By Stephen Brook and Kishor Napier-Raman
The boys behind the famed Chaser’s War on Everything comedy program with its outrageous stunts and skewering of political leaders are now well into middle age and mostly settled into comfortable tenured gigs with the ABC.
Craig Reucassel is a host on Sydney radio, where his ratings have caused concern. Chas Licciardello is something of a pundit on American politics.
Julian Morrow has emerged the battered loser from a four-year legal battle with a former friend and business partner. Chris Taylor partnered with Tim Minchin to write well-received comedy-drama Upright.
Lord Mayor Nick Reece at his swearing-in. Credit: Justin McManus
And now Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece has acquired a new speechwriter – none other than the Chaser’s Andrew Hansen.
Hansen was the one who could sing and play the piano and write funny songs. He parlayed this, with Taylor, into his most recent TV show, Australian Epic, which turned incidents from Australian history into musical numbers.
(Full disclosure, one of your columnists – the better-looking one – appeared in the episode about the Johnny Depp/Amber Heard/Barnaby Joyce customs importation scandal involving Yorkshire terriers Pistol and Boo. It’s our specialist subject.)
Not joking: Andrew Hansen.
For the swearing-in as Melbourne’s 105th lord mayor on Tuesday, Hansen wrote a speech for the former political staffer and Sky News presenter (yes it’s Reece we are talking about) which was sadly absent any jokes or song and dance numbers.
Of course, given Reece’s infamous zombie renderings incident in which AI renders from the Hassell architecture firm depicting Reece’s planned new parks were populated by zombies, in a political snafu that went viral, it could be said the lord mayor needs no assistance in coming up with his own jokes.
Guardianista departure
Another day, another high-profile departure from Guardian Australia’s rapidly shrinking Canberra bureau. This time, it’s veteran photographer Mike Bowers, who presents the popular Talking Pictures segment during the ABC’s Sunday morning political junkie power hour, Insiders.
Bowers, a press gallery stalwart who previously worked for this masthead, had been with The Guardian’s local operation since its inception in 2013. Nearly as soon as CBD began making inquiries about his departure, Guardian Australia editor Lenore Taylor sprang into action to alert staff to the news.
“I’m very sorry to let you know that Mike Bowers has decided to leave Guardian Australia to pursue his own photographic project,” she said in an internal memo.
The latest rumour around the press gallery was that the progressive media outlet, known for its austerity approach to staff entitlement, was cutting back on Sydney-based Bowers’ trips to Canberra for sitting weeks, leaning on wire pictures from Australian Associated Press instead. But Taylor was quick to dispel this in a statement to CBD.
“It was Mike’s decision to leave Guardian Australia and we are very sorry that he is going. He has done brilliant work for Guardian Australia for more than a decade,” she said.
“Your suggestion regarding use of AAP photographs is false. Had Mike stayed with us he would have continued the current practice of working in Canberra during most parliamentary sitting weeks.”
Glad that’s settled then. Bowers declined to comment.
Meanwhile, there’s been churn aplenty at The Guardian’s press gallery bureau since political editor Katharine Murphy jumped ship to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s media team in January. Murpharoo was replaced by The Saturday Paper’s Karen Middleton.
Since then, as reported by CBD, political live-blogger and writers’ festival favourite Amy Remeikis has defected to the Australia Institute. Foreign affairs and defence correspondent Daniel Hurst left soon after.
Boy band
If Tuesday night is anything to go by, silly season is in full swing. And it’s not even December. While the nation’s journalists were partying at the Walkley Awards in Sydney, one of the country’s most powerful lobby groups was flexing its muscles in the Great Hall of Parliament House.
The Pharmacy Guild, which plays the Canberra game as well as any, hosted 400 people, including about 70 MPs and senators at its annual dinner. Among them were Health Minister Mark Butler and his shadow counterpart, Anne Ruston; Nationals leader David Littleproud; Labor’s assistant health ministers Emma McBride and Ged Kearney; former deputy prime minister Michael McCormack; and the man with the big hat, Bob Katter.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke’s band kept the night rocking.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Relations between the guild and the Albanese government got particularly heated last year, as the lobby group declared war over Labor’s plan for 60-day medicine scripts. But after it gained an additional $3 billion from the government in a peace deal, hostilities seem to have eased.
So much so that on Tuesday, the event featured a performance from Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke’s dad-rock band, Left Right Out, featuring Labor MPs Matt Keogh, Pat Gorman, Mary Doyle and Graham Perrett.
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