Miles Kemp: Mali’s ministry’s favourite footy teams, and other crucial information

We know Peter Malinauskas’s team can execute a stellar campaign, but who are their favourite footy clubs? Miles Kemp delves deeper.

We know Peter Malinauskas’s team can execute a stellar campaign, but who are their favourite footy clubs? Miles Kemp delves deeper.

Peter Bryden Malinauskas

Premier

On entering parliament in 2015 many people, including political enemies, gave up on spelling his surname and despite the electoral advantages he became known as Pete or Mali.

Cut his teeth in the political machine that is the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees Association. The Shoppies represent supermarket workers among others, which is where this 15-year-old Woolies worker was initiated. If you think the Ambo’s union is one sided, the SDA has run the ALP ruthlessly for decades. They were SA’s answer to the Game of Thrones Before the Game of Thrones.

He was known as the faceless man running the ALP from his union position, but is better known as the shirtless man after exposing his AFL guns for an aquatic centre redevelopment announcement. The media’s faceless man gibe rang a little hollow as his mum worked in the Advertiser Library for decades and his brother Rob began his journalism career at the paper.

“As a united, fresh outfit, we’re very excited to be able to deliver on our election policy that has been endorsed by South Australia.”

Footy club: Port Adelaide.

Susan Elizabeth Close

Deputy Premier

Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science

Minister for Defence and Space Industries

Minister for Climate, Environment and Water

Stunned many in the party when she joined and ran for office, having been well left of the ALP in her youth. Naturally became a mainstay of the Left Faction. An environmental activist in Greenpeace, the Wilderness Society SA and the SA Conservation Council.

Mentored by former Premier Jay Weatherill who liked to promote women.

As well as her disqualifying well-left views, had two other things going against her when it came to the right faction of the ALP. She is a woman. She also believes in gender equity not the anti-female rules promulgated by the Catholic Church and its agency in Adelaide; The Right faction.

“We’ve seen so many women elected into office for the first time. They are terrific. The future is incredibly bright with a more diverse government and a more diverse frontbench.”

Footy club: Port Adelaide

New Premier Peter Malinauskas with his new Cabinet. Picture: Dean Martin

Stephen Campbell Mullighan

Treasurer

Astute, engaging but sometimes volatile with the media. Can trace his liking for an argument/debate to dad, the late Supreme Court judge Ted Mullighan.

Quietly held the very senior role in the last ALP government; transport and infrastructure.

MP’s don’t get to select where their offices are. This may be why the passionate Power supporter Mr Mullighan is within a stone’s throw of the Crows HQ. Someone may be playing tricks, as former Premier and Port supporter Steven Marshall’s office is across the road from Redlegs HQ.

Footy Club: Port Adelaide

Kyam Joseph Maher

Attorney-General

Minister for Aboriginal Affairs

Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector

A big-brained legal type very fast on his feet. In the left faction but via talent was able to overcome this and become Labor Party state secretary before entering the Legislative Council in 2012.

As an Indigenous man he comes to power with huge hopes in the community. Do not rule out a formal Treaty with Indigenous Australians in SA’s near future.

Footy Club: Richmond

Anastasios (Tom) Koutsantonis

Minister for Infrastructure and Transport

Minister for Energy and Mining

Hard to believe now but in the less open-minded Australia of the 1970s, a schoolteacher gave up trying to pronounce his name and decided from that day forth he would be called “Tom”. The name is not an English version or translation of anything in his Greek background, but was randomly selected and stuck even after school. Other racists have since tried to use his work in a family chicken shop and cab driving as disadvantages.

The most experienced and effective on his feet of all ALP MPs. A “Labor Lion” to Mali, but a high-profile target for the Liberal Party. He has suffered more slings and arrows than most, a lowlight for him being his bad driving record which was released to the media by SAPOL.

Closest to being more Port Adelaide Football Club than the club itself.

Very pro mining.

“The next journey of green energy is hydrogen, it’s an abundant fuel source.”

Footy club: There is only one in the AFL, but also demands English soccer team Liverpool be included.

Christopher James Picton

Minister for Health and Wellbeing

A Crows-supporting Labor AFL outlier in who may get sick of the taunts each week in Cabinet meetings. Crows independent Geoff Brock will help deflect, but also as an Independent be a constant reminder that Port are the team of the workers and ALP MPs.

Worked for former Health Minister John Hill, when the only strategy needed was to match customer demand with taxpayer dollars. Expect more of the same for Health and Ambulance funding, to the relief of many.

Began in politics at a very young age, and was described by Mr Hill as a “mere child” when he began working for him.

Footy Club: Crows

Chris Picton, sworn in as the Minister for Health and Wellbeing. Picture: Dean Martin

Zoe Lee Bettison

Minister for Tourism

Minister for Multicultural Affairs

Quiet and likeable achiever who caused few problems as a Minister in the Weatherill government although in junior roles.

More experience in the private sector than most in the party having worked in PR.

Has numerous contacts in Adelaide’s diverse multicultural communities as Jay Weatherill’s minister for Multicultural Affairs.

One of few in Labor from the country, having been born in Whyalla and raised in Kapunda.

Footy Club: Port Adelaide and Salisbury Footy Club.

Katrine Anne Hildyard

Minister for Child Protection

Minister for Women and Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence

Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing

Not a silent “d”, as many will incorrectly tell you.

Friendly and engaging and left of most in the party.

Unlike many, she had “real jobs" before politics; cleaner, shop assistant, lecturer, and clerical worker. Also very successful in the union movement rising to Australian Services Union (ASU) Secretary in 2009.

Her approachable persona allowed her to escape much entanglement when an ASU culture of bullying was exposed in 2018.

Footy club: Port Adelaide mens, Crows women.

New minister Nat Cook. Picture: Emma Brasier

Natalie Fleur Cook

Minister for Human Services

Passionate to the point of being hostile with the media but an ALP true believer, especially in the area of public housing. Will struggle to find funding solutions to the crippled Housing Trust system which has devolved from roofs for the working poor decades ago to limited crisis accommodation today. In the current climate housing will struggle, with noisy ambos and doctors attracting the lion’s share of the funding for themselves. If anyone can claw some back it will be Nat Cook.

Footy team: Port Adelaide

Clare Michelle Scriven

Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development

Minister for Forest Industries

Like many before her from the bush, perfectly suited to the regional roles.

Returned to Mount Gambier after living and working in Adelaide for many years.

Was also State Manager of the Australian Forest Products Association.

Many in the Legislative Council are elected to represent the entire state but get as far as Norwood, the King William St shops, Burnside Village, West Lakes or O’Connell St before becoming permanently distracted. Ms Scriven won’t be one of those.

Footy team: Port MacDonnell Demons

Blair Ingram Boyer

Minister for Education, Training and Skills

A very hard worker in the media. An adviser-work background mainly. Was a senior adviser to former Labor premier Jay Weatherill and chief of staff to former Labor human services Minister Jennifer Rankine.

Like the suburban ice cream vans of old (minus the drug dealing), entertained many in the suburbs with his use of a borrowed camper van as his electorate office after the 2018 election. He had no accommodation even 12 months after the 2018 poll. More electorates should benefit from this initiative.

Footy team: Collingwood Magpies

Joe Karl Szakacs

Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services

Before you ask, he says it is Sock-Arch, like an arch made of socks. Please stop asking.

A Lawyer and unionist, he replaced Jay Weatherill in Cheltenham in a 2019 by-election.

Criticism is, to the most effective politicians, like water off a duck’s back. So no problem for Mr Szakacs, he was a champion swimmer, representing Australia at international competitions.

In a party in which Indigenous man Kyam Maher is the limit of Cabinet’s non-European ethnicity, Mr Szakacs is more diverse than most as the son of a Hungarian refugee.

Footy team: Woodville West Torrens.

Nicholas David Champion

Minister for Trade and Investment

Minister for Housing and Urban Development

Minister for Planning

Also grew up in the Shop Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association. Was in federal parliament before switching for the 2022 state election. The time they spent together battling in Canberra for their state in part explains his closeness to Right Faction godfather Senator Don Farrell.

Mr Champion is a former ALP state president and highly regarded in the right faction. Will quickly climb to more senior roles.

Lives well away from his electorate in North Adelaide, which will be much closer to the airport for those Trade and Investment trips.

Will have his work cut out polishing the proverbial that is the Adelaide planning system.

Footy team: Collingwood Magpies.

Andrea Michaels

Minister for Small and Family Business

Minister for Consumer and Business Affairs

Minister for Arts

Sons and daughters of migrants and refugees abound in the Labor Party. Ms Michaels was the actual real thing. Her family fled war-torn Cyprus in 1974, landing in South Australia in 1976 when she was just 11 months old. She began her Adelaide life in a shed in Blair Athol and went on to become a lawyer. She is a self-described “true believer”.

Footy team: Port Adelaide.

Premier Peter Malinauskas congratulates new minister Geoff Brock. Picture: Dean Martin

Geoffrey Graeme Brock

Minister for Local Government

Minister for Regional Roads

Minister for Veterans Affairs

The iron man from the Iron Triangle. And ironically the number one advocate for the troubled region is from Frankston, Victoria.

His local credentials were earned on the floor of the Broken Hill Associated Smelters (now Nyrstar), and 20 years in local government. He rose to the position of Port Pirie Mayor.

His Labour movement credentials include blowing open the bullying and harassment of workers by the Courts Administration Authority.

“I believe that the Upper Spencer Gulf in particular is a powerhouse, I think it’s been neglected. We’ve got great opportunities in the Upper Spencer Gulf, all the resources, but I don’t think we’ve got a plan for it.”

Footy team: One of only two advocates for the Crows men team in Cabinet.