Polls close in shock state election

Labor staffers could help change the nation. But there's a reason they're leaving

Sydney Morning Herald

9 hours ago

Sydney Morning Herald

Labor staffers could help change the nation. But there's a reason they're leaving

When old friends spot former Labor staffer Dean Sherr around Parliament House these days, they tend to say the same thing. 'In Canberra, people always say to me 'you look really relaxed',' Sherr says. Sherr left government last term, but in the months since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese secured a generational election victory and a sweeping mandate to change Australia, scores of senior Labor staff have followed him out of their jobs. Faced with a choice between helping to run the nation for three more years in a building that demands gruelling work hours, or a more stable life with less travel and vastly better pay, Labor lifers and recent recruits alike have decided to get out. 'It's a very difficult lifestyle for anyone to maintain,' says Sherr, who was a media adviser for Albanese and now works at boutique business consulting firm Orizontas. 'It's an amazing opportunity, but you make a lot of sacrifices and there's no doubt that it wears you out pretty quickly.' In past years, Coalition staff have done the same thing, capitalising on their ties to former colleagues still in government. The opposition's smaller ranks after the most recent election mean many staff have involuntarily lost their jobs too. But the recent departures from government show the flow to the private sector is bipartisan. When Katharine Murphy, a press gallery veteran and long-term political editor of the Guardian Australia joined Albanese's office as a press secretary last year, it appeared to be a coup for the prime minister's team. But in June, Murphy – who was well-liked by her former colleagues in the media – left her post with the government. Albanese also lost another high-profile recruit from the press gallery, former Channel Ten reporter Stela Todorovic. Other departures from the prime minister's office include advancer Prue Mercer, strategic communications director Katie Connolly, senior advisers Phoebe Drake and Lachlan McKenzie and media adviser Irene Oh. All up, more than 10 people left Albanese's team of around 50. Despite recent departures, the prime minister's office said a majority of staff across the government were female. The departures haven't been limited to the prime minister's office either. Penny Wong lost her long-term chief of staff Thomas Mooney – rumoured to have ambitions of a political career in South Australia – and media boss Caitlin Raper. Health Minister Mark Butler's chief of staff Nick Martin is gone. Brigid Delaney, a popular former Guardian columnist and co-creator of the hit Netflix series Wellmania, who has worked as a speechwriter for Labor frontbenchers Katy Gallagher and Tanya Plibersek, left to focus on her own media career. Plibersek's chief of staff Dan Doran has moved on, as has Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth's deputy chief of staff Lanai Scarr, a one-time political editor for the West Australian. 'This job is brutal,' said one former staffer, echoing numerous others who sometimes used more colourful language. One former senior staffer working in the corporate sector said that while working in politics, she would often pull 75- to 100-hour weeks. Life in the private sector is a comparative breeze. Those hours are consistent with working under both Labor and Coalition MPs. The 2021 Jenkins review into parliament's workplace culture found stressed and overworked employees were a risk factor for inappropriate behaviour and creating a toxic work environment. There have been several high-profile workplace cases in the years since, but the Albanese government has created an independent Parliamentary Workplace Support Service to assist staff and a parliamentary standards commission to confront bad behaviour by MPs. The former staffers mentioned in this piece either declined to comment or did not respond to a request for comment, but in either case there is no suggestion they were exposed to a toxic work culture. The long hours are often a product of ministers and staffers trying to manage the demands of politics, the media, and policy reform at the same time. Ryan Liddell, a former chief of staff to ex-Labor leader Bill Shorten, says the pressure to be constantly plugged in makes living a regular life challenging. 'As a staffer you normalise things like spending Christmas lunch on the phone to the boss while your family hands you beers,' says Liddell now running his own government relations firm Principle Advisory. 'You basically lose track of the weekends. On Sunday, you might wake up at 6.30am instead of 5.30am.' Little wonder then, that after an election period, people are taking stock of their lives, deciding they want to see their families, or go on holidays and figuring out an escape route. Quitting after the election also makes financial sense. Under the law for parliamentary staff, those who leave their jobs during an eight-week window after the election can walk away with a severance package five times what they'd otherwise get. It is 'life-changing' money, one former Labor staffer says. And life outside politics can be even more lucrative. Loading While some staffers are seeking to become members of parliament, many former aides instead find jobs in government relations, lobbying or public relations that often pay better than what the Commonwealth pays MPs, let alone staffers. A ministerial chief of staff in federal politics will generally earn around $250,000 a year, for example, with senior advisers taking home around $170,000. A government relations professional at a major corporation can earn over $320,000, several sources said on condition of anonymity to discuss their pay. In some sectors, that will also come with a range of perks unavailable to political staff: free private health insurance and gym membership, media subscriptions, travel and an entertainment budget to boot. Already, a few of the Albanese government's former staff have landed in high-profile corporate roles. Todorovic, the former Channel 10 journalist, began as local media director for PsiQuantum, the Silicon Valley quantum computing start-up that Labor has committed hundreds of millions to in loans and investment. After 14 years with Plibersek, Doran, her chief of staff, is headed to the Commonwealth Bank as general manager of government affairs. Liz Fitch, who quit as Albanese's press secretary last year, is now head of government affairs for Australia and New Zealand at Microsoft. Loading The ranks of Australia's major corporate players, from the big four banks, to Qantas, mining companies, and the like, are filled with people who have experience working on both sides of politics. Where former Labor staff see opportunities that match their skills, some integrity experts see a red flag. Chair of the Centre for Public Integrity, Anthony Whealy, describes lobbying and the flow of senior government and bureaucratic figures into the industry as a 'very nasty disease' that 'needs a good vaccination'. 'The government is not doing that well because it's falling into the habits that governments so often do, of complacency and then wanting to shut itself off from proper accountability and transparency. That's a worrying trend and I think it'll only get worse,' the former NSW Court of Appeal judge says. Former staffers dispute the notion of a neatly revolving door between politics and the private sector. Some, particularly those whose party has been thrust into opposition, can spend months finding work. 'Some staffers tend to have a bit of exceptionalism and think they'll automatically get a job by virtue of working for the PM,' one anonymous former Labor staffer says. In the end, staffers often stumble into the corporate world because it's the best offer outside of politics. Companies, especially those working in highly regulated environments, value ex-staffers' resilience and knowledge of the politico-media landscape. Loading And after years working in the pressure cooker of politics, staffers tend to be desperate for something lower stakes. 'In politics, if you miss something, or drop the ball, or make a mistake, it could be a scandal, it could be front page news, or get dredged up by the opposition,' says Sherr. Despite the horrendous hours and relentless pressure, everyone spoken to for this story described working in politics as an unforgettable honour, an emotional roller-coaster that can be become borderline addictive. 'You have some pretty amazing highs and some pretty horrific lows,' says Liddell, who left politics after Shorten's gutting 2019 election loss. Sherr says that while the opportunity to work for a Labor government was 'the job of a lifetime'. The accompanying lifestyle he can do without.

The Age

9 hours ago

The Age

Labor staffers could help change the nation. But there's a reason they're leaving

When old friends spot former Labor staffer Dean Sherr around Parliament House these days, they tend to say the same thing. 'In Canberra, people always say to me 'you look really relaxed',' Sherr says. Sherr left government last term, but in the months since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese secured a generational election victory and a sweeping mandate to change Australia, scores of senior Labor staff have followed him out of their jobs. Faced with a choice between helping to run the nation for three more years in a building that demands gruelling work hours, or a more stable life with less travel and vastly better pay, Labor lifers and recent recruits alike have decided to get out. 'It's a very difficult lifestyle for anyone to maintain,' says Sherr, who was a media adviser for Albanese and now works at boutique business consulting firm Orizontas. 'It's an amazing opportunity, but you make a lot of sacrifices and there's no doubt that it wears you out pretty quickly.' In past years, Coalition staff have done the same thing, capitalising on their ties to former colleagues still in government. The opposition's smaller ranks after the most recent election mean many staff have involuntarily lost their jobs too. But the recent departures from government show the flow to the private sector is bipartisan. When Katharine Murphy, a press gallery veteran and long-term political editor of the Guardian Australia joined Albanese's office as a press secretary last year, it appeared to be a coup for the prime minister's team. But in June, Murphy – who was well-liked by her former colleagues in the media – left her post with the government. Albanese also lost another high-profile recruit from the press gallery, former Channel Ten reporter Stela Todorovic. Other departures from the prime minister's office include advancer Prue Mercer, strategic communications director Katie Connolly, senior advisers Phoebe Drake and Lachlan McKenzie and media adviser Irene Oh. All up, more than 10 people left Albanese's team of around 50. Despite recent departures, the prime minister's office said a majority of staff across the government were female. The departures haven't been limited to the prime minister's office either. Penny Wong lost her long-term chief of staff Thomas Mooney – rumoured to have ambitions of a political career in South Australia – and media boss Caitlin Raper. Health Minister Mark Butler's chief of staff Nick Martin is gone. Brigid Delaney, a popular former Guardian columnist and co-creator of the hit Netflix series Wellmania, who has worked as a speechwriter for Labor frontbenchers Katy Gallagher and Tanya Plibersek, left to focus on her own media career. Plibersek's chief of staff Dan Doran has moved on, as has Employment Minister Amanda Rishworth's deputy chief of staff Lanai Scarr, a one-time political editor for the West Australian. 'This job is brutal,' said one former staffer, echoing numerous others who sometimes used more colourful language. One former senior staffer working in the corporate sector said that while working in politics, she would often pull 75- to 100-hour weeks. Life in the private sector is a comparative breeze. Those hours are consistent with working under both Labor and Coalition MPs. The 2021 Jenkins review into parliament's workplace culture found stressed and overworked employees were a risk factor for inappropriate behaviour and creating a toxic work environment. There have been several high-profile workplace cases in the years since, but the Albanese government has created an independent Parliamentary Workplace Support Service to assist staff and a parliamentary standards commission to confront bad behaviour by MPs. The former staffers mentioned in this piece either declined to comment or did not respond to a request for comment, but in either case there is no suggestion they were exposed to a toxic work culture. The long hours are often a product of ministers and staffers trying to manage the demands of politics, the media, and policy reform at the same time. Ryan Liddell, a former chief of staff to ex-Labor leader Bill Shorten, says the pressure to be constantly plugged in makes living a regular life challenging. 'As a staffer you normalise things like spending Christmas lunch on the phone to the boss while your family hands you beers,' says Liddell now running his own government relations firm Principle Advisory. 'You basically lose track of the weekends. On Sunday, you might wake up at 6.30am instead of 5.30am.' Little wonder then, that after an election period, people are taking stock of their lives, deciding they want to see their families, or go on holidays and figuring out an escape route. Quitting after the election also makes financial sense. Under the law for parliamentary staff, those who leave their jobs during an eight-week window after the election can walk away with a severance package five times what they'd otherwise get. It is 'life-changing' money, one former Labor staffer says. And life outside politics can be even more lucrative. Loading While some staffers are seeking to become members of parliament, many former aides instead find jobs in government relations, lobbying or public relations that often pay better than what the Commonwealth pays MPs, let alone staffers. A ministerial chief of staff in federal politics will generally earn around $250,000 a year, for example, with senior advisers taking home around $170,000. A government relations professional at a major corporation can earn over $320,000, several sources said on condition of anonymity to discuss their pay. In some sectors, that will also come with a range of perks unavailable to political staff: free private health insurance and gym membership, media subscriptions, travel and an entertainment budget to boot. Already, a few of the Albanese government's former staff have landed in high-profile corporate roles. Todorovic, the former Channel 10 journalist, began as local media director for PsiQuantum, the Silicon Valley quantum computing start-up that Labor has committed hundreds of millions to in loans and investment. After 14 years with Plibersek, Doran, her chief of staff, is headed to the Commonwealth Bank as general manager of government affairs. Liz Fitch, who quit as Albanese's press secretary last year, is now head of government affairs for Australia and New Zealand at Microsoft. Loading The ranks of Australia's major corporate players, from the big four banks, to Qantas, mining companies, and the like, are filled with people who have experience working on both sides of politics. Where former Labor staff see opportunities that match their skills, some integrity experts see a red flag. Chair of the Centre for Public Integrity, Anthony Whealy, describes lobbying and the flow of senior government and bureaucratic figures into the industry as a 'very nasty disease' that 'needs a good vaccination'. 'The government is not doing that well because it's falling into the habits that governments so often do, of complacency and then wanting to shut itself off from proper accountability and transparency. That's a worrying trend and I think it'll only get worse,' the former NSW Court of Appeal judge says. Former staffers dispute the notion of a neatly revolving door between politics and the private sector. Some, particularly those whose party has been thrust into opposition, can spend months finding work. 'Some staffers tend to have a bit of exceptionalism and think they'll automatically get a job by virtue of working for the PM,' one anonymous former Labor staffer says. In the end, staffers often stumble into the corporate world because it's the best offer outside of politics. Companies, especially those working in highly regulated environments, value ex-staffers' resilience and knowledge of the politico-media landscape. Loading And after years working in the pressure cooker of politics, staffers tend to be desperate for something lower stakes. 'In politics, if you miss something, or drop the ball, or make a mistake, it could be a scandal, it could be front page news, or get dredged up by the opposition,' says Sherr. Despite the horrendous hours and relentless pressure, everyone spoken to for this story described working in politics as an unforgettable honour, an emotional roller-coaster that can be become borderline addictive. 'You have some pretty amazing highs and some pretty horrific lows,' says Liddell, who left politics after Shorten's gutting 2019 election loss. Sherr says that while the opportunity to work for a Labor government was 'the job of a lifetime'. The accompanying lifestyle he can do without.

Sarah Ferguson refuses to 'accept' Barnaby Joyce's net zero claim as she dominates interview with ex Nationals leader, as the AFR gets the White Australia policy badly wrong

Sky News AU

9 hours ago

Sky News AU

Sarah Ferguson refuses to 'accept' Barnaby Joyce's net zero claim as she dominates interview with ex Nationals leader, as the AFR gets the White Australia policy badly wrong

Read Gerard Henderson's Media Watch Dog column every Saturday morning on THE LATEST Here's how Laura Tingle, the ABC's recently-appointed Global Affairs Editor appeared on ABC TV News on Thursday 17 July. La Tingle appears to be standing in front of a photo of Gaza but there is no indication of her location. Could it be the ABC HQ in Sydney's inner-city Ultimo. You be the judge. And here's what the Global Affairs editor declared: Laura Tingle: Man made, mass starvation is considered a crime against humanity. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: The large proportion of the population of Gaza is starving. I don't know what you would call it, other than mass starvation, and it's man made. Laura Tingle: The World Health Organisation says the man-made cause is the aid blockade imposed by Israel. Episodes of man-made mass starvation are more normally associated with war torn Africa or the actions of totalitarian regimes. In Gaza, the death toll from malnutrition so far stands at 111 according to the Hamas run health ministry, still only a tiny part of the 59,000 Palestinians that it says have been killed. Note that Laura Tingle did not distinguish between the combatants and civilians among the Hamas claim of 59,000 Palestinians that the Hamas-run health ministry says have been killed. Did anyone notice this piece in today's Financial Review Rear Window column under the heading 'Latham's Lemmings still prominent in Labor'? The Labor caucus spent the early part of its week talking about Mark Latham. Or to put it another way: after two months off work and a stonking electoral mandate, Anthony Albanese's team couldn't find anything better to do than talk about themselves. Are they being serious? They resolved to condemn the seedy revelations and allegations involving their former federal leader by adding a small plaque next to his portrait in their caucus room. 'In 2017 Mark Latham was expelled from the Australian Labor Party and banned for life,' the plaque is reported to read. 'His actions do not accord with Labor values and fail to meet the standards we expect and demand.' As an expression of triteness it is total. They could have left the portrait up, saying nothing (and upsetting some people), or simply removed it (angering others). But they came up with a special third thing for what? Their own feelings? It's the equivalent of Disney putting a sensitivity warning before Aladdin to insist the cartoon portrayals of Arabs are out-of-date with modern standards. And the architect of the racist White Australia policy, Arthur Calwell, has his mug up a few frames down from Latham. Where's his plaque? To be fair to former Labor leader Arthur Calwell [Why bother? - MWD Editor], the White Australia Policy came into effect with the passing of the Immigration Restriction Act 1901. Calwell was born in 1896. He was not the architect of White Australia. CAN YOU BEAR IT? First up, some GOOD NEWS. As anticipated in Media Watch Dog last week, Annabel ('I love reporting The Lobster Wars') Crabb has replaced Laura Tingle as ABC Radio National's Late Night Live commentator on Australian national politics. How is this good news? – MWD hears avid readers cry. Well, Comrade Crabb is likely to provide great copy for Ellie's (male) co-owner. As she did last week with her (frightfully interesting) account of The Lobster Wars. As avid readers know, Late Night Live (aka Late Night Left) is an example of the taxpayer funded public broadcaster's lack of viewpoint diversity. After all, the left-of-centre Annabel Crabb reports on Australian national politics, the left-of-centre Bruce Shapiro reports on United States politics, the left-of-centre Ian Dunt reports on British politics and the left-of-centre David Marr is LNL's presenter. Not a conservative among this lot. But MWD digresses. On Monday July 21, among other topics, the decision of the Labor Party caucus to leave Mark Latham's photo on its collection of Labor Party leaders from John Watson to Bill Shorten on the Caucus wall. Anthony Albanese's pic will go up when he is no longer Labor Party leader. Mark Latham's pic will have the following message attached to it: In 2017 Mark Latham was expelled from the Australian Labor Party and banned for life. His actions do not accord with Labor values and failed to meet the standards we expect and demand. Correct MWD if it is wrong. However, Hendo seems to recall that Mark Latham was expelled from the Labor Party in 2017 because he joined the Liberal Democratic Party – and not for bad behaviour. In which case, it is odd that the portrait of Billy Hughes is still on the Caucus wall without a message – since he was expelled from the Labor Party in 1916 for supporting conscription and joined National Labor which later became the Nationalist Party. Ever since, Billy Hughes has been regarded as a 'Labor rat'- he even features in the essay titled 'Rats' by the late John Iremonger in the edition collection by John Faulkner and Stuart Macintyre titled True Believers (Allen & Unwin, 2001). The matter was discussed on Late Night Live where the following exchange took place: Annabel Crabb: His [Latham's] photograph is up in the Caucus room. And today it was resolved that they wouldn't tear it down, they would instead – David Marr: But surely, surely a sensible decision. I mean, it should be there as a warning. Annabel Crabb: Well, I think it would have been a strange thing to turn it around or take it down. Or, you know, replace it with a hand-drawn facsimile. They've decided to add a contextualising note – David Marr: [Laughs] Oh no, saying what? Annabel Crabb: Saying that "this man was the leader of our party, and we've now established that he no longer resembles or personifies anything that we like, but we can't deny history" - it was something like that. Anyway, Mark Latham, then, I think, as is his wont, responded via the X app and said, "Oh, why don't they just go the full Stalin and then white me out with a trace around my head". It's hard to deny history, isn't it? David Marr: It is, and it's and it's hard not to applaud the Australian people who took a look at him and decided, 'no'. Annabel Crabb: Okay, well, look, it's interesting, because the 2004 election campaign, as you remember, you know, there was in the year or two preceding a real, like, a significant expectation that Mark Latham and the Labor Party would overpower John Howard at that election. And I think you know, John Howard was pretty nervous about that too… How about that? Here is Comrade Marr praising the good people of Australia for voting for the Coalition and John Howard over Mark Latham and Labor in October 2004. However, does anyone believe that Comrade Marr said 'No' to Latham and voted for a return of the Howard government in 2004? And, in case the answer is no – here's another question: Can You Bear It? Photographer Mike Bowers, who presents ABC TV Insiders' 'Talking Pictures' segment on Sundays, recently moved from the left-wing Guardian Australia online newspaper to the left-wing New Daily online newspaper. As is befitting for someone who is on the payroll of the ABC Soviet. Which, as the name suggests, is a Conservative Free Zone. On Sunday 20 July, Comrade Bowers ended his 'Talking Pictures' segment with writer Melina Wicks by discussing the Federal Court's recent decision about whether Australia owes a duty of care to Torres Strait Islanders with respect to global-warming and all that. Your man Bowers focused on three cartoons by: The Guardian Australia's Fiona Katauskas All three cartoonists – plus Comrade Bowers and Comrade Wicks – accept the view that Australia, which produces one per cent of global emissions, can determine sea levels around the Torres Strait Islands. How ignorant can cartoonists and those who comment on them get? Moreover, Can You Bear It? On 7.30 this week Sarah Ferguson interviewed Nationals backbencher Barnaby Joyce. He wanted to talk about net zero emissions by 2050. She wanted to talk about the Nationals leadership. Ferguson took up 40 per cent of the interview time and interrupted Joyce no fewer than 20 occasions. Here's how the interview ended: Barnaby Joyce: To the lady who can't afford her power, to the farmer who has been decimated with a massive intrusion, an almost socialist intrusion, with areas with helicopters and planes and security guards going to places, with the people in small businesses who say I just can't afford to do this anymore, it's idiotic. And for the fact that this will have no effect on the climate whatsoever. What is the point of that [Net Zero 2050] folly? Sarah Ferguson: Barnaby Joyce, not accepting your point about folly, but moving on. Thank you very much indeed. Barnaby Joyce: Absolute pleasure, Sarah. Sarah Ferguson: I want to change the tone very slightly here because we are used to politicians appearing to be thick skinned. The execution of power demands it and I should say this is not a reflection on Barnaby Joyce. I wanted to change the tone because tonight we'll see a slightly different side of Education Minister Jason Clare… How about that? First, who cares whether Ferguson accepts Joyce's comments that net zero is a folly. Second, Ferguson appears to blame Joyce for the fact that she interrupted him. Can You Bear It? THE MONTHLY CLAIMS THAT NOBODY LIKES RICHARD MARLES BUT THEN NAMES ONE OF HIS 'OLD MATES' The print edition of The Monthly (publisher Morry Schwartz, chief executive and editor-in-chief Erik Jensen, editor Michael Williams) arrived with a bang on Ellie's kennel on the morning of 24 July. The magazine is so very inner-city Collingwood, in a Melbourne sort of way. It is written of the inner-city left, by the inner-city left and for the inner-city left (to distort an Abraham Lincoln comment). The cover of the August 2025 issue is red print on a darkish blue background – which makes it difficult to read close up and impossible from a distance. On close analysis it declares, ' The Monthly: 20 years of Australia's best magazine'. What does this mean? – Media Watch Dog hears readers cry. Who knows? Inside there are posed photos of two occasional contributors. The following comment is attributed to Sean Kelly: 'You know every issue what you're going to get, and at the same time every issue surprises you'. Clever, eh? But what does that mean? Next page there is a pic of Sarah Krasnostein who declares, '…a space for us to look at something with fresh eyes'. But how is this consistent with Comrade Kelly's claim that you know in every issue what you're going to get since no one needs fresh eyes for such a task? Who knows? Who cares? Returning to the cover, the almost unreadable cover story heading 'Nobody likes Richard Marles (so how did he get so powerful?) by Martin McKenzie-Murray'. Inside, the cover story occupies ten pages of photos and script. The Hyphenated-Name Guy concluded his latest rant against No-Friends-Marles with a reference to his 'old mate Bill'. That is, former Labor Party leader Bill Shorten. Hang on a minute. How can a man 'nobody likes' have an 'old mate'? Over to you Comrades Jensen and Williams. Meanwhile, Can You Bear It? [Good point that you mentioned the Hyphenated Name Set (to borrow Paul Keating's term). Once upon a time they were the preserve of the wealthy Protestant Establishment who belonged to the Melbourne Club. Now, hyphenated names are replete among the inner-city left and rife within the Greens (e.g. Max Chandler-Mather) and Climate 200 financed Teals (e.g. Simon Holmes à Court). – MWD Editor.] There was enormous interest in last week's Media Watch Dog which mentioned comments linking Jillian Segal, the Special Envoy on Anti-Semitism, with the fact that her husband was a director of a company that gave $50,000 to the Advance organisation. They were made, respectively, by Olivia Ireland in the Sydney Morning Herald and Sarah Ferguson on ABC TV's 7.30. MWD commented that, in 2025, it was surprising to find left-of-centre types implying that somehow women are responsible for the actions of their husbands. How surprising to find, then, that La Trobe University Emeritus Professor Robert Manne ran the very same line in his essay 'The wrong way to respond to anti-semitism'. It was published in the 18 July 2025 issue of Inside Story . Here's what he had to say: As we have recently discovered because of the investigative journalism of the independent online media platform, the Klaxon , the man to whom Jillian Segal is married is the partner with his brother of a trust that in 2023 and 2024 donated $50,000 to 'Advance', the most significant mainstream far right movement in Australia, that led the campaign against the indigenous Voice to Parliament and that has described Prime Minister Albanese as 'weak, woke and broke'. Taking cover behind political correctness, Segal has claimed she had nothing to do with her husband's political activities or he with hers, and that it was outrageous to suggest otherwise…. How about that? The oh so intellectually fashionable Robert Manne of La Trobe University has accused Ms Segal of 'taking cover behind political correctness' to justify his attempt to discredit Ms Segal by implying that she is not independent of her husband. Can You Bear It? [No. Not really. But it is very nasty – as befits Manne's style. MWD readers should check out Gerard Henderson's review of Robert Manne's A Political Memoir which is published in the current issue of The Sydney Institute Review Online . – MWD Editor.] AN ABC UPDATE IT'S OFF TO NANCY'S COURTESY CLASSES FOR DAVID MARR FAVE IAN DUNT Here's a reminder to the ABC's new management. MWD is looking at you Kim Williams (chairman) and you Hugh Marks (managing director and editor-in-chief). The late Nancy (2002-2017) may have died [perhaps you should write 'passed' MWD Editor]. But her Courtesy Classes live on. With the help of the American psychic John Edward who can communicate with RIP types who are on the Other Side (so to speak). Media Watch Dog's proposal is that the British journalist Ian Dunt (who has a regular slot on David Marr's Late Night Live program on Radio National every second Tuesday) should get some courtesy training from Nancy via your man Edward. As avid readers know, Late Night Live (aka Late Night Left) only has left-of-centre regular commentators. Comrade Annabel Crabb on Australia, Comrade Bruce Shapiro on the United States and Comrade Ian Dunt on Britain. On Wednesday 23 July, your man Dunt ran predictable left-wing lines on Israel/Gaza, climate change and unlawful immigration. Or something like that. However, he missed the big story of the week – namely Britain's mishandling of Afghans who apparently supported British forces in Afghanistan and sought refuge in Britain. But MWD digresses, yet again. Let's go to the transcript to examine how Comrade Dunt references the Brits whom he does not like. According to The I Paper columnist, Dunt, Suella Braverman (the former Conservative Home Secretary) is a 'sort of walking psychological breakdown'. columnist, Dunt, Suella Braverman (the former Conservative Home Secretary) is a 'sort of walking psychological breakdown'. According to your man Dunt, Kemi Badenoch is 'the leader of the Conservative Party, at least for the next 24 hours'. According to Comrade Dunt, former Conservative prime minister Boris Johnson was a 'dreadful reactionary nightmare'. This is not political analysis. It's just political abuse. Ian Dunt – off to Nancy's Courtesy Classes for you. OUTSIDE INSIDERS As avid readers are well aware, a certain William (Bill) Thompson – a Melburnian who identifies as the ABC's Southbank Correspondent – set up the 'Outside Insiders ' video segment some years ago. This is a print edition of the Bill Thompson initiative to report on the ABC TV Insiders program from the outside. Insiders fled Melbourne for the (media) safety of the Canberra Bubble in 2020 and, consequently, was now loosed from the troublesome Mr Thompson. IN WHICH KATRINA CURTIS LOOKS DOWN ON FOX NEWS & DAVID SPEERS ACCUSES THOSE WITH WHOM HE DISAGREES AS DISCRIMINATING It's Media Watch Dog's melancholy duty to record that Mark ('Please call me professor') Kenny was not on ABC TV's Insiders last Sunday. Comrade Kenny is a MWD fave on account of the fact that he provides such great copy. The previous issue of MWD drew attention to the learned professor's howler about the composition of the Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Board. And then this was his live-to-air somersault as to whether he favours a one-state solution for Israel (entailing the demise of Israel as we know it) or a two-state solution (in which Israel would exist alongside a Palestinian State). Comrade Kenny, after a 10-minute assessment, ended up with a two-state solution. Well done, professor. However, even without the Kenny contribution, there were some Insiders highlights on Sunday 20 July. Let's go to the transcripts. Katrina Curtis ( The West Australian's Canberra bureau chief) said this about Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth: 'He's not a policy guy; he's a Fox News Weekend host'. Somewhat snobbish, don't you think? After all, Hegseth is a Princeton University graduate who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan. His awards include the Bronze Star Medal. Hegseth is also the author of five books – which in MWD's count, is five more than Comrade Curtis' output. Moreover, Fox News hosts are not without talent. Then presenter David ('Please call me Speersy') Speers interviewed the Coalition's Jonno Duniam about what Speersy called 'transgender girls participating in female school sport'. This is a reference to a person born a biological male who transitions to female. This is a controversial issue since persons born male have certain physical advantages as to size and strength due to being born male. The following exchange took place: David Speers: Do you have any problem, as some of your colleagues do, with transgender girls participating in female school sport? Jonno Duniam: Well, of course, we need to have an adult debate about these things. It's not one that's been raised with me since the election. David Speers: What's your view? Jonno Duniam: But in terms of transgender girls, I honestly believe that girl sports should be for girls, boy sports for boys, and if you have a mixed grouping, then that's something you can arrange by competition or in a school arrangement. David Speers: What does that mean for transgender kids? Jonno Duniam: Well then, if transgender kids are part of a school environment where they are offering sports, then that would be up to that individual school. I know that there are certain schools, even in my own home state of Tasmania, that make provision for transgender children, and that's a matter for them. David Speers: So, each school should be able to discriminate. Jonno Duniam: Each school should be able to set up arrangements, I think, that suit their school community. So, there you have it. According to David Speers, any school or parent/grandparent or female-born girls playing sport are into discrimination if, for reasons of physical safety and competitive fairness, they believe that only female-born sports people should participate in female team sports. That's somewhat judgmental. Even for a presenter at the taxpayer-funded public broadcaster which is a Conservative Free Zone. One does not have to be into discrimination to oppose transgender girls/women participating against individuals who are born female. Even if you work at the ABC. THE ABC/AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE ENTENTE As Media Watch Dog readers know, this blog has been monitoring the ABC/Guardian Axis and the ABC/Australia Institute Entente. That is, the ready access that journalists from the left-wing The Guardian Australia and political operatives from the avowedly leftist Australia Institute (which is based in the Canberra Bubble) get on the ABC. Meanwhile, political operatives from the conservative Institute of Public Affairs in Melbourne, Robert Menzies Institute in Melbourne and the Menzies Centre in Sydney have been de-platformed by the taxpayer funded public broadcaster. [Don't you mean censored? MWD Editor.] AMY REMEIKIS' CRYSTAL BALL FAILS TO FORESEE THE OUTCOME OF THE TASMANIAN ELECTION There was enormous interest in this segment in the previous MWD . The focus was on Emma Shortis – the director of The Australia Institute's International and Security Affairs Program. Dr Shortis (for a doctor she is) is also an Adjunct Senior Fellow at RMIT University, where she is presented as 'a historian who focuses on US and global environmental politics'. In view of this, it is surprising that – as pointed out in last week's issue – a historian of the United States believes that 'the war in Vietnam…was a war that the United States started'. What a load of absolute tosh. The Vietnam War began in 1954 when communist North Vietnam commenced its aim to conquer non-communist South Vietnam. The US sent combat forces to South Vietnam in early 1965 – over a decade later. [Pardon me for a minute. Perhaps there is a typo involved here. Could Comrade Shortis hold the position of 'A Junk Professor' at RMIT University? Just a thought. – MWD Editor.] But MWD digresses. An avid reader has reminded Ellie's (male) co-owner that he had overlooked Amy Remeikis' recent appearance doing its 'Newspapers' segment on ABC TV's News Breakfast . The date was Thursday 17 July – it saw the ABC-Australia Institute entente in action once again. As readers may recall, Comrade Remeikis is a MWD fave. When she was a wage-slave at The Guardian Australia (editor Lenore Taylor), Ellie's (male) co-owner ran a campaign for her to receive a wage increase from the socialist online newspaper which is known to pay low salaries to its toilers. But, alas, without success. In the event, Ms Remeikis decamped from the socialist Guardian Australia to The Australia Institute (also socialist) where she is the leftist hang out's chief political analyst. Hendo hopes that, in this capacity, Comrade Remeikis will soon appear again on the ABC TV's Insiders' panel. Her last gig was documented in MWD on 28 March 2025. As to her News Breakfast appearance on 17 July, The Australia Institute's political analyst was asked about (i) declining birthrates in Australia, (ii) Prime Minister Albanese's visit to China, and (iii) the Tasmanian leaders' debate in the lead-up to last Saturday's Tasmanian state election. Let's go to the transcript for the final comment: Amy Remeikis: …I think also just when you've got leaders who are on the same side of things like the salmon industry and what's happening with energy and even the [proposed Australian Football League] stadium – things start to look a little bit the same. So I think that Tasmania might throw up a few surprises in its results. It seems that Comrade Remeikis' crystal ball needs cleaning. It is unclear what the final outcome of the Tasmanian election will be. But there were no real surprises. The vote in July 2025 was much the same as the last Tasmanian state election in March 2024. That's the problem with predictions – as the saying goes, it's unwise to make them about the future. LEADING MEDIA QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK – STEP FORWARD SALLY SARA Due to enormous popular demand, MWD has decided, once again, to give out the occasional award for Leading Media Question of the Week. And the winner is Sally Sara. On Radio National Breakfast on Tuesday 22 July, Sally Sara – who has returned from her holiday which journalists like to call a W.E.B. or Well Earned Break – asked this question of Finance Minister Katy Gallagher: Sally Sara: Does the government believe that genocide is now unfolding in Gaza? Katy Gallagher : Well, again, our position is that we want to see, you know, seeing innocent lives that are being lost stop. We want the conflict to end. We want aid to get through. We want the international effort to be on ending this conflict. And when I talk to Australian people, that is what they're concerned about. They're concerned about the immediate situation in the Middle East, and they want that to change. Soon after, Ms Sara asked much the same question to Professor Michael Lynk, former UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories, and Associate Professor in Law at Western University in London, Ontario. Sally Sara: Does the government believe that genocide is now unfolding in Gaza? Michael Lynk: I do Enough said. A HUGH WHITE MOMENT (WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM ALLAN BEHM) As avid Media Watch Dog readers know, The (Boring) Saturday Paper is just, so, well, boring. But not so boring as eavesdropping on a 'conversation' between Hugh White and Allan Behm at The Australian Institute. The occasion was an event recorded by ABC Radio National's Big Ideas program which went to air for 52 minutes on 30 June 2025. [Strange that – it seemed like 252 minutes – MWD Editor] Allan Behm is senior adviser, International and Strategic, The Australia Institute and Hugh White is Emeritus Professor of Strategic Studies at the ANU. He is also the author of the recently published Quarterly Essay 'Hard New World: Our Post American Future' published by Morry Schwartz's Black Inc, editor-in-chief Eric Jensen. As MWD recalls, your man White has written as many Quarterly Essays as there are quarters – maybe more. And he essentially writes about the same topic, i.e. the rise of China and the decline of the United States. You have to admire Comrade White. He keeps banging on about the same topic – in spite of the fact that he is no Nostradamus. In that White prophesies are invariably of the false kind. As documented in MWD of 6 June 2025, your man White is consistent – as in consistently wrong. In March 2005, he said that 'we may face … a naval battle this year … between the US and Chinese navies'. Then he predicted a US/Japan v China war in 2013. Then he predicted war in our region in late 2014/early 2015. And so on. But even as a False Prophet, your man White can still draw a crowd at the leftist Australia Institute in Canberra – especially when in conversation with Comrade Behm. By the way, the occasion was presented on the taxpayer funded public broadcaster by Natasha Mitchell. It all started off with Behm declaring that White's latest Quarterly Essay was 'fantastic' and a 'really wonderful book'. Soon after, White declared that it was 'absolutely astonishing that Donald Trump should have not once, but twice ascended to the presidency of the United States'. White soon referred to the United States president as 'this bloke'. Behm then declared that he had attended the Defence Minister's speech at the Australian Defence Conference but 'didn't understand it'. Then White referred to President Trump as 'this guy'. Then Behm referred to 'Morgenthau' – but did not say who he was. And then White commenced an all but incomprehensible coverage of the world. There was reference to the 'European hegemon' (whatever that might be) as well as to 'global hegemony'. Then White threw the switch to an 'etymological analogy' (whatever that might be) and declared that he was 'bullish on China'. A hold-the-front-page occasion if ever there was one. Then Behm threw the switch to flattery declaring: 'I love your poetry Hugh – the caterpillar turning into a butterfly – Europe could just as equally be called a maggot into a blowfly.' Groan. Then there was, yet, more. Your man Behm had this to say: Allan Behm: I want to, Hugh, first of all, congratulate you for mentioning Graham Allison in your book without mentioning Thucydides. That's a very difficult thing to do, and congratulations. I admire it enormously. It took me a little while, about 15 years ago, to retranslate Thucydides for Graham Allison, and he's never acknowledged my email. See there are disappointments for people who work in the Department of Defence, I can tell you that. Hugh, I want to go a little bit further to some really creative wordsmithing that is right bang in the middle of your essay. What was he on about? Or, perhaps, the better question is 'What was he on?' There was another reference to Thucydides and J F. Kennedy and Sir James Plimsoll and hegemonic challenge and the Nietzschean anaesthetic. Then White concluded by saying that Australia should 'not go to war with Taiwan'. Good advice perhaps – but some Australians might prefer a punch-up with China than listening to the verbal sludge of Comrade White. Verily a Hugh White moment (with a little help from Allan Behm). DOCUMENTATION AN UPDATE ON SARAH FERGUSON'S 'STORY OF THE CENTURY' In June 2018 Sarah Ferguson presented a three-part Four Corners report titled Trump/Russia. At the beginning of the first episode, Ferguson described the alleged Trump-Russia connection as the 'story of the century'. So important was this story that it necessitated Ms Ferguson flying around the world (at the taxpayers' expense), travelling to New York, London and even Moscow. The star of the program was one James Clapper, former President Obama's appointee as Director of National Intelligence. Clapper breathlessly informed the ABC audience that the alleged conspiracy by Russia to throw the 2016 election to President Trump made the Watergate controversy, which brought down President Nixon, pale by comparison. The Four Corners 'story of the century' has not aged well. In March 2019, special counsel Robert Mueller submitted his much-anticipated Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election. When the report was released in April 2019 it was greeted by dismay from Trump-haters, who were shocked to learn that Mueller concluded there was no proof of conspiracy or coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia. As MWD helpfully pointed out at the time, the ABC could have saved a bunch of (taxpayer) money if they had only waited for the Mueller report. It has also since been revealed that in 2017 James Clapper told the House Intelligence Committee that he had never seen any direct evidence of a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia. This evidence was given under oath, unlike his later interview with Sarah Ferguson where Clapper said the opposite. The allegations of a Trump-Russia conspiracy in 2016 have returned to the news in recent days, though not in the way that Sarah Ferguson or James Clapper might have hoped. Tulsi Gabbard, who now sits in Clapper's old job as Director of National Intelligence, has alleged The White House under former President Barack Obama directed US intelligence services to manufacture evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Gabbard's office has released intelligence assessments and internal emails from the final months of the Obama presidency. She claims that these documents show the Obama administration put pressure on intelligence services to reach the conclusion that President Trump's campaign had received help from Russia. Gabbard and President Trump have gone so far as to accuse former President Obama of treason, and Trump posted an AI-created video of Obama being arrested and imprisoned. Former President Obama's office dismissed the allegations as 'outrageous' and 'bizarre'. Don't hold your breath waiting for the ABC to cover this new scandal as the very latest 'story of the century'. Ferguson, who was rewarded for her flawed Four Corners reporting with the coveted job of 7.30 presenter, is unlikely to fly around the world seeking proof of Barack Obama's alleged treason. And Tulsi Gabbard is not going to receive a multi-week opportunity to push her claims on the Australian taxpayer-funded public broadcaster like her predecessor James Clapper. [For a more in-depth analysis of Four Corners' Trump/Russia story see the 'An ABC Update' section of MWD Issue 454 – MWD Editor] HISTORY CORNER A BOLT FROM THE PAST – IN WHICH AN ESTONIAN AUSTRALIAN WOMAN SAID THAT PRIME MINISTER GOUGH WHITLAM CALLED HER 'A BLOODY NAZI BITCH' Thanks to the avid Potts Point reader who drew Media Watch Dog's attention to a post on X by Yuan Zi Zhu concerning the one-time Labor prime minister Gough Whitlam. As avid MWD readers are certain to know, on 1 August 1974 the Whitlam government recognised de jure the incorporation of the Baltic States – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – into the Soviet Union. Sir James Plimsoll was Australia's ambassador to the Soviet Union at the time. In 1940, the Baltic States were invaded by the Soviet Union – under the leadership of communist totalitarian dictator Josef Stalin – as part of Stalin's deal with Adolf Hitler in September 1939. This is referred to as the Nazi-Soviet Pact or the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. Under the pact, Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west and the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east and also acquired the Baltic States. Around this time, some Balts sought refuge in Australia. On 22 November 1974, Prime Minister Whitlam addressed a Queensland State election rally at Brisbane's King George Square. This is how the Sydney Morning Herald reported the occasion: Brisbane, Friday - A woman stood before 2,000 people in King George Square yesterday and accused the Prime Minister of calling her 'a bloody Nazi bitch'. The woman, Estonian-born Mrs Tina Taemets of Brisbane had a front seat at Mr Whitlam's rally and held aloft a placard denouncing Australia's recognition of Soviet sovereignty over the Baltic States. When someone pulled it down and ripped it, she picked up the placard, mounted the platform and handed it to Whitlam saying, 'With the compliments of the Baltic nations.' Accepting the placard, Mr Whitlam said something quietly to her. Ms Taemets turned to the crowd and called: 'Do you know what he called me? He called me a bloody Nazi bitch.' A Labor Party official took her down the steps and pushed her back into the crowd. Members of Mr Whitlam's party on the platform were unable to hear what he had said. But they expressed confidence that he had not used the words quoted by Mrs Taemets. Mr Whitlam would not comment. The Age carried a story by John Jost on the same incident on 23 November 1974. He reported that Gough Whitlam had denied in Townsville that he used the words 'bloody Nazi bitch' to Mrs Tina Taemets. Jost reported Whitlam as saying, 'I never speak to ladies like that; the poor lady was a little hysterical'. Just a hysterical poor lady, you see. However, Mr Whitlam did not make the 'bloody Nazi bitch' denial immediately in Brisbane – it came several hours later in Townsville. It would seem that Gough Whitlam had a thing about anti-communist Balts. As former Whitlam cabinet member Clyde Cameron wrote in his book China, Communism and Coca-Cola, Whitlam told Foreign Minister Don Willesee in Cameron's presence in April 1975 that he was 'not having hundreds of f-cking Vietnamese Balts coming into this country with their religious and political hatreds against us!'. So, clearly circa late 1974 Whitlam did not like anti-communists like Mrs Taemets. MWD has been sent this photo of Mr Whitlam's encounter with Mrs Taemets at Brisbane's King George Square on 22 November 1974. Please advise if you – avid readers – are aware in what newspaper this photo was published. [Interesting. As I recall, Malcolm Fraser's government abandoned Australia's de jure recognition of the Soviet Union's incorporation of the Baltic States soon after becoming prime minister in late 1975. – MWD Editor.] **** Until Next Time. ****

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