Off The Record: Moderate SA Liberals form secret club, lawyer Stacey Carter’s huge news
Moderate SA Liberals have formed an underground Fight Club-style group – just without the violence – to wage war against the rising conservative movement.
SA News
Don't miss out on the headlines from SA News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
In Off the Record this week, Liberals form a secret underground “Fight Club”, the ghost of Rex Patrick haunts Parliament House, Susan Close sends a naughty email, a veteran broadcaster makes a bizarre clanger with the PM and a new junior counsel for court.
Liberal cabal
The vicious factional Liberal Party war has left moderate members scrambling for relevance, as the Conservative faction is set to be the big winners.
Off the Record hears a secret, breakaway moderate group has been established with the long-term goal of restoring itself to party domination.
The underground cabal, known as “The SA Movement”, has several moderate staffers and other influential party figures.
Among the organisers are believed to be outspoken former staffer Chelsey Potter, her new fiancee, lawyer Alex Rice and Ingo Block, chief of staff to former deputy premier Vickie Chapman. All refused to comment.
The movement, which MPs, MLCs and Senators can attend by invitation, met for the first time from 7pm last Friday (standard Liberal time) in the underground private dining room of Waymouth St bar Delicatessen.
Attendees, which included two MPs, were given the location just two hours before, and were told it would not be at a backstreet Chinese restaurant – a reference to the typical moderate dinners being held in Burnside.
Sources said there was a greeting in reference to Off the Record’s correspondent: “It’s not here, Andrew Hough”. Without it guests were refused entry.
Up to 30 people attended, during which debate ensued about the party, its direction and what it means to be a progressive Liberal.
Organisers told invitees that the a’la carte dinner must be kept secret and “snitches who spill the beans”, share an email or the guest list, will be disowned. The quarterly dinners will change venues.
The introductory email said it was “kinda like Fight Club but no fighting – our faces are too pretty”, in reference to the 1999 Brad Pitt Hollywood film, where the establishment could not be mentioned.
While some party sources described it as a “betrayal” of MPs by their relevant staffers, others insisted it was about the “next generation Liberals”.
“There’s a clear need and desire to get back to our activist roots as progressive Liberals,” one source said.
“Part of the future of our party is working together with sensible conservatives but this is an opportunity for moderates to come together and remind ourselves why we’re here.”
Ghost of senators past
He may not be a senator anymore, but Adelaide Lord Mayoral candidateRex Patrick is still attempting to assert his influence in Canberra.
Since the May 21 federal election, in which he lost his seat, Patrick has deployed close friend and Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie to ask the Labor federal government a raft of official questions – totalling at least 25 – on a variety of issues, including defence, health and infrastructure.
Many of the written questions on notice were submitted between the May 21 poll and the official end of Patrick’s term on June 30.
Naturally, those questions did not get answered and lapsed at the end of the 46th Parliament, so Lambie resubmitted the queries on her friend’s behalf.
One of those questions, which still remains unanswered, is a request for an extensive breakdown of the federal government’s $835m compensation payout to Naval Group over the axed Attack-class submarine project announced on June 10.
Patrick revealed to Off the Record his ghost is still haunting the halls of Parliament House.
“I still ring up other senators to put a question on notice for me,” he said.
“I didn’t stop working after I found out I wasn’t going to be a senator.”
Blue emails
Deputy Premier Susan Close holds one of the state’s highest offices with public decorum and decency.
So you can imagine cabinet’s surprise when an internal SA government media email was sent recently with a press release, which had, ahem, a little naughty description of the male anatomy.
The headline was “Close – endangered glossy black cockatoo spotted in Deep Creek National Park”.
Trouble was, the preview cut off the subject heading halfway through the animal’s name.
Cue much guffawing from all of cabinet – including Premier Peter Malinauskas – and various advisers when a screenshot circulated through the party like wildfire and ended up in Off the Record’s hands.
Contacted in London, where she is on a trade mission, an “amused” Close, usually known for her softly spoken nature, maintained a “dignified silenced”.
Albo’s agenda
Now we’ve all made mistakes, and you know what they say about glass houses, but a bouquet must go to FIVEaa Mornings presenter Leon Byner for his clanger during a chat with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese this week.
Opening the bizarre interview on Thursday morning, Byner asked Albanese “there’s going to be a national cabinet meeting today but it’s going to be a video conference, we don’t expect that there’ll be a press conference, what sort of matters are going to be ticked off today?”
The only problem was, the meeting had already happened.
Without missing a beat, a deadpan Albanese told listeners “we brought it forward, in fact, to yesterday” before recounting what had transpired.
OK, shake it off. You would think a broadcaster with nearly six decades of experience would recover from that oversight. But just minutes later, Byner asked Albanese a question the PM had literally just given the answer to.
“Now, I understand that there is a Buckingham Palace get-together where there’ll be a reception hosted by King Charles,” Byner said.
Yes, you understood correctly, because the PM just told you.
In fairness to Byner, there’s a lot to be across when you’re live on air three hours a day. And there’s bound to be the occasional slip-up … or two.
But when it involves a one-on-one with the PM, well, our journalistic hearts go out …
Jazz hands
Labor’s ministry travelled to the Mid-North this week for its second Country Cabinet. But it appears the visit was more like an unofficial talent audition for a new boy band duo.
Acting like a couple of wannabe dancers, Education Minister Blair “Fred” Boyer, joined local MP, and fellow cabinet colleague Geoff “Gene” Brock, to officially open the new $10.5m new facilities at John Pirie Secondary School along with department chief Martin Westwell.
The pollies, naturally, posed for the obligatory social media picture, in which they gave their best “jazz hands” pose.
Former premier Jay Weatherill aptly described the duo as the next “Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly”. Shame the bureaucrat didn’t join them.
Boyer, a father of three, had earlier rehearsed at Snowtown Primary School, where he learnt about dinosaurs.
Labor officials say a highlight of the trip was more than 250 people attending a Port Pirie forum on Wednesday night.
Surprisingly, among the crowd was sitting federal Liberal MP Rowan Ramsey, who was given a front-row seat.
Ramsey said: “They put my name on a seat. Good to see them in the country. I don’t think there a lot of businesses there and was surprised more did not raise workforce issues.”
Baby Joy
And the warmest Off the Record best wishes to high-profile criminal lawyer Stacey Carter, who is pregnant.
Carter, 38, who owns prominent, all-female firm Carter and Co, surprised the Gouger St chattering class with news she is expecting on Christmas Day.
She managed to keep it secret from the sharpest observers for more than five months despite severe morning sickness.
But Carter, one of the state’s leading legal eagles, said with pending motherhood “luckily, I love a challenge”. The sex of “junior counsel” is a surprise.
“Well, fortunately we are due on Christmas Day, so I won’t need to take a day off court,” she laughed.
“Working in criminal law is a tough career, owning a business is even tougher, doing both with morning sickness all day is another level altogether … yet being a mother will be the best experience yet.
“I guess all I can say is that there is something really beautiful and empowering about knowing women ‘can do it all’ – if they want to.
“With resilience, courage and a good sense of humour … you simply can do it, so you just do.”
Originally published as Off The Record: Moderate SA Liberals form secret club, lawyer Stacey Carter’s huge news
Horrifying pram plunge leaves infant child fighting for life
A young child has been rushed to hospital and is fighting for life after a terrifying pram fall on the Fleurieu Peninsula this afternoon.
‘Neglect’ probe launched after young woman’s death
Police have launched a major investigation after a 26-year-old woman who had a serious fall in her Port Augusta home died in hospital.