Form guide for Liberal Party poll race

Illustration: Rod Clement.

Wanted: Liberal Party federal president and federal director to run a champagne campaign for Malcolm Turnbull on a beer budget.

It’s the job ad that could determine the next federal election. An already uphill Coalition victory looks impossible without two talented picks. They will need the PM’s blessing, widespread respect across the unhappy party and — perhaps most importantly — a flair for raising money.

President Richard Alston and director Tony Nutt departing, hand in hand, is not ideal. It’s like a listed company hunting for a new chair while they are conducting a CEO search.

Federal executive will formally make the decision, but it will be on the PM’s instruction. So who does Turnbull have in mind — and will they say yes?

Who will replace Tony Nutt and Richard Alston?

Back when Brian Loughnane was running the show it seemed Damien Mantach was being groomed for the federal director gig. Mantach complicated his run by stealing $1.55 million from the Liberals’ Victorian division. Being in jail for another year makes Mantach an unlikely choice.

Scott Briggs.

Andrew Hirst.

Mark Neeham was the Liberal state director that oversaw Barry O’Farrell’s landslide in the 2011 state election against a tattered NSW Labor Party. Neeham is now running government and marketing at Primary Health Care, who have their own leadership vacancies with CEO Peter Gregg on the way out to fight ASIC in court. A way out of Primary might be tempting — if he was asked.

There’s also the man who helped get Turnbull into his seat of Wentworth, Scott Briggs, currently the NSW Liberals honorary treasurer. But only last October, Turnbull launched Briggs’ new venture-capital shop Pacific Blue Capital. And Briggs is on the Cronulla Sharks board. Seems a lot to give up in Sydney.

More likely is Andrew Hirst. Hirst was a loyal deputy chief of staff to Tony Abbott and worked for Turnbull in opposition and alongside Nutt on the 2016 campaign. And he already lives in Canberra, where he is the well regarded director of Lynton Crosby and Mark Textor’s strategy and research shop, the ­Liberals campaigning firm of choice.

Stamp of approval

Ahmed Fahour might be on the way out of Australia Post, but the $5.6m man is still diligently serving the public.

The Melbourne businessman jetted off to the Middle East at the end of last month for the annual meeting of Dubai-based transport and logistics group Aramex.

Fahour might be set to drive out of Australia Post’s Maserati-friendly Bourke Street office at the end of July after resigning amid controversy over his pay, but he’s flying the Post’s red-and-white colours till the end.

Aussie Post has a 10 per cent stake in Aramex for strategic reasons. That more-than-$200m investment is already shaping up as one of Fahour’s better legacies, with the Dubai-listed stock up almost 70 per cent over the last 12 months.

Ahmed Fahour.

No wonder Fahour is known internationally as the LeBron James of Australian parcels.

While in the sandy Emirate good taste forgot, Fahour was elected to the Aramex board for three years as Aussie Post’s rep. Yesterday, a spokesman said a decision had not been made by chairman John Stanhope and his board as to whether Fahour would stay on after he finished in a few months.

Fahour’s head of parcels and e-commerce Bob Black didn’t travel with the boss. Should Fahour vacate the Aramex board, Black’s a likely successor as Aussie Post’s representative.

Stanhope is expected to soon announce a CEO replacement for the irreplaceable Fahour.

As we have noted before, we’ve heard of a scheme to get the successor in place before budget Senate estimates begin on May 22.

That sounds like scene-setting for a (relatively) modestly remunerated internal candidate. It may be Black fronting the inquisitive senators in May, although we wouldn’t bet against Aussie Post’s chief customer officer Christine Corbett.

Rails run

Labor’s communications spokesman Michelle Rowland is back on deck after maternity leave following the birth of her second child.

Michelle Rowland and family.

While her Labor counterpart Kate Ellis has decided that motherhood and politics don’t mix and will be off at the end of the 45th parliament, Rowland continues to juggle the commute to Canberra with her family and electorate demands in north west Sydney.

Just like the heavily pregnant Minister for Revenue and Financial Services Kelly O’Dwyer, Rowland has a high-powered husband.

While O’Dwyer’s partner is UBS banker Jon Mant, Rowland’s other half is law firm Coors Chambers Westgarth partner Michael Chaaya, a financial services specialist.

Over the weekend Rowland was trackside at Paula Dwyer’s Tabcorp marquee at Randwick. Not a bad first day back at work for the Member for Greenway, as Winx won the Queen Elizabeth states for its 17th straight victory.

By yesterday the diligent Rowland had already disclosed the hospitality on the Members’ Register of Interests. Now she’s back, it will be interesting to watch Rowland — once a senior telco lawyer at Gilbert + Tobin — tussle with her former parliamentary colleague and one-time communications minister Stephen Conroy. Captain Red Underpants now runs the hilariously named Responsible Wagering Australia, a gaming lobby that represents James Packer’s CrownBet, no friend of Tabcorp.

Trials and tribulations

Seven West Media returns to the NSW Supreme Court this afternoon for the next instalment in its messy battle with boss Tim Worner’s former employee Amber Harrison. Justice John Sackar will at 2pm today hand down his decision on Harrison’s application — voiced by her star lawyer Julian Burnside — to have her case moved to the Federal Court in Melbourne.

Seven has opposed the transfer, arguing the contract case should remain in the Supreme Court and that it would be more convenient for its billionaire-backed legal team to appear in Sydney.

Sackar will adjudicate soon.

Julian Burnside.

Then in a fortnight, Justice Mordecai “Mordy” Bromberg has a case management hearing scheduled in Melbourne’s Federal Court, where he will likely give directions on discovery and mediation. It never ends.

Meantime, there’s been another senior female appointment to Stokes’ Seven West executive team.

Following Monday’s news that former iiNet exec Maryna Fewster was permanently moving into Perth HQ (aka “The Swamp”) to run operations in the billionaire’s wild west, yesterday Worner revealed he had hired Katie McGrath from the listed Enero group to be head of human resources at Seven.

The newbie replaces Melanie Allibon, who left to join Newcrest.

Allibon was part of the small team that attempted to manage the unfolding Harrison affair. Early attempts included alleged late night meetings at the Darling Hotel with Harrison and commercial director Bruce McWilliam, as they tried to convince the then assistant to sign a deed of release.

Missing out on the SWM HR gig is Davanh Inthachanh, who was filling the role on an interim basis and of whom Worner was said to be a big fan.

As a wise Englishman once said, you can’t always gets what you want.