“We’ll support the government when they make the announcement, but not if it’s somebody who is tainted, or can be seen to be tainted — even if it’s somebody of a very high calibre and character — and whether it’s been somebody that’s worked closely with the Liberal or Labor government before,” Opposition Leader Peter Dutton told 2GB radio on Thursday morning regarding today’s announcement of the new Reserve Bank governor, Michele Bullock.
“We don’t want somebody there who’s been involved in the political process at a senior level, and I think that’s a very important point to make, and we’ve made that clear to the government as well.”
We’ve said it before, and we’ll keep saying it as long as the Coalition returns to this line: it’s a very stupid thing for a senior figure in the Abbott/Turnbull/Morrison governments to say. Over the course of that near-decade of Coalition rule, a candidate having “been involved in the political process at a senior level” was less “tainted CV” than “preferred quality”. Let’s list some highlights, shall we?
The golden AAT years
Most prolifically, the period between 2013 and 2022 left the Administrative Appeals Tribunal as the employer of choice — via a notoriously opaque selection process — for more than 80 appointments linked with the Liberal Party, a veritable cornucopia of former politicians, staffers and candidates. It kept stuffing its ranks to the very dying days of power.
The Fair Work Commission
The Coalition’s commitment to avoiding appointments that had “worked closely with the Liberal or Labor government before” was, well… half in evidence in its approach to the Fair Work Commission, installing Alana Matheson, the former Liberal deputy mayor of Campbelltown and daughter of former Liberal MP Russell Matheson; and Sophie Mirabella, former Liberal member for Indi. (Not to mention somewhere in the region of 30 consecutive appointments had employer-friendly backgrounds).
Australia Post
Presumably Dutton is going to be just furious when someone tells him what went on at Australia Post under his government, with former MP Michael Ronaldson, former president of the Queensland Liberal National Party Bruce McIver, and Deidre Willmott, former chief of staff to West Australian Liberal premiers Richard Court and Colin Barnett, all appointed on six-year terms.
Gaetjens for the win
Phil Gaetjens, long-time Liberal warrior and a former chief of staff to Peter Costello and Scott Morrison during their stints as treasurer, was appointed treasury secretary toward the end of Malcolm Turnbull’s stint in the Lodge. By 2019, Morrison, then prime minister, made him the country’s top public servant, appointing him secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Presumably over howls of protest from Dutton.
Multiple roles
Gaetjens is not the only figure to receive several roles. Former senator Helen Kroger, a lifelong Liberal Party member, was made a part-time member of the AAT and appointed chair of the Australian Fisheries Management Authority Commission. Former Liberal Party federal director Tony Nutt, meanwhile, had multiple appointments: non-executive director of Australia Post, member of the National Museum of Australia Council, and an eight-month contract to the Australian Public Service Commission.
The War Memorial
According to the Grattan Institute, about 40% of Australian War Memorial board members have links to the Coalition, a list which must have caused Dutton to spit out the mouthful of water he’d been drinking in a comical display of shock.
Rail, health, small business, SBS and a few islands
We don’t know if we should add to what must be an assault on the opposition leader’s senses, but during his time in government there were further lucrative appointments for people with prominent links to the Coalition at the — take a deep breath — Australian Rail Track Corporation, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Small Business Ombudsman, Australian Financial Complaints Authority, and the SBS board.
Lib-linked candidates were also gifted a few islands and some bodies of water — as administrators of Norfolk Island and the Australian Indian Ocean Territories, covering Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
Did we (and Dutton) forget anyone? Let us know by writing to letters@crikey.com.au. Please include your full name to be considered for publication. We reserve the right to edit for length and clarity.
