Off The Record: Adam Howard’s party is the hottest ticket in town — if you’re a Liberal
WHO’S the new lobbyist in Adelaide with the pull to lure the Liberal Party’s biggest names to his launch party, which Adelaide property has plunged $1m in value and what do Christopher Pyne and Vladimir Putin have in common? It’s all Off The Record …
WHO’S the new lobbyist in Adelaide with the pull to lure the Liberal Party’s biggest names to his launch party, which Adelaide property has plunged $1m in value and what do Christopher Pyne and Vladimir Putin have in common? It’s all Off The Record …
Party in the Liberal lobby
IN the almost eight months since the Liberals won power in South Australia, the lobbyist scene has yet to fully adjust to the power shift.
Former senior state Liberal adviser Andrew Coombe got out of the blocks early, opening Coalition-aligned Barton Deakin’s Adelaide arm in the March election’s aftermath. Premier Steven Marshall and Treasurer Rob Lucas attended Coombe’s launch party.
Given the lion’s share of Adelaide lobbyists’ work is focused on state government and attendant bureaucracy, relatively few firms have switched tack to the new reality.
Seizing on this market gap with chutzpah akin to his former boss, Adam Howard later this month will launch his GCAdvisory business with a party at Thomson Geer lawyers boasting some extraordinary star power.
It will be hosted by Thomson Geer chief executive partner Adrian Tembel, with Marshall, Defence Minister Christopher Pyne and federal Trade, Tourism and Investment Minister Simon Birmingham as the guests of honour.
As Howard says in his invitation, he spent 15 years in federal government and opposition, overwhelmingly with Pyne and finishing in July as his chief of staff.
His choice of venue is canny. As we reported last month, Pyne cut his teeth at Thomsons and working there now are the successful wives of Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas (Annabel West) and Speaker Vincent Tarzia (Charissa Duffy).
The party might rival the 2015 launch, hosted by Annabel Crabb, of the now-defunct lobbyist pairing of former Labor minister Patrick Conlon and “The Godfather” Don Farrell, now Labor’s deputy Senate Leader.
Adelaide-based lobbyists have relatively scant federal opportunities but, if Labor wins as expected, there might be some opportunities.
Frontrunners would be Mike Rann’s former chief of staff Stephen Halliday, Hawker Britton’s SA agent, and former Hawke/Keating minister Nick Bolkus.
Sit on top of the world and save almost $1 million
IT might just be the real estate bargain of the year.
Rowlands Apartments developer David Lee has dropped the asking price of his luxury 624 sqm 18th-floor penthouse level at 18 Rowlands Place by almost $1 million.
The property is going to auction with a price guide of $2.995 million, making the reserve $3.2945 million — less than the property’s build price and a far cry from the $4.2 million he was originally chasing.
Set up as two penthouses, the property offers (in total) five bedrooms, four bathrooms, six toilets, two kitchens, and four lounges.
Lee is selling to move to Sydney, though his company The Mandala Property Group remains based in Adelaide and still has projects in the pipeline here.
“Somebody’s misfortune of moving is another’s opportunity,” he says.
“The purpose is to give people the opportunity to take advantage of this lifestyle. It’s the best apartment in Adelaide — I spent a lot of time and money designing it and I put the best of everything into it.”
The property is being sold through both Refined Real Estate and Sotheby’s South Australia.
Scandal no turn-on in elections
VOTERS in Adelaide’s most controversial council have not been stung into action by the series of scandals that have enveloped Onkaparinga.
Revelations about lavish spending by council staff have included overnight accommodation in city hotels after functions, and an Apple Watch and $6800 ratepayer-funded joining fee at prestigious Kooyonga Golf Club for CEO Mark Dowd.
But this has not triggered an avalanche of voter turnout in council elections, ballots for which closed close at 5pm.
Advertiser data editor Cathryn McLauchlan has calculated that ballot returns from Onkaparinga (22.07%) are the third-lowest of Adelaide’s councils.
Marion (20.66%) takes the wooden spoon, with Playford second-last (21.92%) and Tea Tree Gully fourth-last (22.11%). Voter turnout has been best in Holdfast Bay (27.51 %), followed by Prospect (27.21%), Mitcham (26.98%) and Charles Sturt (25.83%).
Horse whisperer Pyne is Putin on an equine show
Now, our own Christopher Pyne has been called many things over the years, only some of which are publishable in a family publication such as this. But this may be the first time he has been compared to Russian strongman president Vladimir Putin.
If you had thought the only things they had in common was a fanatical devotion to the history of the matroyshka doll and a killer recipe for borscht, you are sadly mistaken.
They are both also equine fanciers. Pyne posted a tweet this week of himself in the saddle, all ready to go riding.
In the picture, the Defence Minister looked, as is normal, very pleased with himself, although the horse did carry a visage of faint embarrassment. Possibly wondering why he was carrying a minister instead of a jockey ahead of the Melbourne Cup.
Although, without wanting to be overly critical of the man in charge of ensuring the safety of Australians, he does lack a certain machismo when compared to the shirtless pose preferred by Putin.
Not that we are suggesting Pyne tops a horse in a half-naked state. The world isn’t ready for that. But perhaps if Pyne is trying to buff up his image there are a few more Putin-style tricks he could pull out of the bag. And we don’t mean invade New Zealand.
Vlad has been known — again topless — to bathe in icy Russian lakes and also to fish in the same natural manner. He likes to play ice hockey, drive Formula One cars, drive submersibles, bobsleigh, shoot guns, ride motorbikes and do judo.
Off The Record will be closely monitoring Pyne’s Twitter feed in coming weeks.
In the dark
SOUTH Australian of the year Richard Harris has been a hard man to pin down since rescuing 12 Thai boys from a flooded cave and becoming an international hero. Harris has turned down multiple requests from The Advertiser’s SA Weekend magazine to tell his story. Now we know why.
Publisher Penguin Random House said this week it had exclusive rights to Harris’s book Into the Dark. But we will not hear the full story until late next year. Meantime, journo James Massola has published his account called The Great Cave Rescue.
On the move
FORMER federal Liberal minister and Mayo MP Jamie Briggs, now a PwC Australia partner, has been appointed the firm’s South Australian Government and public sector leader.
Briggs, who is completing his MBA at Adelaide University, was Cities and Built Environment Minister before his defeat in Mayo at the 2016 federal election by Rebekha Sharkie.
Since joining PwC in February last year, Briggs has developed research including CityPulse — a foundation for The Advertiser’s Future Adelaide series.
All in the timing
At the very least you would have to say the timing is curious. This week Port Pirie mayor John Rohde was found guilty of maladministration by Ombudsman Wayne Lines for spending ratepayer funds to visit his online girlfriend in the Philippines, but official duties went on. Rohde presided over a citizenship ceremony for the latest Australians, including some proud new additions from the Philippines. Funnily enough, the picture now seems to be have vanished from the council’s Facebook page.
