By Kishor Napier-Raman and Sherryn Groch
After crippling losses at a state and federal level, the NSW Liberals have plenty to learn, which makes the party’s latest brainwave – a campaigning school for aspiring candidates – an appropriate one. They’re calling it Lyceum, after the school of philosophy founded by Aristotle way back in ancient Athens. Talk about living in the past!
In more recent history, the Liberals have wound up with undercooked candidates, thanks in no small part to preselections getting stalled by juvenile factional warring.
Lyceum hopes to replicate the success of former British PM David Cameron’s conservative A-list, which helped bring an influx of female and non-Eton educated candidates into Tory ranks.
Outgoing state director Chris Stone is set to take over as chair (or perhaps principal) of the new school. Stone has taken his time moving on from a role he was expected to leave once Dom Perrottet lost the March state election. Instead, Stone’s hung around while the party turns to external recruiters to figure out his replacement, a process opaque and protracted enough to draw a few grumbles.
Now though, the 300-ish applicant list has finally been whittled down to a few hopefuls.
The party has kept mum about who’s made it to the finals, but there are a few whispers around Woollahra councillor and former state deputy director Richard Shields. Former Victorian deputy state director Tony Barry is also in the mix. He’s a director at pollsters RedBridge group, who did research for the teals, and recently accused the Liberals of being the party of landlords.
A replacement for Stone is expected by the time the party gets together for their November convention that they’re seriously calling … A New Hope. Somehow, state leader Mark Speakman doesn’t really have a Luke Skywalker vibe about him.
MOUTHING OFF
Nobody was particularly surprised when former boxer Anthony Mundine came out as a “No” on the Voice debate (via an Instagram rant of course). He’s been spotted around the edges of the campaign for months.
Credit: John Shakespeare
But CBD spied an interesting guest quite literally on the edges of this video, who appeared to be coaching the former NRL player as he railed against the Voice as a “takeover”. Offering helpful words such as “regime” from the sidelines was Bundjalung woman Cindy Roberts, who you might remember from those fiery protests at Old Parliament House in late 2021. Roberts is linked to the sovereign citizen movement, though she tells CBD she doesn’t see herself as a citizen – that’s a British colonial title.
But, it turns out “the Mouth” has some thoughts on the Voice too. In his video, Mundine and Roberts warn that the referendum is actually part of a secret push to create a “new world order” that would extinguish First Nations sovereignty and “take over the land”.
Before handing over to Roberts for the main show, Mundine also gave a strange nod to Russia as the “only other sovereign country” apart from Australia, apparently because it has “TOs [traditional owners]”.
The Mouth himself stayed quiet when CBD rang on Thursday. But Roberts assured us “on behalf of Anthony”, he’s voting no.
TWIGGY’S HANGOVER
By all accounts, Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s debaucherous birthday bash to celebrate 20 years of Fortescue in the Pilbara last Saturday was a roaring success.
But now, it looks like Twiggy, who was tearing up the dance floor until the wee hours, has had a hangover lasting almost a week.
On Monday, Fortescue announced the shock departure of chief executive Fiona Hick after just six months in the role. Then, it released a sustainability report that revealed it had fired nearly 60 employees for harassment, bullying and misconduct. Meanwhile, somebody thought it was a good idea to hire former British chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng, who lasted a few minutes during Liz Truss’ brief, tumultuous prime ministership, as an “adviser”.
Now, to top it all off, Twiggy’s party is being investigated by WA mining regulators over undisclosed safety concerns.
“Fortescue’s 20th anniversary event in the Pilbara maintained the highest health and safety standards, including adhering to the responsible service of alcohol and the presence of experienced security personnel,” a spokesperson said in a statement. “There was one incident that has been reported to our regulator.”
We hear the incident in question involved someone getting a bit silly and jumping on the stage, so probably not too big a hassle for the Twiggster.
BETS ARE OFF
CBD recently reported on the University of Sydney’s rather absurd decision to open a new gambling research centre … funded by betting companies and casino operators.
Unsurprisingly, the uni’s insipid defence of this move didn’t cut it with anti-gambling advocate Tim Costello, who wrote to vice chancellor Mark Scott last week to voice his displeasure.
“I am sure you are only too aware of the inherent risk to the University of Sydney’s reputation and credibility of accepting this funding from an industry which produces an addictive product associated with significant harms across our communities,” Costello wrote.
“This arrangement simply doesn’t pass the pub test.”
In a response seen by CBD, Scott said the uni considered the “grim reality” of gambling harm in its decision-making.
“It’s also important to note in this context that government research grants rarely cover the full cost of research and alternative funding sources are required,” he said.
“Partnering with external commercial organisations also ensures that research is implementation-ready and relevant to national policy and practice.”
Scott concluded by telling Costello he “hope this adequately addresses your concerns”.
It certainly doesn’t pass our pub test.
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