Backroom Baz: Nightclub crew gets cheeky with Dan Andrews ‘lockdown’ encounter

Nightclub industry figures have taken a chance encounter with Daniel Andrews to cheekily push the point on his lockdowns.

Premier Daniel Andrews spotted posing for a photo with promoter Borce Kajmakoski, Void nightclub co-owner Daniel Lamanna and DJ Jason Kolbeck.

In an unusual move, Premier Daniel Andrews appears to be courting the vote of Melbourne’s nightclub scene.

Andrews has been spotted posing for a photo with promoter Borce Kajmakoski, Void nightclub co-owner Daniel Lamanna and DJ Jason Kolbeck.

They appeared to be pushing the premier on a key issue, captioning the photo with “no lockdowns confirmed”.

Kolbeck was sentenced to jail in 2017 after pleading guilty to drug trafficking so you can imagine he and his mates are in no mood to see any more harsh restrictions, particularly ones that could stop the nightclub industry and dance scene getting back on its feet.

What’s next? A press conference at Revolver Upstairs?

But Baz’s favourite part of the photo is the man in the background who gives the appearance of either giving some serious side eye or considering his options with the butcher’s knives along the wall behind Andrews.

Hopefully the Premier’s security detail was on the ball.

A snap into the future?

In the interest of fairness, Baz has genuinely been trying to avoid writing about Tim Smith every week so that he can share the love around with others.

But the Kew MP has always been good at attracting the attention of the media and this column just couldn’t resist when a photo with former foreign minister Alexander Downer slipped into the inbox.

The pair were snapped in a selfie this week with Liana Slipetsky, from the Noble Park branch of the Association of Ukrainians in Victoria, where she reports they talked “Ukraine, Ukraine Ukraine”.

There has been some speculation that Smith’s next career move could involve working with Downer, with both men writing opinion pieces on the future of the Liberal party in the wake of the federal election.

Alexander Downer and Tim Smith with Liana Slipetsky.

Candidate clanger

Getting your name out there as a political candidate can be a tough gig. Especially when your party spells your name incorrectly.

Liberal hopeful for Ivanhoe, Bernadette Khoury, is listed on her party’s website as wanting to work “for all people of Ivanhoe”.

With such a sterling pitch, Baz tried to follow the aspiring MP but realised website and Facebook links were spelt ‘Koury’, rather than ‘Khoury’.

Fortunately the website still loaded, with Bernadette’s surname spelt correctly on the front page.

For fans yearning for further information they’ll have to wait, however, with the message that “my campaign website will be up and running shortly” all that currently exists.

Perhaps by that time the typos will be gone.

The Victorian Liberals might want to check the fine print on Khoury’s web addresses.

Doublespeak is contagious

It is not just politicians who are known for their confusing lingo.

This masthead recently wrote about how government messaging could have been clearer during the pandemic and how this undermined public safety.

In short, sentences were too long and too many big words were used. But the people doing the study were nearly just as bad!

One sentence in the press release was 74 words long while this quote provided to the journalist had far too many long words for Baz.

“We could have had much shorter sentences, so you don’t have too many sentences with embedded phrases and complex subordinate conjunctions.”

A worthy study and an interesting report, but leave it to the tabloid journos when it comes to bringing down your word count.

Attack dogs back on leash

Caulfield MP David Southwick appears to have missed the memo about the newer, gentler and female-friendly Liberal party.

Southwick was met with groans in parliament after referring to Eltham MP Vicki Ward as a “barking dog”.

The comment was swiftly withdrawn but it wasn’t a great look at a time when the party is reckoning with its perception among female voters.

David Southwick swiftly withdrew a barking dog comment about Vicki Ward,

Labor MP Vicki Ward.

This is particularly true in the parts of Melbourne swept up by women running as teal independents.

After all, there are very real fears that Caulfield could be targeted by a so-called independent come November.

Even if that’s not the case, it’s ideal to keep the dog comparisons to a minimum.

Dan slips into election mode

For those living in the electorate of Mulgrave, you may or may not be aware that the premier of Victoria lives in your area!

If you didn’t know, you certainly will soon because the good people of Mulgrave have been receiving pages of mail outs from his humble alter ego, Daniel Andrews MP.

The text-heavy document spruiks the latest budget, school upgrades and a swag of other local projects.

The document appears to be, of course, electorate office communications.

One reader who sent in a copy said they hadn’t heard too much from the premier since 2018 so it would appear the re-election effort is underway.

Some analysts have pointed to large swings against Labor in Mulgrave booths, but the odds of Andrews being in danger in his own seat are pretty remote.

Still, you can never be too careful.

Shutter-shock

Will they ever learn? It wasn’t too long ago that the Liberal Nationals were left red faced after they used a generic stock photo of a road in Ukraine to launch their major campaign.

In it, they called on Victorians to vote for their worst road – in Victoria.

Despite the embarrassing blunder – which completely overlooked the well-intentioned call out – it seems the Liberals haven’t learned their lesson.

Baz could only shake his head when it was brought to his attention that the good folk in the opposition’s communications team went back to their bad ways.

This time, to announce an elected Liberal Nationals government would extend the Delacombe bus route to Smythesdale and Haddon.

But instead of heading out west for a picture opportunity, an image of a surveyor conducting engineer works was ripped from Shutterstock.

Baz can only sigh.

Guess who

Which prominent Australian television personality was almost defamed by a question slip-up at a press conference?