Great interview with Maxine McKew - but for ALP treatment she could have been PM

Possibly the greatest disappointment of the last Federal election was the ousting of Maxine McKew from Bennelong. But the "faceless men" of the ALP NSW Right faction ensured she was kept near invisible throughout her single term in Parliament - even to those of us who worked in her department...

So it is good to read this first major interview since then and realise she is making a break from NSW and that there could be a future for her.

On the night of the 2007 election, I said "there's our first female prime minister." Little did I realise the poison that is the ALP party machine.

But I remain convinced that if she had been given a serious go by the party she (mistakenly I believe) chose, she could have stepped into the role now being done with marginal success by Julia Gillard. Coming back from an election defeat is hard, but hopefully she'll give it another go in time.