By Kishor Napier-Raman and Stephen Brook
What does our longest-serving prime minister, Sir Robert Menzies, have in common with legendary UK pop star Robbie Williams? Both have been honoured by the City of Melbourne, that’s what.
In January, Lord Mayor Nick Reece bounded on stage at Fed Square and handed over a key to the city to the former Take That heartthrob in front of 10,000 adoring fans.
Robbie Williams in Melbourne in January. The singer was awarded a key to the city and staged a free concert to promote his biopic.Credit: Justin McManus
But the surprise award led to a council row and a review of procedures for awarding such honours, which decided that unilateral prize-giving was out.
Melbourne being Melbourne, the whole thing is strictly hierarchical.
The “Honorary Freeperson” has only been bestowed on three people – ever: Menzies, Dame Elisabeth Murdoch and Nelson Mandela. It is the “highest form of recognition” a way of “bestowing a city’s acclamation on a distinguished person”.
Next tier down is the “Roll of Honour” signed by visiting “Heads of State and other notable leaders”, often as part of “special welcoming ceremonies” with a “certificate of the occasion”.
The “Key to the City” award is for an individual, group or organisation that furthers the “ideals of the city”, or it can “recognise outstanding achievement” in sport, entertainment or humanitarian work at a national or international level.
It has “traditionally been used as a marketing and promotion tool to provide an opportunity for mass public recognition”. Sounds like our Robbie. Many thanks for that AFL grand final show a few years back.
So it was fascinating to see Reece, a former Labor state secretary, reaching out across the political divide to hand over Menzies’ Freedom of the City of Melbourne certificate to Georgina Downer, daughter of former Howard government minister Alexander and whose current gig is as boss of the Menzies Institute.
Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece.Credit: Penny Stephens
“Sir Robert Menzies’ love for Melbourne was legendary,” Downer gushed. “In fact, he initially refused Joseph Lyons’ offer to enter federal politics because it would mean frequent absences from his beloved Melbourne.”
Well, that didn’t last, as history attests.
Reece gushed in return: “Delighted to see this important piece of Melbourne history on the walls of the Menzies Institute. The title of Honorary Freeman of the City of Melbourne is the highest honour the City can bestow upon an individual and it is fitting that Menzies was a recipient. Menzies was a mighty nation builder, but he was also a Melburnian to his bootstraps.”
Melburnian to his bootstraps? Probably not enough to qualify for an honour today.
To the bank
What a time to be alive it has been for Labor’s True Believers, still celebrating Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s crushing election victory in May.
It’s an even better time for party operatives looking for new jobs, with ministerial offices on a hiring blitz, and the private sector paying top coin to poach people with connections in Canberra.
Last week, CBD revealed a change of the guard in Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek’s office, with veteran politico Matthew Chesher, husband of former NSW state Labor minister Verity Firth, joining as chief of staff.
Chesher replaces Dan Doran, who is leaving Plibersek’s office after a 14-year stint, and who we hear is headed for Commonwealth Bank, where he’s set to take up the gig of general manager for government affairs.
Meanwhile, Commbank’s corporate affairs team is led by former ABC news director Gaven Morris.
Doran’s new gig was recently vacated by Euan Robertson, who left the bank after more than a decade to take up a job as managing director government relations at private equity giant Blackstone. The American firm has been expanding its presence in the region, recently acquiring local data centre operator AirTrunk in a $24 billion deal, a few years after picking up embattled Crown Resorts in a deal that saw James Packer exit the gambling business.
Lampe on
Speaking of Laborites moving on to work with the big end of town, Julia Gillard’s one-time chief of staff Amanda Lampe kicked off her new job as chief executive of Business Events NSW a couple of weeks ago.
Lampe left Gillard’s office in 2011 after copping a whole lot of blame for Labor’s plodding performance at the previous year’s election, when months after entering The Lodge after getting rid of some other bloke, the new prime minister was forced to cobble together a minority government.
Despite being held responsible for Gillard’s “the real Julia” schtick – a winner if there ever was one – Lampe garnered support from the NSW Right to take over as Labor’s all-powerful national secretary after leaving the prime minister’s office.
But when the faction couldn’t agree to back her, former unionist George Wright was brought in. He ended up working at BHP after a five-year stint running the party.
Lampe, meanwhile, comes to her circa $500,000-a-year events management gig after a six-year stint as director of corporate relations at British multinational boozemaker Diageo, where some of her work lobbying against the Albanese government ruffled a few feathers in the Labor-verse.
But in reality, such is the life for most Labor apparatchiks. Unless you’re one of the lucky few with the sauce to get preselected, you work yourself to the bone in the Canberra bubble, and then head off to the private sector and collect your bag.
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