Felicity Kennett not keen on Jeff making a political return to save the troubled Libs

For weeks Baz has been told Jeff Kennett was poised to take over the Victorian Liberal Party, but wife Felicity isn’t keen for his comeback.

Is the race over? For weeks Baz has been told Jeff Kennett was poised to take over the presidency of the Victorian Liberal Party.

Some very well placed sources even said a deal had been done, with incumbent Robert Clark ready to step aside.

That was quickly dismissed as scurrilous scuttlebutt, setting up a fight for the top job.

Baz is assured that not only is Jeff not up for a fight, his wife Felicity has been making it known to interested parties that she’s not keen on her man taking over.

Time will tell.

Baz won’t call it, just yet. But some are convinced there will be no challenge, no deal, and no Jeff.

Jeff & Felicity Kennett. Picture: Matt Jelonek

UNION CONFERENCE TOPICS WERE LIKE UNI ESSAYS

Hot off the heels of Labor’s caucus conference, the state’s union leaders have held a post-summer camp of their own that sounded a lot less fun. The Victorian Trades Hall Council retreat was a love-in from across the movement but the day-and-a-half commitment had some attendees wondering if it could have been cut down. Ideas for future campaigns read like a list of university essays, with topics such as race and class narrative, surveillance legislation and combating the (hopefully not Labor) Right online. TikTok and merchandise were also discussed alongside meatier topics such as upcoming elections, donation laws and getting unionists onto boards and into commissioner roles. The event may also have been a last hurrah for VTHC Assistant Secretary Carina Garland, who has started telling people she is leaving the role. Her departure has been described by some as the last of the old NUW guard leaving the building.

FAILED COUP ON CARR

In the shortest preselection tussle yet, lawyer Josh Bornstein has already pulled out of an attempted coup on Kim Carr. But is the long-time Socialist Left senator safe?

Most people in the know, except for Mr Carr, are of the view that his time is likely up and that the party and unions will eventually rally behind another candidate.

Think-tank director Ryan Batchelor is in the running but Baz hears there’s also a tightly-guarded list of about five candidates being considered to take on the challenge for the senate spot. Get ready for a surprising smoky to enter the race and change the odds dramatically.

Meanwhile Mr Bornstein can’t be kept down and is rumoured to be shopping around for support to run in a different federal spot. After trying to court the Left, he’s apparently now been talking to Labor right figures to limited success.

Labor Senator Kim Carr survived the latest attempted coup against him but could his time be up? Picture: Mick Tsikas

PREMIER COMMS TEAM SHAKE-UP

More movement inside the Department of Premier and Cabinet’s communications team, with an ad calling for a new director of communications. The ad got tongues wagging on Spring St, after Baz revealed a string of high-profile exits of late to other parts of the organisation, with some current staffers also shopping around for new work. Tough gig.

BRETT’S ‘BAD BOY’ TATT COULD SOON BE REVEALED

We don’t see so much of the artist formerly known as CHOttie anymore. Now that the virus is (deep-breath and fingers crossed) gone, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton is no longer a fixture on our TV screens. Which has been tough luck for the gals (and guys) who he made swoon. But they were teased again this week when Sutton encouraged people to get out and donate blood. A noble cause. But it was the flash of his mysterious tattoo that had people talking. It’s the second time he’s shown a glimpse of bad boy Brett and social media users couldn’t get enough. Now, they want to see the whole thing. Baz is ready to break that exclusive, when the time is right, Professor. Maybe when we hit 100 days of zero community transmissions?

Our ‘hot’ CHO Brett Sutton’s ‘bad boy’ tattoo could soon be revealed. Picture: Daniel Pockett

PANIC AFTER GOVERNMENT EMAILS GO MISSING

Have emails ever been more important than now? Which is why all hell broke loose last week when it was discovered that thousands of government emails had gone missing. Yes, missing. An incident in the Government Shared Platform affected the delivery of all inbound emails over just one lunch hour, sparking panics across government departments and the state’s court houses. There were fears of a cyberattack following similar at Eastern Health hospitals and the other paper, but Baz is told not so. A government spinner insisted the “incident was the result of an IT systems error, not a cyber-attack, and is now resolved.”

WHO SANG IT?

Which Victorian MP was rumoured to have belted out a cracking rendition of God Save the Queen at a recent party function?

OVERHEARD

“We’ve got to be one Australia and not a series of fiefdoms where premiers act as emperors” - Liberal Party MP Bev McArthur speaking her mind at a parliamentary inquiry into the impacts of COVID-19