Cornes still on the ALP’s side

3:35 PM, 19/4/2010 .. 0 comments .. Link

Well the Rann Government has a new mining adviser in WAG, law graduate and former candidate Nicole Cornes. Oh I forgot to mention that Nicole is a mum, which apparently is an important consideration when determining who is best qualified to steer South Australia’s mining policy. The fact is, however, it is extremely unlikely Nicole will be “steering” policy at all. She doesn’t come from a background in the mining industry, and the only “mining law” she would have studied would be a couple of court cases in Constitutional Law. I may be wrong, but I don’t think Fairy Bay was a large multinational coal exporter. The portfolio of mining is extremely ironic given her extensive knowledge of the ALP’s Uranium policy following her pre-selection. It should be noted however, that few political advisers have a background in their portfolios, and their role is to provide political advice. Readers can decide for themselves the degree of political astuteness possessed by Mrs Cornes. Of course the appointment was not a popular PR exercise, but the ALP could care less at this stage. The gravy train is still rolling for at least another four years. This bodes well for fat cats and associates, but not for the good Government of South Australia.

Before examining the implications for the State as a whole, some time must be spent examining why Nicole was promoted to a higher post. It is widely acknowledge that the responsibility for the spectacular failure of the Boothby election campaign rests with bovver boys Kevin Foley and Tom Koutsantonis. Nicole was a metaphorical lamb to the slaughter, and I have much sympathy for the manner in which she was treated, particularly with reference to the legal matters stemming from her childhood. With balls ups like this, the right tends to make amends by assisting the victims rather than punishing the perpetrators. The debacle most probably harmed Nicole’s prospects of legal work in this State, and so it would be considered probably fair enough that she be compensated. Also of consideration is the fact that Don Farrell is to the Adelaide Crows what John Howard was to the Australian Cricket Team. He is a Crows tragic, and continued friendship with Cornsey would be highly desirable. Evidence of his Crows fandom is the fact that a prior choice for Boothby candidacy was Mark Bickley! Come on! What about Wayne Weidemann? He would rough up the Liberal front bench. Neil Craig might be looking for a job soon, so keep your eyes peeled. While this farcical method of pre-selection has appeared to be redressed for this election, invisible roles such as advising continue to be a fertile play ground for nepotism.

A few months ago, I was watching the excellent Labor documentary “Labor in Power”. The documentary featured interviews with various Government advisers, most of whom wore glasses, sported brown patches on their jackets and had Dr and phD attached to their names. These are the kind of advisers that steer policy, implementing the significant financial and social reforms of the Keating and Hawke eras. The philosophy of the SA Right is starkly different when appointing advisers. They believe that anyone that is able put on a suit and tie, drink coffee and cash fat pay cheques is qualified enough. For example, the current Sports Adviser for the State Government worked at “Crows Travel” as a travel agent. See the link to sport? Good. Oh he plays footy too. Appointing advisers in this manner is flawed on two levels. Firstly, they lack the qualifications to understand and then adapt policy for the purposes of achieving ALP party ideology. Secondly, in many cases they are lacking a background in the ALP completely, so even if they do understand the issues, the policy they develop or approve may not accord with what is expected of an ALP Government. Is it any wonder that ALP voters abandoned the party in droves at the last election?

The situation doesn’t improve at the upper echelon of Ministerial staffers. Every time Nick Alexandrides attends a COS meeting, he will be greeted with a flock of new Chiefs of Staff, the majority of whom are well under the age of thirty. The Malinauskas flock continues to thrive under this Government, with Peter’s younger brother Rob picking up the COS spot in Turbo Tom Koutsantonis’s office. Another Malinauskas chum Nick Lombardi has taken the long sought after post of Paul Holloway’s COS, which was vacated by long serving Kevin Gent. While it may not be a case of the blind leading the blind, it is most certainly the inexperienced leading the inexperienced. Senior party figures would be relishing another four years of power and could care less for now. I am sure they will deal with the fall out of the 2010 election at some point before 2014. But for now let the gravy train roll.