‘Jobs for the boys’ claim after Sam Crafter chosen by Premier as chief executive of Hydrogen Power South Australia

Only one man was considered to run SA’s $593m hydrogen power plant – sparking “jobs for the boys” claims from the Liberals.

The man picked to spearhead the state government’s $593m hydrogen power plant was not subjected to a competitive selection process, Premier Peter Malinauskas has confirmed.

Mr Malinauskas said after the need for such a role was identified, he and other members of cabinet “were particularly keen on the candidacy of Mr Sam Crafter and we approached him to apply for that role”.

Asked in a parliamentary estimates committee whether any others were considered for the position, Mr Malinauskas said Mr Crafter “was the primary candidate”.

Mr Crafter, a former senior Labor staffer who worked in then-premier Jay Weatherill’s office from 2014 to 2017, and whose father was a Labor minister, was last month appointed to a $550,000-a-year job as chief executive of Hydrogen Power South Australia.

The office, attached to the Energy and Mining Department, will oversee the development and construction of government-owned hydrogen facilities.

Sam Crafter. Picture: Supplied

Premier Peter Malinauskas. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Mr Malinauskas said the government did not initiate a national and international recruitment process because it was satisfied it already had an outstanding candidate in South Australia.

He said Mr Crafter understood the significance of the job, as well as the “complexity and nuance” of South Australia’s role within the National Electricity Market.

Additionally, Mr Crafter’s candidacy stood out because of his track record delivering projects within short time frames, he said.

“I put high value on that in the context of the fact that we have a massive job to do … to realise our ambitions for the hydrogen production facility and power plant to be online by the next election,” Mr Malinauskas said.

Mr Crafter is a former Santos executive who played a leading role in the procurement of the big battery at Hornsdale.

Mr Malinauskas said Mr Crafter had significant private sector experience, and had also worked for the Energy and Mining Department for a period after the former Liberal government took power in 2018.

But Opposition Leader David Speirs said the government had developed a “worrying habit of employing former (Labor) staffers to high-paying public service jobs”, after another former ALP staffer, Rik Morris, was appointed chief executive of the Premier’s Delivery Unit.

“Given the cost and nature of these positions, South Australians would be rightfully asking why Premier Malinauskas hasn’t undertaken national and international recruitment processes,” Mr Speirs said.

“Instead, he is hand-picking former staffers for multimillion-dollar public sector jobs which disappointingly reeks of ‘jobs for the boys’.”