Top spin from DPG Advisory Solutions
Which lobbying firm is advising Facebook down under? The same group that counselled Catholic Education in its attacks against Simon Birmingham.
Which lobbying firm is advising Facebook down under?
Here’s a clue — it’s the same group that counselled Catholic Education in its attacks against then education minister Simon Birmingham’s so-called “funding wars” in 2017-18.
The answer is … drum roll please … DPG Advisory Solutions.
It’s owned by David Gazard, a close confidant of Scott Morrison, former Liberal candidate and staffer.
Gazzard’s DPG partner is Scott Briggs, another inner-circle ally of the Prime Minister and former NSW Liberal deputy state director.
Also on the DPG payroll: Morrison’s former director of strategy and communications (who, rumour has it, is canvassing for Liberal preselection in Warringah) Sasha Grebe.
Suffice to say, this ruffled some federal Liberal feathers after the social media giant threw a tanty and threatened to ban news content on Facebook and Instagram.
This alert popped up in Aussie Facebook users notifications on Tuesday: “Effective October 1, 2020, section 3.2 of our Terms of Service will be updated to include: “We can remove or restrict access to your content, services or information if we determine that doing so is reasonably necessary to avoid or mitigate adverse legal or regulatory impacts to Facebook.”
Luckily, Josh Frydenberg isn’t easily intimidated.
The Treasurer told this paper the government will push ahead with plans to force tech titans to pay media companies fairly for news.
Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said: “As today’s announcement reminds us, the tech giants have a history of making heavy handed threats. But this will not distract us”.
When they go low
The self-sabotage continues on the Labor benches.
This time its Labor MP Andrew Leigh in the Federation Chamber with a 90-second spray about executive bonuses. “Accent Group received $13m in JobKeeper and gave CEO Daniel Agostinelli a $1.2m bonus. IDP Education received $4m in JobKeeper and gave CEO Andrew Barkla a $600,000 bonus,” the shadow assistant treasurer orated on Monday.
JobKeeper was designed to reduce inequality. But some firms are using taxpayer money to pay massive executive bonuses. In 90 seconds, I listed the worst offenders https://t.co/zbWfA7eiD6 #auspol #ausecon @OMgovernance pic.twitter.com/5l7ApALJtr
— Andrew Leigh (@ALeighMP) August 31, 2020
“Star Casino received $64m in JobKeeper and gave CEO Matt Bekier an equity bonus worth $800,000. SeaLink received $8m in JobKeeper and gave CEO Clinton Feuerherdt a $500,000 bonus.”
The only catch?
Feuerherdt is married to Labor senator Marielle Smith.
The pregnant South Australian is a former Julia Gillard staffer and hails from the Labor Right. Leigh is famously factionless, although he aligns himself with the fellow non-aligned (not to be confused with the unaligned) ACT lower house MP Alicia Payne.
Asked by Strewth whether he was aware of Feuerherdt’s connection to his caucus colleague, Leigh kept mum and didn’t offer an apology.
“Remuneration decisions are made by company boards, not the executives themselves,” Leigh said.
“I stand by my view that no company which is getting JobKeeper should be paying their CEO a bonus.”
Smith’s classy response?
“My husband and I are separate people with separate careers. He was a working-class kid from public housing who grew up to become a CEO and I’m proud of him,” she said.
Run-believable
Leigh and Liberal senator Zed Seselja phoned in to 2CC, Canberra’s AM radio station, for a chat with Stephen Cenatiempo.
Cenatiempo: “Let’s talk important stuff before we talk politics. Andrew, where do you get the best pie in the ACT?”
Leigh: “Mate, I’m a runner so I’m absolutely hopeless on pies. I can tell you where to get the best burger, which is Young and Frisky, right next to my office in Gungahlin. But it’s been a long while since I went out and bought a pie, I’m afraid mate.”
Cenatiempo: “Righto, we’ll take the best burgers. Zed, where do you reckon the best pie is?”
Seselja: “Unlike Andrew, I’m nowhere near as fit so I do know the odd pie shop. So the Cakery Bakery in Erindale I’m going to say, it’s fantastic. Great team.”
Pie kid you not
Two Ukrainians have been refused entry to Australia for telling porkies.
“One traveller failed to declared 1975g of raw pork fat, 660g of salami, 100g of pork rind, 340g of chicken, 870g of non-eviscerated fish and 350g of other fish,” Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said.
“The other traveller failed to declare 2235g of pork meat and fat”. Gives a new meaning to the term pork-barrelling!
Howl you doin’?
From one Labor non-medical doctor to another.
Anne Aly has been tapped by Labor leader Anthony Albanese tojoin the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security, chaired by Liberal Andrew Hastie.
Aly is a counter-extremism expert and replaces former Eden Monaro member Mike Kelly.
Her addition to the PJCIS begs the question — will Aly also become the latest Wolverine? The Canberra Bubble’s™ favourite secret bipartisan sticker group, formed to defend Australian sovereignty (against China)?
Eye spy …
Our top spies want to recruit your … hairdressers and barbers?
During a rare public outing, Australian Signals Directorate boss Rachel Noble revealed: “One of our most extraordinary cyber offensive operators didn’t finish Year 12 and was a hairdresser.”
Noble said she’s using her imagination when it comes to spook recruitment.
“I think there’s a little hint in there that being really clever in those sorts of operations is in understanding how people think and being interested in people and hairdressers are wonderful at that. They’re wonderful at making conversation with anyone who sits in the chair … you do feel like you can trust them.”
You’ve been warned!
An ideas man
Bill Shorten has a solution for the AFL grand final.
“It’s winner takes all, if you are the top of the home and away season table,” the Collingwood fan suggested on Tuesday morn.
“So Port Adelaide, maybe if they are on top, South Australia gets it. If the (West Coast) Eagles get on top, they get it. Geelong is only in stage three, you know, they’re not even Melbourne, so maybe they could get it. Just putting it out there.”
So which state deserves the big dance?
“Well, I do think AFL owes a big favour, and all supporters, to Queensland, you’ve helped save the season,” Shorten said.
“So I suspect Queensland‘s the favourite and all my in-laws live in Queensland, they’d want me to say that.”
That’s a reference to the former Labor leader’s mother-in-law and former governor-general Dame Quentin Bryce.
Not to Bragg about it
After being accused by the Nine papers of selling only 34 copies of his super(annuation) tome Bad Eggs, Liberal senator Andrew Bragg got in touch to correct the record.
He told Strewth that as of Tuesday, the exact sales figure is 615 (513 paperbacks and 112 e-books). “Much higher than the publisher’s target of 250,” he noted.
Fellow Liberal senator James Paterson pointed out Bragg was “closing in on the 883 copies sold of Shorten’s Common Good; Mark Butler’s 1185 for Advanced Australia; Kim Carr’s 882 for Letter to Generation Next; and Jim Chal mers’ 713 for Glory Daze.
“Not bad for a first-term backbencher,” Patto said.
strewth@theaustralian.com.au
Libs should be-Ware what they say about JWH
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Believe in your selfie, Andrew
Kevin Rudd appears to have met his selfie match in Andrew Charlton.