Not everyone’s deserting HMAS Albo
It feels a little unfair to suggest Labor ministers have become like rats deserting a sinking ship in recent times, but it’s hard not to at least give the idea a passing thought.
Despite Labor only being in its first term in government, it’s behind in the polls and Anthony Albanese is already as unpopular as Scott Morrison became towards the very end of his days as PM.
That said, I still expect Labor to eke out a victory later this year.
But does a conga line of ministerial departures agree with me? Late last year it was Brendan O’Connor, Linda Burney and Bill Shorten who all announced they were quitting. This past week, assistant treasurer Stephen Jones did the same, to the relief of some colleagues I hear.
Who else might soon follow?
To be fair, there are senior Coalition frontbenchers heading for the exit door as well. Senate leader Simon Birmingham and manager of opposition business in the House Paul Fletcher are retiring, as is Nationals frontbencher Keith Pitt.
There has long been scuttlebutt that Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus plans to pull the pin on his political career too, but I can confirm that rumour – like so many others in and around Canberra – can be dismissed as untrue.
Dreyfus tragically lost his wife to a long battle with cancer in late 2023, which probably started the rumours that he might call it quits. But I think, if anything, losing his life partner makes it more likely the AG stays rather than goes.
One of the suggestions was that he’d get out now to take up a Supreme Court judicial appointment by his Victorian home state Labor government.
While the temptation of a life-long judicial pension sounds like a good reason to get out of politics and onto the Victorian Supreme Court bench, there is one rather obvious fly in the ointment of that hypothesis.
Dreyfus is already 68 years of age. Victorian judges are forced to retire at 70. Why would the already wealthy Dreyfus leave politics to sit on the bench for just over a year before being kicked off it?
It won’t be happening.
Dreyfus will run again at this election, and his seat of Isaacs will be heavily targeted by hopeful Liberals as one they can pick up on their way to government.
That’s less likely than more, in my view, with the seat’s margin up at about 9.5 per cent, according to the latest redistribution, suggesting Dreyfus will hang on even if Albo loses the election.
Of course, if that is how things pan out, I would certainly expect Dreyfus to get out of politics quickly after the election, not wanting to waste time in opposition.
Even under that scenario he wouldn’t seek such a short career at the bench. Instead he’d head back to the barristers bar – Dreyfus is a King’s Counsel silk after all.
Give Bill a break!
While Bill Shorten is technically one of the rats deserting HMAS Albo, no one could seriously blame him for doing so.
Leaving politics to take up a well-paid Vice Chancellor’s position at the University of Canberra has many upsides for Shorten, beyond the dollar bills.
For one thing, he won’t have to work for Albo anymore, sitting around a cabinet table frustrated by some of the decision-making.
This week, predictably, there was some consternation about Bill’s new starting salary of $860,000 a year, double what he earned as a minister.
That says more about how little ministers earn compared with senior bureaucrats and private sector executives, many of whom are part of the million-dollar club. For example, most heads of government departments make at least double what the ministers they report to earn.
There’s nothing newsworthy about that.
So can we please refrain from tall poppy syndrome, hammering Shorten for his new wage? It’s not like he isn’t qualified for the job.
Shorten is a former education minister who headed up one of the largest trade unions in the country before entering parliament, also becoming Labor leader and most recently a cabinet minister for a second time.
Yes, VCs get paid well, which is what usually happens when leading organisations with thousands of staff and multimillion-dollar budgets.
But Bill is set to earn a fraction of the salary of his predecessor, having specifically asked his board to lower the pay packet substantially.
His predecessor, Paddy Nixon, was on a package of $1.8million a year!
And the differences don’t end there. Any future increases to Bill’s salary are now pegged to the staff enterprise agreement (EBA), I’m told, and there are no hidden bonuses to further crank his earnings up either.
Compared with what other VCs around the nation make, Shorten is bloody good value. And I’m willing to bet none of the others have the all-important access to government he’ll have in the coming years.
Higher education is a sector heavily impacted by government decision-making.
Shorten’s ability to get in the ear of government is the case irrespective of who wins this year’s election, by the way. He is famously very good at maintaining relationships across the partisan aisle in Canberra, as many Liberals have told me.
Grace un-Tameable
He can’t say he wasn’t warned!
I’m talking about Albo’s recent war of words with former n of the Year Grace Tame.
The PM had been warned by his spin doctors that associating with her was bound to lead to a falling-out at some stage, I can exclusively reveal.
Tame’s graceless choice of attire at Albo’s Day event at The Lodge last weekend, a T-shirt bearing the words ‘F**k Murdoch’, was as lacking in class as her social media post after the event noting the words were meant ‘not literally, *ew*’.
Albo condemned the shirt as attention-seeking, inappropriate and disrespectful, which, of course, it was. Tame fired back that members of his staff had privately said to her they liked the shirt, but she wouldn’t name names unfortunately.
I wanted to know if Nike also liked the shirt worn by their new brand ambassador. That’s right, Tame has some sort of new gig with the shoe manufacturer, replacing her previous role as Executive Director of her own foundation. Just do it!
So far it’s been radio silence from the international brand, pleading the fifth in response to my emails.
Perhaps Nike is afraid Tame will turn on it the same way she turned on Albo after his public criticisms, deciding it’s better to keep her in the proverbial Nike tent, even if she wears graceless T-shirts not of its making.