Off the Record: Adelaide Crows’ power stance linked to British Prime Minister Theresa May
WHAT do Adelaide Crows captain Taylor Walker and British Prime Minister Theresa May have in common? How much was paid out to five sacked state public service executives? Why is going from the ALP to ABC as easy as 1,2,3? Find out in this week’s Off the Record column.
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WHAT do Adelaide Crows captain Taylor Walker and British Prime Minister Theresa May have in common? How much was paid out to five sacked state public service executives? Why is going from the ALP to ABC as easy as 1,2,3? Find out in this week’s Off the Record column.
Crow mania flew all the way from London
That weird little “power” stance adopted by Taylor Walker and his Crows buddies in the finals last year seems to have inspired the Conservative Party in the UK.
New UK Conservative Party Home Secretary Sajid Navid attracted much ridicule this week when he stood legs akimbo trying to impart a sense of authority when he was announced in his new position this week. But he was just following Tory Prime Minister Theresa May who has also adopted the stance in previous years.
The laughable attempt at power projection didn’t do the Crows or the Tories much good. The Crows lost the GF and May’s team only just squeaked in at an election they were expecting to win in a canter.
ALP to ABC — easy as 1,2,3
YOU can’t say that former Martin Hamilton-Smith’s chief of staff Kevin Naughton hasn’t had a look at politics from every conceivable angle.
Naughton was Hamilton-Smith’s right-hand man when the former member for Waite was Liberal leader and remained with him when he abandoned his old party and set up his stall as an independent within Jay Weatherill’s Labor Cabinet.
Naughton obviously liked what he saw within the Labor ranks as he has now bobbed up on the staff of new Labor leader Peter Malinauskas. Naughton is now a senior adviser. It is thought Labor values Naughton’s experience in Opposition, given it has been 16 years since Labor was not on the government benches. Malinuaskas has employed another old political hand in John Bistrovic as his chief of staff, a role he previously held, in government, for Stephen Mullighan.
Naughton, a former ABC Radio drive time presenter, might have joined Labor ranks but a few of his former Cabinet adviser colleagues have found work at the national broadcaster.
Labor ministerial media advisers Rebecca Brice, Rebecca Puddy and Rhett Burnie are now journalists at ABC South Australia. Burnie is a news reporter at ABC South East SA, while Puddy and Brice have been reporting from the Adelaide newsroom.
They were among staffers in the former government who lost their jobs after the March state election.
ABC Adelaide’s newsroom for many years, during the late 1990s and early 2000s, had a practice of refusing to hire journalists who had worked as political advisers. It was believed doing this would compromise editorial independence, particularly ABC editorial policies relating to impartiality and balance.
ABC head of communications Nick Leys did not issue a formal response before Off the Record’s deadline but indicated that employment of former media advisers was considered on a case-by-case basis to ensure there was no conflict of interest.
OFF THE RECORD: THE SA POLITICS PODCAST
Five go on a holiday, cashed up
THE numbers are in. The bloodletting in the public service which saw five high-profile department chiefs axed by the incoming Liberal government has cost taxpayers $2.065 million in contract payouts.
The figure was confirmed to Off the Record this week by Erma Ranieri, the commissioner for public sector employment.
Ranieri, though, wouldn’t discuss the individual payout figures for departed Department of Premier chief Don Russell, Heath head Vickie Kaminski, Attorney-General chief executive Ingrid Haythorpe, Environment’s Sandy Pitcher and Transport’s Michael Deegan.
As Off the Record exclusively revealed last month, Christopher McGowan has taken charge at Health, while Caroline Mealor is in at the AG’s department. The other positions are still waiting to be filled with a permanent appointment, with Ranieri filling in for Russell and Julienne TePohe acting in Transport.
From deputy premier to opponent — Ingo retails advice
THE Liberal deputy premier of 20 years ago, Graham Ingerson, is a key strategic adviser in the campaign to derail a linchpin policy of the new government — deregulating shop trading hours.
Ironically, Ingerson spearheaded the previous Liberal government’s 1994 shopping hours deregulation campaign, which at one point canvassed allowing retailers to open all day and night.
These days, Ingerson runs Norwood-based lobbying business GA and JA Ingerson. Clients include Foodland, IGA, Drake Supermarkets and Romeo’s Supermarkets, according to the South Australian Lobbyists’ Register.
These are key members of the South Australian Independent Retailers group, of which Ingerson is, according to the website, the “government relations adviser consultant”.
This means Ingerson is not directly involved in lobbying his former Liberal colleagues, including Treasurer Rob Lucas — who held the same role when Ingerson was deputy premier to John Olsen (now state Liberal president).
In 1995, Industrial Affairs Minister Ingerson’s campaign resulted only in Sunday trading in the city from 11am to 5pm, that even amid fierce opposition from shoppies’ union secretary, now Senator, Don Farrell. The chief recipient of Ingerson’s strategic advice is the Independent Retailers’ chief executive officer and public officer Colin Shearing.
It is understood Ingerson has been arguing today’s Liberal government should go for a staged approach, rather than his failed “big bang” model.
In other Liberal news, Adelaide city councillor Alex Antic is being pressured by Right powerbrokers to stand for Senate preselection, which closes next week.
Liberal senators facing re-election are Anne Ruston (Moderate), David Fawcett (Right) and Lucy Gichuhi (former Family First).
Big hitters in Adelaide
ADELAIDE was awash with executives this week, as the boards of both Santos and the Reserve Bank of Australia hit town, the former hosting new energy minister Dan Van Holst Pellekaan at his first ministerial gig at Santos’s environment, health and safety awards, and the RBA having a knees up at Adelaide Oval after they left the cash rate on hold for a record 21st month.
Appropriately guests there included Treasurer Rob Lucas along with more colourful characters such as d’Arenberg’s Chester Osborne.
Fincantieri Australia chairman Dario Deste was in the city, as the decision on who gets to build the Future Frigates looms, and Man of Steel Sanjeev Gupta was also in Adelaide and Sydney signing off on a power purchase deal with French company NEOEN.
Inside story
ONE of the many clandestine practices on social media platform Twitter is the use of clever-sounding non de plumes implying special inside knowledge of politics.
One of these, @saparlinsider, says it is “keeping North Tce honest”. But Property Council SA executive director Daniel Gannon, previously Steven Marshall’s media and communications director, has taken to Twitter to accuse former Stephen Mullighan adviser Jonathan Schomburgk of being behind the account.
Schomburgk declares this “categorically untrue”. But we did discover an interesting connection.
His ancestor, Dr Richard Schomburgk, was the Adelaide Botanic Gardens’ second director and has a pavilion named in his honour.
Battle to save animals on the brink at Outback reserve
Conservationists are battling to save animals at an Outback reserve from the effects of the worst drought in recent memory, and have received a funding boost to redouble their efforts.
Country tradie to face court over incomplete work
A country tradesman will face the Elizabeth Magistrates Court over allegations he was not licenced and refused to refund money to clients.