Now,Hawke is a backbencher facing a tough preselection fight to remain member for Mitchell in Sydney’s Hills District,and his perceived closeness with Scomo is not helping him.
In happier times:former prime minister Scott Morrison and then immigration minister Alex Hawke at a Sikh community centre in Melbourne during the 2022 election campaign.James Brickwood
It’s so tough that Hawke has had to go through the rigmarole of jumping on Canva and putting together a preselection booklet documenting his achievements for the good Bible-belt branch members.
The whole thing has a real “running for school captain” energy to it,but while Hawke isn’t making any outrageous promises of pumping Coca-Cola through the bubblers,we do have one truly rank photoshop job.
The MP was awkwardly photoshopped into a picture of the Hawke clan on the front cover,hovering uncomfortably in the background.
It didn’t take long for political watchers to find the original picture,of just the family sans Hawke,on his Facebook page,as shown below.
Meanwhile,there’s no mention of Morrison in the booklet,and while he’s not been airbrushed completely from the selection of pictures,you’ve got to squint very hard to find a snap of Hawke and the man he helped make prime minister.
Morrison isn’t even among the published endorsements,which include Opposition LeaderPeter Dutton,Deputy Liberal LeaderSussan Ley, and anti-Voice campaignerNyunggai Warren Mundine.
Hawke,who didn’t return CBD’s calls,has on Morrison a little,telling author andHeraldcolumnistNiki Savva that the former PM had gotten “addicted” to power and “wasn’t the greatest listener”.
Next week,we’ll find out whether that souring came too late for the preselectors of Mitchell.
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