PM’s diplomatic response to talk of ambassador Keneally

We know it is early, as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pointed out on Thursday, to be talking about diplomatic posts for ALP royalty Kristina Keneally and Kevin Rudd. But speculation is the currency in which we deal here at CBD, so let’s do some.

“Kristina Keneally’s gone through a difficult election campaign. I wish her well. I’m sure [a diplomatic posting] is the last thing on her mind,” the PM said, not exactly ruling out the prospect of ambassador KK. The real question is: will Keneally break the 12-month lease of the Liverpool residence she rented back in November, in the hope she would be the member for Fowler? Or will she offer her suburban south-western Sydney home to a poor refugee family as she hotfoots it back east to idyllic Scotland Island?

Could Kristina Keneally be posted overseas? Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

OLD HABITS DIE HARD

For outgoing federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s political career, relentless self-promotion was always a winning approach. Until it wasn’t.

But the Colt from Kooyong is evidently not going to let the loss of his seat to “teal” independent Monique Ryan change the habits of a lifetime.

In his post-election missive to a supporters’ mailing list, Frydenberg included a gushing editorial from Rupert Murdoch’s The Australian, bemoaning the Colt’s political demise while praising their man as a “talent Australia’s democracy can ill afford to lose”.

Outgoing member for Kooyong, Josh Frydenberg.Credit: AAP

Maybe if they’d read that before the election, the denizens of the leafy inner east might not have been so hasty in turfing the talent.

But Frydenberg’s old mate and Liberal protege Tim Smith doesn’t seem confident.

Smith will not recontest his state seat of Kew after crashing his Jaguar, late at night and after a few drinks, into the home of some of Frydenberg’s unsuspecting constituents.

Writing in The Spectator on Thursday, Smith opined that the people of Kooyong, many of whom are Kew voters too, were “loud, entitled and privileged”, almost as if they were unworthy of Frydenberg’s talent.

It’s a novel way for a politician to describe their constituents and Smith’s words might prove awkward for his would-be Liberal successor in Kew, former Frydenberg staffer Jess Wilson, as she tries to win the seat in November’s state election.

But someone clearly thinks Wilson needn’t worry about a thing: The Koonung Heights Cricket Club in Balwyn North has invited some local dignitaries for a meet-and-greet this Saturday at the oval with “our state member, Jess Wilson”.

Now, there’s a promotion.

DIGITAL SALVOS

Outgoing Telstra boss Andy Penn will be the keynote speaker on Thursday at a lunch to launch the 40th annual Salvation Army Red Shield Appeal. You’ll notice that, like savvy buskers, uniformed Salvos out on the streets of our cities collecting money in buckets this weekend now accept digital payment with QR codes, no doubt picking up tips from Penn. Though let’s hope their digital rollout is better than Telstra’s 5G rollout which Penn oversaw.

Telstra CEO Andy Penn. Scan the QR code to donate.Credit: Illustration by John Shakespeare.

Joining him to tuck in at Sydney’s Four Seasons Hotel will be fellow titans of industry, who will be asked to dig into their deep pockets to donate. Salvos’ NSW divisional commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Miriam Gluyas will welcome major donors, entrepreneur Dick and wife Pip Smith, former Woolworths chair Roger Corbett, Macquarie director Jillian Broadbent, NSW Liberal MP Alister Henskens, representing NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, and the state’s Opposition Leader Chris Minns.

AFTER TEAL WAVE, THE COVID WAVE

It seems it was more than just the mood that was positive on election night at the Canterbury-Hurlstone Park where new PM Anthony Albanese’s victory party took place, and the Bondi Bowlo where independent Allegra Spender celebrated her win in Wentworth. The inevitable Wednesday unwellness, post-Saturday parties in this COVID-19 world, confirmed many cases of the virus post-celebrations at both parties. CBD sources at both parties can confirm a number are unwell, the number of post-party positive cases at the Albo bash hitting double figures at least. Our unwell spy was in the line-up to be tested as we spoke.