Ian Hunter Denial

In relation to my previous blog post, it is important to add that Ian Hunter has vigorously denied any involvement in the leaking of the meeting to the media of the details of the Mike Rann meeting.

As the situation currently stands, Mike Rann has impugned the reputation of the entire Parliamentary Labor Party by failing to specifically identify who he believes the leaker to be. Rob Lucas publicly suggested that it could be Leon Bignell. The current witch hunt won't be over until someone takes the fall. Time will tell.

Also, I should add that neither Bignell or Hunter could be described as having low IQs. Hunter, in particular, has an Honours degree in Science. Having said that, I don't think Mike Rann is in his most generous mood.

Hunter becomes the hunted

Ever since the failed Rann coup story broke in the media, there has been debate over the identity of the leaker. I can now confirm that the person responsible for leaking this information to the ABC was former State Secretary and current seat warmer in the Upper House, Ian Hunter MLC. (Hunter has since denied any involvement.) Hunter is a member of the left faction and close ally of Premier-in-waiting Jay Weatherill. Initially, I discounted the Left of being responsible for the leak, mainly because it had caused such damage to their hero, Jay. Having said that, it is also highly unlikely that anyone from the Right would have risked incurring the wrath of the SDA. The fact that Michael Atkinson ruefully anticipated that the leaker will probably receive a promotion strongly suggests that the leaker was part of the Left faction. The Right would not publicly criticize one of its own in such a manner. I must admit that I totally underestimated the degree of stupidity of which the Left is capable of. Now that we know who leaked the information, we should examine why he leaked it.

In the aftermath of the failed leadership coup, it was reported that Ian Hunter was part of a transition team assisting Weatherill plan his ascent to the top job. Given that Hunter is such an integral part of Jay’s inner circle, it must be asked; was the leak ordered by Jay as a way of speeding up Rann’s departure? It certainly makes sense. How else would Hunter have possessed the information of the meeting, if not through a conversation with Jay? I assure you that Hunter is not on Jack or Peter Malinauskas’s Christmas card list, and from recent comments I doubt Mike Rann engaged in many deep and meaningful conversations with him either. This leaves only two possibilities; either Jay ordered Hunter to leak the info to the media or Hunter acted autonomously in conflict with the instructions of his factional leader. Neither option reflects generously on Weatherill.

If Hunter was acting upon the instructions of Jay, then both of them failed to anticipate the manner in which Mike Rann would react to their actions. Anyone that thought that a political animal with the nouse of Rann would meekly retreat when confronted with a threat is lacking in even the most basic political judgment. Surely, if Jay was part of the plot, he should have had some contingency plans. A quote from The Usual Suspects comes to mind. “How do you shoot the devil in the back. What if you miss?”. I think it is unlikely that Weatherill would have sanctioned the leaking unless he was prepared to challenge the Premier if things went wrong. Things did go horribly wrong, and Jay seemed like a deer in the headlights. This adds weight to the argument that Hunter acted alone. This does not bode well for the future.

The assorted crazies within the Left faction of the ALP have been locked in a box by the Right for the last 15 years. It appears that the anointing of one of their own as the incoming Premier, however, has opened Pandora’s box, releasing an array of nut jobs from the shackles. For the past ten years, lefties like Hunter and Bob Sneath would have been impotently muttering and whinging to each other at SA Unions BBQ’s about the nasty Right faction and their abominable WorkCover laws. For the Left, the slightest whiff of power has been akin to a starving dog catching wind of a juicy steak. You wouldn’t expect the dog to behave rationally, and nor should you expect the Left. This is the problem that Jay faces. He must restrain the members of his own faction, whilst still appeasing the Right faction who is responsible for his ascent. With the Hunter situation, does he punish Ian for causing such damage to the party, or reward him for being a loyal servant over so many years? Time will tell.

Bleak House

Anyone seeking for reasons behind the decay of the ALP needn’t look very far. For much too long, party power brokers have treated Upper Houses as an elephant’s graveyard. The Legislative Council and the Senate are a retirement a village for unionists who have ‘paid their dues”. Dinosaurs like Bob Sneath and John Gazzola are soon to be joined by some young blood, relatively speaking, in 57 year old leftie Gerry Kandelaars. Yet again, powerbrokers are ticking off their favours list instead of considering what is good for party, the Government and the State.

From the outset, let me say that Gerry Kandelaars has contributed much to the Labor movement, and probably would have made a valuable Parliamentarian if he had been pre-selected 10 years ago. As a 57 year old, however, his pre-selecting is baffling. Surely he will need to spend at least the first four years of his eight year term “learning the ropes”. Following this period, it wouldn’t make much sense to give him a ministry in his 61st year, because he is unlikely to serve another term from 65-73. It is unlikely that the ALP will even be in Government during much of his term. Why pre-select such a person to be a glorified seat warmer for eight years?

The decision is particularly baffling given the absence of Ministerial talent for the ALP in the Upper House. Gail Gago and Russell Wortley are the existing ministers, and neither could be described as superstars destined to more senior portfolios. The retirement of Holloway, Zollo and Sneath in 2014 will only worsen the current situation. Managing an Upper House requires skill, especially given that the Government does not hold a majority. The manner in which candidates are elected to the Upper House, however, explains the reason ALP pre-selects in the way it does.

Legislative Councillors are elected on proportional basis, not individually. For this reason, the ALP pre-selects people that would probably be unelectable on their merits. Gail Gago, for example failed on numerous occasions to win a lower house seat. Bernie Finnigan would have required gastric banding to even stand a chance. The LC is the domain of the fat and the socially awkward within the ALP. While these people are likely to be incapable of winning a lower house seat, they are capable of earning the favours of the factional powerbrokers. Once they have attained their seat on the red couches, they sit in relative obscurity for their entire term, occasionally raising their snouts from the trough to raise a grievance. This is a ridiculous situation.

Upper Houses, both Federally and at a State level, should be used to pre-select candidates that might not have the charisma to hold marginal seats, but have the brains and the diplomacy to navigate bills through the hostile house. They should also be future leaders, who can use the stability of their tenure to build the party. Paul Holloway, for example, is not the most personable politician, but his eye for detail and skill made him a valuable contributor over many years. Whilst I abhor the Liberal Party, they ensure that they preselect Senators such as Nick Minchin, Simon Birmingham etc whose names are actually known outside of political circles. The toughest question in any quiz night would be; name four South Australian ALP senators. This should not be the case.

The fortunes of the ALP will continue to deteriorate unless they begin pre-selecting candidates capable of becoming future leaders and/or ministers. Fortunately, it appears that highly capable female candidates are in line for seats in Ramsey and Port Adelaide, but given the amount of media scrutiny that exists with by-elections, this is hardly surprising. Meritorious candidates are only pre-selected for the ALP when they stand a chance of losing (marginals, by-elections). Candidates like Chloe Fox, Amanda Rishworth, Nick Champion and Grace Portolesi are great, but they are a minor swing away from being out on their ass. The holders of the safest of seats, such as those in the Upper House, determine the future of the party, because they will be around for the long haul (apart from Gerry Kandelaars, who is one term away from retirement age).

United in chaos

On 891 Breakfast this morning, Premier in waiting Jay Weatherill said that he only wanted to take the leadership of the ALP when the entire party was united behind him. Whilst it may be the case that both major factions have pragmatically decided to back his leadership, it is ludicrous to suggest that the entire party is pleased with this scenario. There is clear evidence of disunity in the mess that has been the last week.

The chaos within the ALP in the past week can be directly linked to one event; the leaking of the Rann-Snelling-Malinauskas meeting to Angelique Johnson on Friday afternoon. While it appears that Peter M was blabbing details of the impending meeting to all in sundry, it was only in the interests of a select few to leak this information to the media. Rann, Snelling, Malinauskas and Weatherill have all been tarnished by the premature announcement of the internal machinations surrounding the leadership. While it is possible that an eager left faction member couldn’t contain their excitement, it is my assertion that the only person/group with any motivation to leak the deal was John Rau or his supporter group. If this is the case, there is clear evidence of a divided Labor Unity.

We know from media reports that the Lithuanian Adonis, Peter Malinauskas, informed John Rau on Friday afternoon that he had not been anointed successor. It is not beyond belief to suggest that upon hearing this news, Rau, a borderline ego-maniac, responded to this news by venting his spleen to his array of supporters. Amongst this group, at least one of them must have realized that a tactical leaking of the story of the year would unleash merry hell. With the media convention of protecting ones sources, such chaos could be let loose in anonymity. Of course, it is possible that Malinauskas or Snelling leaked the story in retaliation for being abused by Mike, but even I doubt they could be so stupid.

Grudges in the ALP can last a lifetime. I am living proof of this fact. To suggest that it is possible for Right faction acolytes to bury over a decade of burning hatred towards factional warrior Jay Weatherill purely out of political pragmatism is ludicrous. People like Tom Kenyon, Tom Koutsantonis and co may perhaps accept the political reality of the situation that they are faced with, but in their hearts and souls they still harbor deep animosity towards “Leftie Jay”. While perhaps the Right faction will be able to exercise the discipline to present a show of external discipline, in the shadows and the smoky corners there will be mutterings of dissent.

In the coming months, Jay Weatherill will not only face white anting from elements of the Right faction, but it is also likely that he will come into conflict with his own Left faction. Unless he brings to the Premiership bulging sacks of gold and jewels, Jay will be facing a tight budgetary position AND a screaming union movement asking for back flips. Rest assured, if Jay caves to the left, he will face the wrath of the Right. If he doesn’t cave the Left, he will be held responsible for his inability to control “his faction”. It is an unenviable position.

Devolution

As I write, Mike Rann has just addressed a press conference where he has announced the timeline of his retirement. In recent weeks former leader of the Upper House Paul Holloway has also announced his retirement, and one suspects that Health Minister John Hill and Big Kev Foley are on their last legs as well. While many are referring to this as party “regeneration”, I would suggest that party “deterioration” is a more fitting term. Regeneration suggests the replacement of old and fatigued war horses with young thoroughbreds. It is more of a case, however, of replacing horses with donkeys, as the new breed of political animal within the ALP is a totally different species to their predecessors.
Mike Rann was often because of his moniker “Media Mike” because he used his previous career in journalism to “spin”. It is inevitable that a politician will bring skills from their previous career to Parliament. The problem with the new generation of ALP MPs is that the majority have never worked for any extended period outside of politics. Whilst John Hill was a teacher and a lawyer, Paul Holloway an engineer, Kevin Foley a corporate executive, the new breed of Snelling and Koutsantonis and Kenyon never developed careers outside of the union movement. Of course they worked diverse “jobs” such as taxi drivers and jackaroos, but a career involves extended devotion and development of expertise. Most importantly, a career gives a person an ability to attain specialist knowledge which can be used as a representative in parliament. Why are established careers no longer considered vital for pre-selection?
The answer unfortunately is that politics is now considered a career in itself. Councils across the state are filled with pimple faced babes in pin striped swaddling cloths. Party pre-selection is determined by a small handful of people, and the ambitious realise this. Everybody knows that the path to North Terrace involves building personal relationships with the king makers, such as Malinauskas, Farrell, Koutsantonis and Quirke (as far as the right goes). Pre-selection is made based on who owes who, who will scratch who’s back etc. While I wasn’t involved in politics when Rann and Foley were pre-selected, I venture to guess that the process was at least slightly more rigorous. What are the problems with such ad hoc and unmeritorious pre-selections?
When a candidate’s only life experience is within the political field, they have neither the knowledge or the people skills to relate to the common man. Budding politicians rarely associate with anyone outside of politics. They watch the West Wing, dine at party fundraisers, letter box and door knock together. If you only associate with a small micocosm of the community, you begin to think that how they think is how everyone thinks. A staff room in a political office is not the same as a staff room in a school or a hospital. This is why we are seeing the emergence of robotic politicians such as Julia Gillard, a person who cannot speak or laugh in a natural manner. The public is becoming aware of this phenomenon, which has had an immediate impact on politicos; reverse engineering of a career.
In the past year, Michael Brown and Stephen Mullighan, two senior political operatives, have left the political field to start jobs in the private sector. Whilst it is possible that they have tired of the political grind, it is more likely that they are padding their CV for the imminent jump into Parliament. Many vacancies exist for the Legislative Council, which would suit Brown, and Mullighan will likely run for a safe western suburbs seat e.g. Lee or Port Adelaide. They perhaps fear their candidate biography listing as “political adviser” and nothing else. While they are undoubtedly performing legitimate work in their new roles, they have still grown up in politics and it will take more than a couple of years to cleanse them of politico-speak.
Mike Rann’s ire when confronted by Peter Malinauskas and Jack Snelling was probably caused by a number of factors. I suggest that at least one of them was a disdain for the quality of talent that is readying itself to replace him. Wisdom is acquired over the years, through experience and toil. An army of inbred political careerists lack the wisdom required to run a state. He knows this. The public knows this too, and will render their judgement in a few years.

Don’s Party

In the past week the power and influence of the Catholic Boys club of the ALP Right faction has been subject of much discussion. The Right faction began as a group of four devout Catholics in a Chinese restaurant in the 1980s. The story of how such an unrepresentative group has managed to become the dominant force in SA politics is an interesting one. As a former member of the faction, I am able to provide significant insight into this issue.

From the outset, it must be stated that changing demographics of the workforce in SA combined with the party structure of the ALP is a major determinant of the Right faction’s rise to power. The Right faction controls the Shop Assistants Union, the largest union in the State. The influence that a union has over the ALP is determined by the number of members it has. While the manufacturing sector struggles to compete with cheaper overseas competitors, the retail sector continues to grow. Formerly powerful unions like the AMWU are forced to go, cap in hand, to the Right faction for protection, becoming “outsiders” within the Right’s all encompassing tent. (As I have mentioned before in previous articles, the structure of the party and the disproportionate influence of unions is a major cause of the rot within the ALP.) The welcoming of “outsiders” into the Right has been the most clever (or devious) tactic responsible for its current strength.

While the core of the Right faction is devout Catholics, they have always painted themselves as a “broad church” welcoming people of opposing views. In 2000, when I first joined the party, the Unity faction had recently welcomed in an influx of former members of the Centre-Left faction, the former dominant faction of the 80s and 90s. The Centre Left split in three ways, with the more conservative joining the Right, the more radical joining the Left, and a small number (John Hill, Mike Rann) remaining unaligned. My first contact with the Right faction was through progressive, former Centre Lefties that were now “Right faction” members. A high percentage of this group was intelligent and progressive women. As an atheist with moderate left wing leanings, the Right seemed like a safer option compared to the more radical and scary Left. Over the next ten years, however, I came to realize that while the core of the Right welcomed the numbers and effort of the more progressive, ultimately the spoils of power were handed out those with the traditional conservative background.

During this period, I witnessed various talented progressive members of the Right faction being passed over for pre-selection at the expense of either conservative Right members or those that are unlikely to make waves. At a Federal level, Kate Ellis and Amanda Rishworth are possible exceptions, coming from the more progressive movement of the Right. At the State level, star candidates such as Chloe Fox are examples of “outsiders” being pre-selected. It should be noted, however, that none of these women hold seats that would be considered “safe” in a traditional sense. Dana Wortley was an “outsider” but only received number 3 spot on Senate ticket. The most prominent example of an “outsider” trying to disobey the core of the faction was Senator Linda Kirk, a progressive and free thinking Senator that made the mistake of crossing Don Farrell’s wife. Periodically, when the natives get restless, a bone is thrown to appease them. The AMWU, for example, had former official Paul McMahon appointed to the IR Commission and Alan Sibbons elected. I suspect these moves were made to appease a restless manufacturing union. Again, however, none of these positions could be considered plum and safe postings.

The fate of Linda Kirk is analogous to the fate of pro-life women as a whole within the Right faction. When I joined the Right, as I mentioned earlier, there was a plethora of intelligent and progressive women. These women are now engineers, lawyers, economists, psychologists and journalists. They were lost to politics, I suspect, in large part due to the heavy handed approach at Young Labor by the more conservative elements of the faction. The Left faction at AYL would often cleverly drive a wedge between the Right by moving pro-life motions. It only took a few feverish scripture based rants by SDA organizers to either disenchant these young women. Switching factions within the ALP is not really an option, so the party is abandoned entirely.

The deterioration of talent in the ALP, through pre-selections, ministerial staffing and the exodus of women, is now evident on a major scale for the first time. During the life of the Rann Government, the only senior and high profile acolyte of the Right was Michael Atkinson. It is arguable that he was one of the most unpopular Ministers in recent memory. The recent reshuffle has elevated four dyed in the wool Catholic Right SDA boys, Jack Snelling, Tom Kenyon, Bernard Finnigan and Tom Koutsantonis. It will soon be readily apparent how the public reacts to the social and political views of these men.

Left out in the cold

Much of the immediate coverage of the Rann Ministry reshuffle focussed upon the overwhelming dominance of the Right faction, which I would argue isn’t really a new story, nor is it the big issue arising from the front bench “regeneration”. The Right or Unity has had numerical supremacy over party decisions for some time, as evidenced by the recent ALP State Convention. I would suggest that the most surprising aspect of yesterday’s caucus was the timidity and meek acquiescence of the Left faction, despite its various threats and sabre rattling over the past month. Upon re-examination of the past four years, however, the Left’s capitulation should have been anticipated.

As a former member of the Right faction, I am often most outspoken about the failings of the bachelor boys from Kent Town. Let there be no mistake, however, that I find the insipid hypocrisy of the Left faction no less despicable. Spared from the numerical advantage, and therefore the onus of making decisions, the “socialist” branch of the Labor party enjoys commentating and sniping from the moral high ground. In the lead up to controversial decisions, they will often threaten to become martyrs, crossing the floor or resigning their membership. This was the case during the WorkCover debate, and it is the case again now. Ultimately, when sacrifice is required, the Steph Key’s and Frances Bedford’s of this world retreat to whatever hole they came from, and return to closeted remarks about the glorious day when Jay is Premier. In politics, talk is cheap unless followed by actions.

The Left is swiftly becoming the faction that cried wolf, and the Right knows it. Their persistent inability to follow their threats with meaningful action means the Right can joyfully frolick in the forest at night, unafraid of any lurking predator. My former colleagues and I would often speculate about the cunning plan that Jay Weatherill must be plotting to ensure his ascent to Premier. In light of recent events, however, I must suspect that Weatherill is the political equivalent of Baldrick from Blackadder, or worse, the ALP’s Peter Costello. It takes ruthlessness and courage to steal the ring of power from the holder. Jay is at risk of being relegated forever to the shadows, yearning for “his precious”.

While the Right did assert its power with almost faultless execution, Mike Rann appears to be the fly in the ointment. Firstly, I suspect that factional operatives did not expect Kevin Foley to receive such important and high profile portfolios. Rann, forever mindful of protecting his own grip on power, obviously felt it was in his best interests ensure that Big Kev continued to occupy an important chair at the Cabinet table. Rann also used the portfolio allocation as another opportunity to double cross long time nemesis Tom Koutsantonis. Kouts was anticipating receipt of the IR portfolio, but this went to Buckets Bernie Finnigan. There is plenty of wile and cunning in old dog Rann, and I wouldn’t count him out yet, especially with Rau (a man with conflicting allegiances between Right faction and Rann) as his new, loyal Deputy.

PS The boys club culture of the ALP and Right faction has been an issue that I have discussed at length in the past. It perhaps merits a revisit, but I am going to wait for events to unfold a little further.