8 hours ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Pie chucker John Howard on his biggest regret
In the plush surrounds of Sydney's Intercontinental Hotel last week, John Howard was feeling candid.
The former prime minister was the star attraction at a VIP dinner for business leaders organised by an outfit called TACTIC. Who? Well, the firm describes itself as 'Australia's end to end workplace partner', and as far as we can tell, does something in the commercial property space.
Perhaps a sign of Howard's never-ending energy to spruik Liberal ideals to any audience, or a sign of how far his party has fallen in an era of Labor dominance. Still, Howard had the crowd of corporate types, including executives at top consulting firms like KPMG and PwC, eating out of his hands.
As the wine flowed and oysters platters worked the room, Howard revealed the biggest regret of his prime ministership.
Not the Iraq War, WorkChoices, the republic referendum or anything so unsavoury. Instead, the moment the famous cricket tragic was talked into bowling a few right-arm mediums by the Pakistani army while visiting the country in 2005. Howard's rank pies shocked the Pakistanis, embarrassed PM25, and the photos have been widely memed ever since.
The former PM turned to another cricketing reference when discussing US President Donald Trump, who he criticised for his January 6 dummy spit, telling the crowd that when the umpire gives you out, you ought to hack it and head back to the pavilion.
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Howard also discussed energy policy (he still backs nuclear), the Albanese government's superannuation tax changes (which he called theft), and, in a particularly chilling moment for some of the Liberal hacks present, spoke highly of Labor Premier Chris Minns.
How did TACTIC land the big man? Its managing director, Mel Pikos, is a bit of a Liberal about town in Queensland and aspiring defence wonk, interviewing former opposition leader Peter Dutton for his podcast last year. That $60,000 the firm donated to the Liberal National Party in the last financial year also might've helped.
