Opinion: ‘Jobs for mates’ culture alive and well across political spectrum

The culture of “jobs for mates” is alive and well across the state, nation and political spectrum, writes Mike O’Connor.

There are mates and then there are mates, with the best mates being those rated as “good mates” and “old mates”.

These exist on a higher plane than everyday “mates”, while those described as “used to be a mate” or being “no mate of mine” are to be avoided at all costs.

Then there are political mates, who in the panoply of Australian mateship occupy a special place.

You may like or despise these particular mates, but mates they must be, because they are members of the same political tribe and must be accommodated.

In practice, this can mean they are given positions for which they are hopelessly unqualified, their abilities in an indirect ratio to their level of remuneration, which is often generous, with their appointments excluding non-mates who might be ideally suited to the role.

Queensland Auditor-General Brendan Worrall cast an eye over the membership of the boards of four state government departments and found that only 36.3 per cent of members had completed any specific courses on board governance, and that only one department actually checked the qualifications that candidates claimed to have.

Mr Worrall has a delicate way with words, noting dryly that “there is a risk that unsuitable candidates are being appointed”.

A practice of not advertising widely for applicants could he said, in a masterful understatement, give the impression that appointees were not independent.

“Not advertising broadly can give the perception that having highly qualified, experienced and diverse candidates is not the only consideration when making appointments,” he said.

The Grattan Institute recently surveyed state and federal appointments and found 21 per cent of federal appointees to well paid, prestigious and powerful positions had direct political connections.

Being on the board of a government business enterprise can be a nice little earner, with chair and deputy chair roles good for $200,000 and around $100,000 a year respectively, and for board members around $95,000 for what is a part-time job.

Auditor-General Brendan Worrall

The report found that Queensland and the ACT had 14 per cent of government board members with political affiliations, all of them to Labor.

In the Northern Territory it was 11 per cent, all to Labor, and in Victoria and Western Australia it was 10 per cent and 9 per cent respectively, mostly to Labor.

The states, however, are mere amateurs when compared with the feds, with 22 per cent of Commonwealth government board members having political affiliations, 93 per cent of them linked to the Coalition.

The board of Australia Post is a particularly popular haven, with half the board members being former Coalition politicians, senior staffers or party officials.

Meanwhile out in the real world, a comparison with private enterprise boards showed that people with political affiliations made up less than 2 per cent of board appointments to companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

In an extraordinary coincidence, 87 per cent of government board members with political connections were appointed when the political parties with which they were connected were in power.

In NSW, former deputy premier John Barilaro was headed to a newly created $500,0000-a-year job as a trade commissioner in New York until he withdrew in the face of damning criticism of the appointment process, while former Queensland premier Peter Beattie segued nicely from George Street to a taxpayer-funded role in Los Angeles.

It may be that some appointees with political connections are well suited to the roles, but the statistics tell the story and it’s an old one – the mates looking after the mates.

The old school ties system might get you a meeting or an interview but it won’t get you the job, but under the Old Mates Act, if you’ve got the right party political connections and can manage to breathe and walk at the same time, then you’re a good chance to score a gig on a government business enterprise.

Once you’ve got your feet under the board room table, you will merely be required to stay awake for a few hours every month or so, nod approvingly and raise your hand when required.

All parties do it.

They think it is their right to look after the “mates” with our money.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has promised to change the way we do politics in this country.

Let’s see how he goes when the mates come knocking.