By Noel Towell and Kishor Napier-Raman
The inner circle of advisers around Daniel Andrews when he was premier may have had a reputation for a certain – putting it kindly – command-and-control approach to keeping Big Dan’s state Labor government on the rails over its 10-year journey.
Lissie RatcliffCredit: Twitter
Even their harshest detractor could not deny that, whatever it took, those at the top of the Premier’s Private Office back in those days got things done.
So, we’re predicting that a new strategic advice firm about to be launched by four of Andrews’ closest former advisers – ex-chief of staff Lissie Ratcliff, her deputy Jessie McCrone, strategy director Ben Foster and former director of media Adam Sims – will do a brisk trade.
Foster McCrone Ratcliff & Sims (FMRS), which will trade on a combined 50 years of government and policy experience and is quite keen to point to the 50-50 gender split among the partnership, will officially open its doors on Tuesday, April 2.
But sources close to the new venture wanted to make something clear to CBD on Monday; this ain’t no lobby shop, and that FMRS will not be registering as a lobbyist.
Which is handy because the rules governing the employment of state government executives and ministerial officers impose a 12-month post-employment ban on lobbying “relating to any matter with which they had official dealings in their last 12 months of employment”.
It’s worth noting, in that context, that Ratcliff, McCrone and Foster were with Andrews right until he pulled the pin in September. Sims called it quits back in 2020 after six years as Andrews’ media boss and trusted sounding board, to go and work for the giant superannuation deal factory, IFM Investors.
Ratcliff says the new outfit sees itself helping private sector operations keep a hold of their social licences when all around, so many are losing theirs.
“We think the timing is right for a firm like ours,” Ratcliff told us.
We have no doubt, but will be checking-in again with FMRS in a few months to see how that no-lobbying thing is going.
Barnaby’s bye-bye
Barnaby Joyce hasn’t had the best time of late in the inner Canberra suburb of Braddon.
Barnaby Joyce hasn’t had the best time of late in Braddon.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Vision of the former deputy prime minister sprawled on one of the neighbourhood’s darkened footpaths, muttering profanities into his phone triggered weeks of pearl-clutching over an incident that will probably help, not hinder, Joyce’s reputation as the man once dubbed “Australia’s best retail politician”.
Joyce has sold an investment property in Braddon.Credit: Shakespeare
But it looks like Barnaby has decided to get out of Braddon, by selling an investment property in the suburb, according to a recent update to his parliamentary register of interests.
CBD hears the property in question – an apartment we’re told isn’t particularly flash – belonged to Joyce’s former staffer and now wife Vikki Campion, but became joint property after the two tied the knot in a cowboy-style bush bash wedding late last year.
The Braddon property was being rented out, and we can’t imagine The House of Joyce was much of a cultural fit for Canberra’s lentil belt.
But the apartment sale was not the only recent foray into the real estate market for Joyce, as he recently offloaded the old family home in Tamworth for $1.1 million.
NATS NEWS
Staying with the Nationals for a moment because CBD knows for a fact that many a disaffected Liberal over the years has looked at the neighbouring political paddock and thought, “What if?”
It’s true that not many people have said it out loud and some have denied it – we’re looking at you, shadow federal treasurer Angus Taylor – and one or two have actually tried to go through with it. Take a bow, Ian McFarlane.
So it’s not like there’s any stigma attached to daydreaming about grazing with the agrarian socialists.
But you wouldn’t know it from the vociferous reaction of new-ish state Liberal MP Wayne Farnham after 6 News Australia, the online media outlet run by teenagers, reported in the early hours of Monday that the MP for Narracan – a rural seat, it should be said – was considering jumping the fence.
Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto.Credit: Simon Schluter
It’s entirely understandable that the Nationals’ grass might seem greener than the Victorian Liberals’ savage garden, with leader John Pesutto insisting he won’t be “sued out of his job” as parliament returns this week.
But still Farnham didn’t take kindly to the speculation linking him to the junior Coalition partner.
“That’s the first I’ve heard,” Wayne thundered on the socials.
“It was the Liberal membership that gave me the opportunity and the people of Narracan who elected me as their LIBERAL member of parliament and that’s the way it stays.”
You’d almost take offence, wouldn’t you, if you were the Nationals reading that. But Farnham wasn’t done.
“It would be nice if a news service would seek comment before posting rubbish like this,” he continued.
And while we’d be the last to cast the first stone in these matters, fair play to 6 News and its baby-faced frontman, Leonardo Puglisi, who apologised to Farnham and deleted the overnight speculators.