James O’Doherty: Willoughby by-election to exorcise Berejiklian’s ghost

The Liberals and Labor alike are talking up ex-premier Gladys Berejiklian ahead of Saturday’s by-election. Soon the state will move on, writes James O’Doherty.

Voters in Willoughby would be forgiven for being surprised when they arrive at the polling booth on Saturday and see the name “Tim James” on their ballot paper.

The former Premier’s image has been so prominent in Liberal Party campaign material that you’d almost believe she was standing for re-election in the poll sparked by her resignation.

Tim James is the Liberal candidate for Willoughby, despite what campaign materials would have voters believe. Picture: Julian Andrews

The former Premier has not been on the campaign trail in person but her endorsements of Liberal candidate Tim James are plastered on flyers and social media.

“If you support Gladys, tap here. Remember: Gladys is Supporting Tim James” one advertisement proclaims.

As rumour has it, Berejiklian has a new job, possibly at Macquarie Bank. A conspiratorial view is that she’s waiting until after Saturday’s four by-elections to announce what it is.

“Her full time job now is endorsing Tim James for Willoughby,” one Liberal quipped this week.

In many ways, the memory of Gladys Berejiklian hangs over Saturday’s by-elections. The Willoughby poll was a direct result of her resignation. The others are also related to her exit.

James’ predecessor’s endorsement has formed the crux of his campaign strategy. Picture: Supplied

Labor leader Chris Minns has sought to frame the four contests as a referendum on how Dominic Perrottet has handled the Covid pandemic, in direct contrast to his predecessor.

“If you’re concerned about whether it’s the Covid-19 management since Gladys Berejiklian left the premiership … then I urge you to lodge a protest vote,” he said in Monaro on Monday.

On Tuesday, in Bega, he said Berejiklian had managed Covid “very well” in contrast to Premier Perrottet.

Last month he was talking up Berejiklian’s handling of the pandemic to argue Perrottet has let Covid run rampant.

Talking up Berejiklian’s record has frustrated some Labor true believers but, in these comments, Minns is targeting low hanging fruit: people who voted for the Coalition because they liked Gladys Berejiklian, but may vote for Labor now, and in 2023, because they aren’t so sure about the new guy.

Even Labor leader Chris Minns has been talking up Berejiklian’s pandemic credentials. Picture: Nathan Schmidt

It’s a savvy strategy. Perrottet’s first months as Premier have been dominated by an explosion of Covid cases. We are still in a transition phase to “living alongside the virus” after months of obsessing about daily case numbers.

It’s a difficult time for Perrottet, who has been pushing ahead with reopening the economy and reviving an ailing Sydney.

As the current Omicron outbreak tapers off, booster rates increase, and life begins to get back to normal, sentiment will probably shift in Perrottet’s favour. But that transition won’t happen overnight.

Indeed the past few weeks have been some of the most difficult in managing the transition out of the pandemic: pushing ahead to living with Covid while managing increasing pressure on hospitals, and reassuring a cautious community that it is safe to go out again.

Dominic Perrottet will be known as the premier who threw Sydney’s doors open - for better or for worse. Picture: Toby Zerna

Friday’s Sydney CBD Summit will be a crucial opportunity for Perrottet to outline how he will kickstart the city’s revival when tourists come back and restrictions are eased later this month.

It’s also an opportunity to stamp his own authority on the reopening roadmap, which is still largely following the course set by his predecessor.

Berejiklian’s Covid legacy isn’t the only remnant of the former Premier that could be on voters’ minds on Saturday. This week the Auditor General delivered a scathing report on a $252 million government grants program of which 96 per cent of funds went to Coalition seats.

Rumour has it Gladys Berejiklian has taken a post at Macquarie Bank. Picture: Jeremy Piper

In her damning report, Auditor General Margaret Crawford found administration of the Stronger Communities Fund “lacked integrity”.

Ms Crawford even said that poor record keeping and deficient guidelines may have been a “purposeful attempt to avoid transparency and accountability”.

The report was an indictment of the way grants were allocated to councils, and followed sustained Opposition attacks.

As Premier, Berejiklian repeatedly denied anything untoward. She even declared that it wasn’t “illegal” to use taxpayers’ money to politically benefit a government minister.

Pork barrelling, she suggested, was a practice all governments engage in.

But on Wednesday, Perrottet backed the Auditor General’s brutal report.

“I agree with her assessments,” he said.

“There is zero tolerance in my government for any of that behaviour. I’ve said that strongly from the outset. I will take on any of those recommendations.”

The comments marked a distinct shift from the attitude of Berejiklian, who maintained that administration of the Stronger Communities Fund was entirely above board.

As Gladys Berejiklian prepares to move onto a new job and move on with her life, Saturday’s by-elections will mark a point at which voters — and the state’s politicians — start to move on from Gladys too.