Off the Record: ABC dysfunction hits close to home while high-profile political adviser readies to hit the ‘G’ on Grand Final day
THIS week’s Off the Record puts Adelaide at the centre of the ABC’s political turmoil, connects a high-profile political adviser to the Grand Final action and wonders exactly what former minister Leesa Vlahos is up to.
THIS week’s Off the Record puts Adelaide at the centre of the ABC’s political turmoil, connects a high-profile political adviser to the Grand Final action and wonders exactly what former minister Leesa Vlahos is up to.
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Adelaide intrigue at the ABC
ONE of the biggest players in one of the biggest stories of the week is the highly respected ABC board member Donny Walford, whose skill set is in strategy, finance and strategic marketing. Adelaide-based Walford has been a non-executive director of the ABC since November, 2015 and, according to some reports, has had an integral role in the ousting of Michelle Guthrie as its managing director.
Walford, fellow board member Kirstin Ferguson and now-departed chairman Justin Milne were among those said to have become increasingly frustrated at what they believed were Guthrie’s leadership failings. According to one report, Guthrie was summoned to meet Milne and Walford on September 13, after they sent her a letter requesting she resign.
However, Off the Record has been told that Walford was in Adelaide that day, so could not have summoned Guthrie to a meeting with her and Milne (a former Adelaidean) on that day. Of course, this leaves open the prospect that the Guthrie meeting could have happened on another day. Walford politely declined comment.
Hotelier and former ABC board member Peter Hurley told us: “The corporation declined rather than improved under her stewardship (Guthrie’s) and the staff have again proved they run the show.”
Milne, who attended St Peter’s College from 1966-70, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts at Flinders University in 1975 and went on to found his own film production company in Adelaide. The 65-year-old moved to Sydney in the 1980s, part-completed an MBA at Adelaide University from 1985-87 and was a member of the state’s Economic Development Board from 2006-09.
Guthrie’s acting replacement, David Anderson, grew up in the Adelaide Hills, attending Heathfield High. His stepfather started, and eventually sold, the Pura Spring Water business. Anderson joined the ABC in Adelaide 29 years ago.
Soaring with the Eagles and spinning for Steven
ONE of South Australia’s more successful families will seek to add an AFL premiership to an already-impressive honour roll when Shannon Hurn takes to the MCG tomorrow afternoon.
The West Coast Eagles captain’s Barossa family has an extensive sporting and political pedigree.
His sister, Ashton Hurn (pictured with Shannon), is Premier Steven Marshall’s senior press secretary and shares her brother’s no-nonsense attitude.
She took a break from spin doctor duties from Thursday to watch Shannon in the Grand Final Parade and, of course, in tomorrow’s big game.
Off the Record drew attention to the family link shortly after Marshall’s election victory in March.
Ashton and Shannon’s father, William Hurn, played 135 games for Centrals. Their grandfather, the late Brian Hurn, was a state cricketer and a member of the 1963-64 Sheffield Shield-winning side, which included former federal defence minister Ian McLachlan, Ken “KG” Cunningham and the great Sir Garfield Sobers. Brian Hurn also was Barossa mayor from 1996-2014.
Vlahos’s strategic switch
IT’S fair to say the former Labor minister once responsible for the infamous Oakden aged care home did not emerge well from the SA corruption watchdog’s inquiry into the facility.
Indeed, ICAC boss Bruce Lander in February described evidence given by Leesa Vlahos as inconsistent, evasive and “sometimes belligerent and aggressive”. At one point, he considered that “not all of her explanations could be true”.
Vlahos, who had already declared she would not contest the March state election, has now re-emerged in private enterprise. Ambitiously, she has set up Strategic Governance Solutions, and has returned to using the surname Chesser.
“Values-driven and results-focused, Leesa has more than 25 years’ experience working in a range of political environments, generating positive outcomes for individuals, organisations, and the wider community,” her LinkedIn profile boasts.
Labor Love
IT’S good to see the old Labor ties of new Transport Department chief Tony Braxton-Smith haven’t been held against him. Braxton-Smith’s wife Paula Braxton-Smith worked for the state Labor government for eight years until 2010, mainly for Resources Minister Paul Holloway. Before that she worked for the Shoppies union for 13 years.
No word yet if Braxton-Smith (Tony) is on the same healthy $450,000 a year pay packet as his predecessor Michael Deegan.
Last drinks
SEVEN’s dominance of the nightly news ratings is starting to hurt the hip pocket of its sports newsreader Bruce Abernethy. Ex-AFL star Abernethy has a standing offer to shout the bar when Seven doubles Nine’s news ratings. It happened again on Monday when 130,000 tuned in to Seven, against the 64,000 who chose Nine, according to tvtonight.com.au.
But his generosity is coming to an end, telling staff in an email “both my wallet and liver cannot keep up with the ratings juggernaut we have all helped create’’.
On the Move
FORMER senior media adviser to Trade Minister Simon Birmingham, Nick Creevey, has landed a job in the nation’s highest office.
Creevey on Monday started as the senior media adviser to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, leaving Birmingham’s office after almost three years as a media adviser to the South Australian Senator and former education minister.
As we revealed last week, former Birmingham and Malcolm Turnbull spinner James Murphy will be Stephen Wade’s chief of staff, starting next week.
City Council candidate Carter’s clutch of celebrities
HE is proposing an autonomous vehicle running between Melbourne Street and Lot 14 (aka the old RAH) — and Adelaide City Council North Ward candidate Rick Carter’s backstory is just as intriguing.
The council aspirant has worked with Adelaide’s former Olympic Golden Girl, Tatiana Grigorieva, footy great Wayne Carey, which he described as “interesting” and Derryn Hinch.
Indeed, Carter says he might even get an endorsement from his former high-profile stablemates later on in the campaign.
Speaking of stables, Carter is shacked up in a North Adelaide house owned by none other than former NASA astronaut Andy Thomas.
And the convener of start-up group Innovation in the City, which he runs regularly at his friend Kristian Livolsi’s pub the Rob Roy, appears to be a busy man, with plenty to fill out the CV.
A look at the campaign website and LinkedIn page of Carter has the Athletics Australia life member as an Adjunct Faculty Member of the global research university Carnegie Mellon at its Adelaide offshoot (presenting a six-week mini-course); the co-founder and “Ringmaster” at A Blockchain Factory; “Ringmaster” at Singapore-based See Global Media; and mentor at the University of Adelaide’s ThincLab and Flinders’ New Ventures Institute.
When Off the Record spoke to Carter, he said he had not taught the mini-course at Carnegie Mellon for a while — the University says since January 2016 — but was regularly mentoring younger entrepreneurs, in addition to his work at ThincLab. A Blockchain Factory’s website is no longer operational, with Carter saying it was currently basically a “virtual’’ company, waiting on legislative change in Australia.
See Global — apparently based in Singapore — also has a website you could generously describe as “modest”.
Simeon Thomas-Wilson