Off The Record: Kevin Foley rejected by Flinders University and Amanda Vanstone on why she quit the Port Adelaide board
This week ... Kevin Foley snubbed for a prime political job, Amanda Vanstone on why she quit the Port board and a high-profile Liberal staff member defects to one of SA’s biggest companies.
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In this week’s Off the Record: Former treasurer Kevin Foley misses out on a return to politics (sort of), Amanda Vanstone opens up on why she quit the Port board, an ex-union official joins a business lobby group and a high-profile Liberal staff member defects to one of SA’s biggest companies.
Foley falls at politics rerun
EVEN the worst enemies of former Labor deputy premier Kevin Foley would grudgingly acknowledge the depth of his political experience, dating back to the 1980s.
So it must have come as some surprise when Foley – the state’s longest-serving deputy premier and third-longest-serving treasurer – was late last year knocked back for two jobs teaching and researching about politics at Flinders University.
We understand one role was the equivalent of a head of school requiring significant academic qualifications. But the other was said to be as a senior lecturer in politics – surely an area in which Foley boasts significant first-hand experience.
Surprisingly, we understand Foley was not even required for an interview, partly due to insufficient academic qualifications and inexperience at winning government grants for academic research.
Without wanting to blow his trumpet too much, Foley was a state MP from 1993 to 2012 and treasurer/deputy premier from 2002 to 2011.
Before becoming one of the few Labor people to be elected at the post-State Bank 1993 wipe-out, Foley was executive assistant to then-premier Lynn Arnold and a senior ministerial adviser before that.
Before entering political life, Foley worked at Austrade as an export development officer in 1987 and 1988. We even found a picture (below) of him sharing drinks with Labor legend Mick Young when the Port Adelaide MP was campaigning for the 1987 federal election.
Despite the knock-back, Foley seems to be doing pretty well in the government relations and advisory fields.
He’s again working with SkyCity Adelaide Casino doing government relations and performing a similar role for Singapore-based commodity merchant Galaxy Energy and Resources.
We contacted Foley, who declined to comment
A spokeswoman for Flinders said the “university conducts recruitment processes in confidence and respects the privacy of applicants”.
Why I pulled Power plug
LIBERAL powerbroker Amanda Vanstone has spoken for the first time about quitting the Port Adelaide Football Club board last month.
The former federal Cabinet minister and Australian Ambassador to Italy says she stood down because she wanted more spare time, having also left the Royal Flying Doctor Service Federation Board last December after six years as voluntary chairwoman.
Vanstone, an SA Liberal senator from 1984 to 2007, was appointed to Port’s board in November 2012.
“I’ve done more than seven years – that’s a fair while. You need a bit of a break – it does all add up,” she told Off the Record.
Doubtless, Vanstone will be missed at Port, given there are Liberal governments at federal and state level and the club has been traditionally associated with Labor.
Port is on the hunt for cash to fund its ambitious Alberton Oval redevelopment plan, which was initially given a $35 million price tag and earmarked to be up and running by this year.
The formidable Vanstone’s departure might just complicate that fundraising task.
Old foes building bridges
THEY were long on opposite sides of the building-site divide, but now the former head of the state’s construction union has joined forces with the Master Builders Association.
MBA chief executive Ian Markos has hired former Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union state secretary Aaron Cartledge, pictured.
The consultant role will involve Cartledge,who fell victim to a brutal CFMEU takeover last year, helping the MBA’s group training scheme.
Markos was full of praise for his new colleague.
“I have known Aaron for many, many years and while, obviously, we have had our differences over that time, and had the odd blue … Aaron was someone you could always work with.’’
Cartledge said the fit was right and took aim at his old mates. “I still want to be involved … because I understand the Adelaide construction industry better than anybody that is with the CFMEU and just how hard it is for companies and workers in SA.”
Big move
ONE of the state’s most experienced political staffers is defecting from the Marshall government’s ranks and heading for the state’s largest company, Santos.
Health Minister Stephen Wade’s chief of staff, James Murphy, will start as the oil and gas firm’s media and communications manager after next month’s Adelaide Cup long weekend. Before joining Wade’s office in October 2018, Murphy had reached the pinnacle for Australian political spin doctors – the Prime Minister’s office.
He was a media adviser to Malcolm Turnbull after holding a similar role for then-education minister Simon Birmingham (who headed The Advertiser’s list of SA’s 50 Most Influential People). At Santos, Murphy will replace ex-SBS, BBC World News and ABC journalist Daniela Ritorto, who wants to move back into media and MC roles.
Auto invite
IT’S that time of year when the fast cars hit the streets of Adelaide and when a lucky few are invited to the state suite to enjoy the action, alongside Premier Steven Marshall.
It’s understood that space and defence heavyweights will be among the Premier’s guests today, having celebrated the opening of the Space Agency at Lot Fourteen this week. Name tags have been prepared for Herve Astier, pictured, chief executive at Neumann Space; Anntonette Dailey from the Australian Space Agency; Southern Launch’s Lloyd Damp, Alex Grant from Myriota; Andy Keough, managing director of Saab Australia, Joe North, chief executive at Lockheed Martin Australia and Stephen Roche, managing director of Bridgestone, which recently started construction of its new national HQ on Greenhill Rd.
