Asked to stake out John Fahey's house the night it became public knowledge he had been diagnosed with lung cancer was not one of those things any journalist wants to do, particularly because he was always popular with the press and mixed easily with reporters.
We expected to be told to bugger off when we knocked on the door of his house.
In fact, we were invited in and offered tea.
He knew me from around the traps and seemed rather relieved to escape the attentions of his desperately concerned family, at least for a moment.
Besieged Fahey faces lung tumour surgery: [2 Edition 1]
Ian Henderson, John Stapleton. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 05 Feb 2001: 1.
Ian Henderson, John Stapleton. The Australian [Canberra, A.C.T] 05 Feb 2001: 1.
Abstract
FINANCE Minister John Fahey, one of John Howard's most senior cabinet ministers, is to undergo surgery for a suspected lung tumour.
Boundary changes since the 1998 poll have turned it into a notional Labor seat, and Mr Fahey is determined to move south to thesafer Coalition electorate of Hume -- held for the Liberals with a 7.1 per cent margin by Alby Schultz.
Mr Fahey remains determined to run for the Liberals in Hume. Nominations for preselection close on February 16, and the party is expected to choose its candidate between mid-March and mid-April.
Full Text
FINANCE Minister John Fahey, one of John Howard's most senior cabinet ministers, is to undergo surgery for a suspected lung tumour.
Mr Fahey -- recently at the centre of a storm over information technology outsourcing -- has been ordered to undergo an immediate operation to deal with the tumour.
In a statement yesterday, Mr Fahey, a long-time smoker, said he would enter a Sydney private hospital this week for the lung operation. "He will be absent from his portfolio duties for some weeks," the statement said.
The news comes on the eve of the resignation of veteran Liberal MP John Moore from his Queensland seat of Ryan, a move that will test the Government's standing with a difficult by-election.
After launching the Government's election push with his innovation blueprint and a swing through marginal seats in NSW and Victoria last week, Mr Howard will today host an all-day meeting of Coalition MPs and senators to kick off the first week of parliament in theelection year.
At that meeting, backbenchers are certain to air their grievances about petrol prices, the Government's stand on Business Activity Statements and its plans to tax trusts.
Mr Fahey's surgery comes as his struggle to retain a seat in parliament is intensifying.
The Finance Minister holds the seat of Macarthur, which is in the NSW Southern Highlands.
But boundary changes since the 1998 poll have turned it into a notional Labor seat, and Mr Fahey is determined to move south to thesafer Coalition electorate of Hume -- held for the Liberals with a 7.1 per cent margin by Alby Schultz.
But Mr Schultz has refused to stand aside for his senior colleague and is threatening to run as an Independent if he loses his party's endorsement.
Mr Fahey, 56, recovered last year from legionnaire's disease, which he contracted at a Liberal Party function in the Melbourne Aquarium.
Later in the year, he was diagnosed with shingles, an adult form of chicken pox, which he also overcame. It was during this time that further tests suggested a possible health problem with his lung.
Speaking at his home near Bowral last night, Mr Fahey said it had been a difficult year but he was upbeat, despite his latest health setback.
"I feel strong and robust, it is one of those things," he told The Australian.
"I have a few laps to run. It is not an easy time but I've spent a few days with my family and I am confident things will be all right. Trust in God; that is all you can do."
Mr Fahey remains determined to run for the Liberals in Hume. Nominations for preselection close on February 16, and the party is expected to choose its candidate between mid-March and mid-April.
Mr Moore was one of three ministers to step down from their posts last December to allow the Prime Minister to shake up his Government's senior ranks in preparation for the general election.
After a 25-year career in federal politics, Mr Moore made it clear he would not stay until the election -- widely tipped for October-November. He will resign today, and the resulting by- election in Ryan is expected to be held three weeks after the state election, on March 10.
Ryan, which Mr Moore held with a 9.5 per cent margin in 1998, is blue-ribbon Liberal heartland. But a by-election held in the wake of a bitter preselection contest, in the middle of the small business backlash over the BAS and with the Government facing an angry reaction to its plans to tax trusts, could see a strong swing to Labor.
FINANCE Minister John Fahey, one of John Howard's most senior cabinet ministers, is to undergo surgery for a suspected lung tumour.
Mr Fahey -- recently at the centre of a storm over information technology outsourcing -- has been ordered to undergo an immediate operation to deal with the tumour.
In a statement yesterday, Mr Fahey, a long-time smoker, said he would enter a Sydney private hospital this week for the lung operation. "He will be absent from his portfolio duties for some weeks," the statement said.
The news comes on the eve of the resignation of veteran Liberal MP John Moore from his Queensland seat of Ryan, a move that will test the Government's standing with a difficult by-election.
After launching the Government's election push with his innovation blueprint and a swing through marginal seats in NSW and Victoria last week, Mr Howard will today host an all-day meeting of Coalition MPs and senators to kick off the first week of parliament in theelection year.
At that meeting, backbenchers are certain to air their grievances about petrol prices, the Government's stand on Business Activity Statements and its plans to tax trusts.
Mr Fahey's surgery comes as his struggle to retain a seat in parliament is intensifying.
The Finance Minister holds the seat of Macarthur, which is in the NSW Southern Highlands.
But boundary changes since the 1998 poll have turned it into a notional Labor seat, and Mr Fahey is determined to move south to thesafer Coalition electorate of Hume -- held for the Liberals with a 7.1 per cent margin by Alby Schultz.
But Mr Schultz has refused to stand aside for his senior colleague and is threatening to run as an Independent if he loses his party's endorsement.
Mr Fahey, 56, recovered last year from legionnaire's disease, which he contracted at a Liberal Party function in the Melbourne Aquarium.
Later in the year, he was diagnosed with shingles, an adult form of chicken pox, which he also overcame. It was during this time that further tests suggested a possible health problem with his lung.
Speaking at his home near Bowral last night, Mr Fahey said it had been a difficult year but he was upbeat, despite his latest health setback.
"I feel strong and robust, it is one of those things," he told The Australian.
"I have a few laps to run. It is not an easy time but I've spent a few days with my family and I am confident things will be all right. Trust in God; that is all you can do."
Mr Fahey remains determined to run for the Liberals in Hume. Nominations for preselection close on February 16, and the party is expected to choose its candidate between mid-March and mid-April.
Mr Moore was one of three ministers to step down from their posts last December to allow the Prime Minister to shake up his Government's senior ranks in preparation for the general election.
After a 25-year career in federal politics, Mr Moore made it clear he would not stay until the election -- widely tipped for October-November. He will resign today, and the resulting by- election in Ryan is expected to be held three weeks after the state election, on March 10.
Ryan, which Mr Moore held with a 9.5 per cent margin in 1998, is blue-ribbon Liberal heartland. But a by-election held in the wake of a bitter preselection contest, in the middle of the small business backlash over the BAS and with the Government facing an angry reaction to its plans to tax trusts, could see a strong swing to Labor.
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