By Noel Towell and Kishor Napier-Raman
“How good’s God, by the way?” asked former prime minister Scott Morrison – retooling his famous 2019 election victory cry – during a 20-minute surprise sermon to Encounter City Church, a Pentecostal prayer barn in the Perth suburbs, on Sunday.
Credit: John Shakespeare
In a grey blazer and black tee that gave off youth pastor vibes, Morrison’s message to the faithful contained a dash of revisionism.
“After I stepped down as prime minister, Brad [Bonhomme, his pastor] asked me to come up and say a few words,” Morrison said.
It’s a novel way to describe losing an election, but dammit, we like it.
Speaking of losing elections, Morrison’s close political ally, Ben Morton, who lost his seat in the west at the 2022 election, was also there to watch the sermon, which closed with a reminder of just who, in the end, was the boss.
“God always has a way of reminding us, doesn’t he, of who’s in charge,” Morrison told the congregation. “And it’s not us. And thank God.”
Amen to that, we say.
SURGICAL STRIKE
Embattled neurosurgeon Charlie Teo remains defiant, despite being found guilty by the healthcare watchdog of unsatisfactory professional conduct this year and facing restrictions on his ability to operate.
Teo’s latest “up yours” to the medical authorities and the media he’s convinced are out to get him came in the form of a walk across the Harbour Bridge during Sunday’s sweltering Sydney Marathon with supporters who joined him “to stand in solidarity with Charlie”.
Teo’s foundation said it had raised $50,000 with its “Walk with Charlie” event, although a chunk of that came from a $12,000 donation made by the doctor himself.
“My gut tells me to be disheartened by my recent experiences at the hands of the Australian medical system. But then something stronger kicks in ... A dogged tenacity and perseverance!” Teo wrote on a message accompanying his donation.
MONEY TALKS
If the polls are to be believed, the Yes campaign for an Indigenous Voice to parliament needs, well, a little something to get it over the line when the nation votes in the referendum on October 14.
So maybe it’s time for Climate 200 – the Simon Holmes a Court fundraising juggernaut that backed the campaigns of seven teal independents elected at last year’s federal election – to sprinkle some of that electoral stardust on the Yes camp’s efforts.
If it was simply a question of money, you sense that Simon and his delightfully named Climate 200 CEO Byron Fay would have this thing in the bag by now.
Fay told supporters on Monday that the fund had made short work (just four weeks) of raising $350,000 for the grassroots efforts of 22 community operations around the country campaigning for Yes.
The playbook will be familiar to anyone living in or near a teal seat, featuring “persuasive conversations and actions needed to shift votes, like door-knocking, street stalls and distributing yard signs and ‘vote Yes’ merchandise”.
And they’re not done yet, with the call going out on Monday for donations for the final sprint to help “turbocharge these community efforts”.
And who knows, without those pesky donations caps that prevented Climate 200-backed independents making a real mark on recent Victorian and NSW state elections, maybe Team Teal can help pull off another surprise triumph.
RADIO SILENCE
It’s a rare day indeed when Melbourne morning radio listeners hear the dulcet tones of Premier Daniel Andrews in an on-air interview.
Andrews’ years-long boycott of Neil Mitchell’s 3AW morning slot is well documented. The premier also put Mitchell’s erstwhile ABC rival Virginia Trioli in the deep freeze for much of her past couple of years in Radio Melbourne’s breakfast chair. The presenter made no effort to disguise her deep irritation at the snubbing.
So imagine our surprise on Monday when Andrews bobbed up for Trioli replacement Raf Epstein’s first morning in charge.
Daniel Andrews joins Raf Epstein in the studio for the former Drive presenter’s first day in his new role.
The on-air chat covered the housing crisis, the recent uptick in gangland crime, Ombudsman Deborah Glass’ persistent criticism of the government, the late great Ron Barassi and other bits and pieces.
Now, if Epstein was feeling a bit pleased with himself for scoring the interview that has for so long eluded his fellow hosts, he was gracious enough not to mention it.
There is this, though: there was a notable lack of talkback calls – which often feature in party leaders’ radio interviews – during the 24-minute chinwag between Andrews and Epstein.
It led some to wonder if “no calls” was a condition imposed by Andrews’ people in return for granting the premier’s first radio interview – we think – since last November.
Not so, said Epstein. With so much ground to traverse in just 24 minutes, he made the decision to spend that time grilling Andrews without inviting calls from listeners, he said.
But the announcer said he hoped it wouldn’t be so long between drinks from here on in, and that talkback callers will get their chance at questioning the premier. Here’s hoping.
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