Backroom Baz: Security guard bans media from filming Daniel Andrews on stairs

A security guard was on high alert when he banned cameras from filming Daniel Andrews descending a perilous set of stairs.

Even knowing how stage managed Daniel Andrews’ press conferences are, Baz was surprised to learn media were this week banned from filming our dear Premier descending a rather perilous looking set of stairs.

It’s been more than a year since the Premier came off second best with his own set of stairs, rendering him off work for three months.

So Baz has no idea why a burly security guard barked orders that media were not to film or photograph the Premier as he climbed down the stairs atop Melbourne Museum.

Premier Daniel Andrews had a serious health scare after falling down stairs in March last year.

A keen security guard makes sure Andrews isn’t filmed going down the stairs.

Baz is assured the direction did not come from the Premier’s office.

Instead, the security guard may have been taking his job “a bit too seriously”.

Interesting though that the direction came on the very same day one of the doctors who helped get the Premier back on his feet after the fall, the Alfred’s director of trauma service, Professor Mark Fitzgerald, slammed the state government saying he was “dumbfounded” the hospital hadn’t received funding for upgrades.

Carroll plays the long courting game

As fundraising season continues it’s always interesting to see which way ALP powerbrokers spend their time, cash and influence.

Baz has learned of a top secret fundraising lunch at Epocha attended by CFMEU officials, including John Setka, senior figures at Cbus and various other influential figures.

Although the attendee list was a closely guarded secret, our spies did manage to spot at least one Labor MP, Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll, making an appearance.

Jacinta Allan is frontrunner to take over if the Premier walks away but Ben Carroll is lurking. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

It’s an interesting development, with Jacinta Allan considered frontrunner to take over as next Labor leader when Daniel Andrews walks away but Carroll still in the picture.

If the government is returned with a smaller caucus, votes from the Industrial Left faction, which the CFMEU play a key role in, could come in very handy in a leadership battle.

Who was courting who at this hush hush event?

A big hand for Tim

First it was CHOttie Brett Sutton, then Captain Covid Jeroen Weimar.

Now Victoria has a new public servant on our TV screens daily: Tim Wiebusch.

In just over a week Timbo, the SES’s Chief Officer Operations, has become a mainstay in our living rooms as the leading authority on all things floods.

Like Sutton and Weimar before him, Tim has been pushed before the media daily for his 15 minutes of fame, and like those before him, has yet to put a foot out of line.

SES chief Tim Wiebusch has proven to be a cool head in a crisis. Picture: Nicki Connolly

There really is nothing this bloke doesn’t seem to know.

Hardly surprising given he’s spent the better part of two decades in crisis management, before being appointed to his current role in 2017.

“With a passion for emergency management and over 25 years of experience with government agencies, Tim is responsible for the development of operational doctrine and overseeing incident management capability development within VICSES,” his bio reads.

Good job, Tim.

Ditching the Liberal logo

Oops, they’re doing it again.

It was during May’s federal election campaign that Baz noticed the re-emergence of a trend among some Liberal MPs of shunning any party branding from their promotional material.

It’s a familiar trick used by some, and was rife in the 2019 federal election.

Well, it’s back, with a range of MPs ditching the Liberal logo from promo material.

Signage from deputy leader David Southwick caught Baz’s eye because of its lack of Liberal branding. Baz gets the motivation to stand apart from the pack.

Especially, if like Southwick, you’re up against the Teal movement.

But it didn’t work for former Treasurer Josh Frydenberg.

Tassie on their minds

Some raised eyebrows this week when Liberal HQ tweeted using the very non-Victorian #politas hashtag, which is supposed to be reserved for politics in Tasmania.

Dr Kevin Bonham has written at length about this protocol.

Has someone given state director Sam McQuestin or his deputy Brad Stansfield, both Taswegians, the password to the party’s Twitter account?

Politas? Does anyone at Victorian Liberal HQ know what’s going on? Have they given Taswegians Sam and Brad the password to Twitter again? It’s #springst here fellas. Welcome to Victoria. pic.twitter.com/1ejEWIWho9

— Backroom Baz (@BackroomBaz) October 18, 2022

Or has the fact the pair seem to have Tasmania on their mind started to filter through the office?

Baz is told there was much angst over how much time the pair had, until recently, been spending in Tasmania despite their jobs planning for the Victorian election.

Baz reckons a Twitter slip-up is small change compared McQuestin’s blunder at a recent party conference when spies say he boasted to a roomful of hopefuls the Libs were poised to win the upcoming Tasmanian election.

Still, with all the recent turmoil and infighting at HQ, Baz reckons McQuestin might have a bit on his plate.

Oh and guys, deleting the tweet doesn’t actually mean it’s gone forever.

Plenty take notice of poll

Ask an MP about polling and they’ll always say they take no notice.

But Baz reckons plenty took notice of the recent Roy Morgan poll that saw the ALP increased its election winning lead over the Coalition.

The poll put the ALP on 60 per cent, up 2 per centage points since August, and well ahead of the LNP on 40 per cent, down 2 per centage points, on a two-party preferred basis.

Guess who

Which MP noticeably deleted both their Twitter and Facebook accounts this week, prompting fear and relief in equal parts?