19,680
Speaker 1: if that is your measure, she can actually play politics

29
00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:21,520
Speaker 1: as well as anyone. I mean, you watch her closely,

30
00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:25,280
Speaker 1: and you watch her opponents learn the lesson of getting

31
00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:27,800
Speaker 1: tangled up with Erica Stanford. Just ask Willow Jean Prime

32
00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:30,320
Speaker 1: how that went. So Erica Stanford it is and again,

33
00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:33,679
Speaker 1: because nothing beats having a good idea and being brave

34
00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:36,080
Speaker 1: enough to execute it and then helping to turn this

35
00:01:36,160 --> 00:01:39,959
Speaker 1: country around. For more from The Mic Asking Breakfast, listen

36
00:01:40,040 --> 00:01:43,000
Speaker 1: live to news talks that'd be from six am weekdays,

37
00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:45,200
Speaker 1: or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio