Delhi or bust as Labor mates eye plum India posting

Australian High Commissioner to India is a big job; world’s largest democracy, emerging military power, second most common country of origin for overseas-born Australians and a place with which we have, let’s face it, an underperforming trade relationship.

Former NSW premier Barry O’Farrell, whose term in that office came a cropper over a bottle of Grange, will be in the India job until 2024, but already jostling has begun among contenders to replace him.

India bound? Jodi McKay, Lisa Singh and Tony Abbott.Credit: John Shakespeare

Former NSW Labor leader Jodi McKay has been living a colourful life since being dumped by the party last year. McKay, who describes herself on Instagram as a “country girl living in Australia who loves sarees,” has just been appointed head of the Australia India Business Council.

It continues McKay’s full-on love affair with all things South Asian – she’s been spotted at no shortage of community events around Sydney lately.

And it’s also gotten a few tongues wagging about the possibility of McKay furnishing her CV to succeed O’Farrell but McKay could face some stiff competition from another Labor mate – ex-Tasmanian ALP senator Lisa Singh, who’s been chief executive of the Australia India Institute at the University of Melbourne since last year, and who CBD hears also harbours aspirations for the plum posting.

Singh, who CBD hears has been taking Hindi classes since starting the role, would have a slight advantage as Australia’s second federal parliamentarian with Indian heritage.

But there’s one more figure we’re sure would be keen. Former prime minister Tony Abbott, a self-appointed India expert who was sent to New Delhi by the Morrison government to help accelerate trade talks, and was back in the city this month for an advertising conference, where he sang the praises of the country’s right-wing strongman PM Narendra Modi.

While the two really are kindred spirits, we doubt a Labor government would seriously appoint Abbott. Then again, they did just reappoint him to the Australian War Memorial Board, so maybe they’re more comfortable with all that.

MASKED MEDICOS

COVID-19 mask mandates have a dwindling bunch of friends in Australia, with NSW, South Australia and Queensland the latest jurisdictions to allow passengers on their public transport system to show their faces.

Although the rules were honoured more in the breach than the observance and were rarely enforced, there remains a dwindling band of diehards – which includes Victorian Premier Dan Andrews – who aren’t ready to let go of mask mandates.

But in the wake of the decisions by NSW and South Australia – later followed by Queensland – to join Tasmania, the Northern Territory, the ACT and Western Australia to drop their mask rules, it was the doctors’ union, the Australian Medical Association who came out fighting hardest on Tuesday.

AMA president Steve Robson fumed that decisions on the pandemic were being taken by governments “without notice, clear guidance or public health advice,” and with “no consultation and no discussion”.

In other words, without asking the AMA first. The association is still not over the decision this month by National Cabinet to cut the mandatory period of COVID isolation from seven days to five, again without seeking the union’s advice.

Masks, along with booster shots, are now the nation’s best defence against further waves of the virus says Robson. But they didn’t help him much back in July when he copped a COVID scare after attending the AMA’s national conference in Sydney which Robson described as “the most COVID-safe event I’ve been to”, with “just about everyone” masked up.

STAGE RIGHT

The Conservative Political Action Conference in Sydney reckons it’s secured a coup with the addition of Sky News after dark talking head Daisy Cousens to the speakers line-up for the event in October with organisers spruiking Cousens’ “quirky accent, amazing fashion and willingness to speak her mind”.

Great work, guys.

Cousens joins NT Country Liberals senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, recently departed SBS board member Warren Mundine, Tony Abbott, who seems hard to avoid these days, South Australian hardline Liberal senator Alex Antic, British rapper Zuby and “Mr Brexit” Nigel Farage on the bill.

But the venue of the right-wing talkfest continues to be shrouded in intrigue.

Organisers originally indicated the event would be held at Luna Park, but those plans were dumped amid dark insinuations about a “cancel culture mob” trying to derail the whole affair, but with CPAC strangely reluctant to elaborate.

Everything seems to be on track now with the International Convention Centre in Darling Harbour, although there’s no mention of CPAC on the centre’s website.

In fairness, the centre makes it clear that the site is not an exhaustive list of its upcoming events and it is promoting a pre-CPAC solo performance in late September from Farage.

Nor can the Convention Centre be accused of fighting shy of a bit of spicy politics. Julia Gillard’s sell-out show Not Now, Not Ever comes to the venue a couple of days after CPAC wraps up and the following month, the ICC will play host to the first of two evenings in the company of Canadian lefty-baiting provocateur Jordan B Peterson.

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