Goodbye Peter Reith And Good Riddance Poem by Francis Duggan

Goodbye Peter Reith and good riddance and not many for you will shed tears
You leave Parliament with a huge payout with far more than the price of a few beers
For the Coalition Government you were a headkicker and you won't be that hard to replace
A Federal Election is looming and defeat was staring you in the face.

The People of Flinders were waiting to judge you and you knew you would lose your seat
So you decided to take your big packet and spare yourself the pain of defeat
You tried to bury the Dockers Union but the Dockers Union lives on
The Unions have fought many battles and Governments have come and gone.

The tele card scandal your swan song until then you were Mr Clean
You abused your powers in no small way and you were deceitful
and mean
True enough you paid back the money but only because you were found out
Your actions to say the least dubious and on you there will always be doubt.

You once used the word thugs about Dockers, you spoke once before you thought twice
And you yourself are far from saintly and not many would say
you are nice
Your enemies out there are many and your friends Mr Reith are so few
And as enemy of all Aussie workers there won't be much pity for you.

Where are the rich buddies you favoured to them you no longer are use
Now that you are leaving politics is perhaps an enough an excuse
For them to decide to disown you as they now see you as one without power
You come to realize who your friends are when life on you begins to sour.

Goodbye Mr Reith and good riddance though you won't go short of a bob
You now can live on your fat pension and you did such a lousy job
The Aussie workers will not miss you and without you the show will go on
And the Dockers Union is still living and Governments have come and gone.