It is obvious that Oakeshotte is not an Independent -  simply a slippery fraudster wanting to feather his own nest.  He knew that he would never be elected in Lyne if he had declared his true colours.  

.......

Neutral? Rob Oakeshott 'asked Labor for state cabinet seat'

EXCLUSIVE: Imre Salusinszky, NSW political reporter From: The Australian September 10, 2010 12:00AM

ROB Oakeshott has previously sought positions in Labor cabinets, casting doubt on whether the independent MP was fully impartial as he considered the claims of Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott to form minority government.

The Australian has learned that Mr Oakeshott, then a state MP, approached former NSW premier Morris Iemma in 2007 and asked to join his ministry. He was emboldened by persistent rumours of a cabinet reshuffle and the fact that Mr Iemma had recently appointed another independent, Northern Tablelands MP Richard Torbay, as Speaker.

According to a senior Labor source, Mr Oakeshott told Mr Iemma he might resign from parliament if his request were not met, warning that his seat of Port Macquarie would probably revert to the Nationals.

freediver,  of course it wouldn't make sense for a politician to be neutral,  however an Independent is generally accepted as being "neither , or",  in order to secure the best he/she can for their electorate.  It would seem that Oakeshotte misled the electorate by declaring himself Independent when  obviously he is a Labor man,  but didn't have the guts to stand as a Labor candidate knowing the electorate is basically conservative.  (or could it have been that Labor didn't want him, until now)