The votes are now in for the ARM’s new national committee,which faces the challenge of turning public apathy towardKing Charles III toward excitement about a republic,and fighting against theEric Abetz-led Monarchist League.
Unsurprisingly,former Socceroo turned human rights campaignerCraig Foster won the most votes,closely followed by ex-Labor Senator and Australia’s first female Indigenous Olympic gold medallistNova Peris.
Former Socceroo Craig Foster.Luis Enrique Ascui
ABC personalityAdam Spencer got up,as did the ARM’s current senior deputy chair,experienced company director and one-time Australian Sex Party candidateMeredith Doig. Adore Beauty directorMarina Go,considered a frontrunner for the top position along with Foster,was elected sixth. And rounding out the committee isTiffany O’Keefe,who is a policy adviser to NSW Women’s Safety ministerNatalie Ward;as well as Climate 200 Executive DirectorByron Fay;gender equality campaignerTarang Chawla;Shop,Distributive and Allied Employees Association industrial officerAnthony Lay;and SBS directorVic Alhadeff.
As predicted in this column,recently defeated former Liberal member for MackellarJason Falinski missed out by a good 40 votes,leaving the committee drawing largely from the progressive side of politics.
The price of Parramatta
It’s no secret that the ABC’s decision to move a chunk of its staff from Ultimo to Parramatta from 2024 has caused a bit of friction among the broadcaster’s largely inner city-based employees.
Radio National,and its stable of high-profile old ABC faves includingNorman Swan,Phillip Adams,andRobyn Williams have managed to resist the move.
Meanwhile,the internal group chats have been lighting up over a recent submission to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works. It outlines some of the finer print and internal management-speak behind the westward move and shows that the relocation won’t come cheap.
The “Sydney Accommodation Project”,which refers to the leasing of Parramatta space and refurbishment of Ultimo,will cost $43.6 million. And the public broadcaster will have to pay $3513 per square metre to fit out the Parramatta digs,as opposed to $1747 in Ultimo.
According to the submission,that’s because the new media and productions spaces “require a high specification of build including acoustic isolation”.
It’s also chalked up to market conditions “which have seen the cost of building and fitout works increase and escalation rates have trended higher”.
The “public value” section also makes for interesting reading,with the first reason given for the move being “improvement in operational efficiencies derived from an uplift in accommodation operations and adoption of modern ways of working,including greater support for flexible working arrangements”.
To translate:the move has value because it will help people work from home. Oh,and it gives Aunty an additional opportunity to make a buck by leasing parts of its existing space in Ultimo to public and private operators.
If you thought this had management consultant speak written all over it then you’d be right – the ABC called in PricewaterhouseCoopers to work as project director. It’s a government entity after all.
Truss issue
One of CBD’s favourite lobbyist/columnistsCameron Milner– former chief of staff to Labor leader Bill Shorten – hasn’t exactly endeared himself to his ALP colleagues since starting to write a column in theRupert Murdoch-owned broadsheetThe Australian in which Milner regularly takes aim at Shorten’s more successful successorAnthony Albanese.
But in the wake of the sudden demise of former UK Prime MinisterLiz Truss,ALP circles have been enjoying a laugh at Milner’s expense,with his former comrades digging out one of Cameron’s efforts for the Oz,written in early September soon after the “formidable” Truss triumphed in the ballot of Conservative Party members.
Milner saw something he liked in the new prime minister’s plan to confront her nation’s economic woes – what a shame that few others shared Cameron’s enthusiasm – which he compared unfavourably with his home country’s efforts.
“No wonder she already is being compared toMargaret Thatcher and her Iron Lady persona,” Milner gushed.
In fairness,newspaper columns rarely get better with age but it’s not often you see one turning as quickly as that.
Blazing a trail
Medicinal cannabis is,slowly but surely,having a bit of a moment in Australia,with prescriptions skyrocketing over the last couple of years. And now,one of the leading companies in the budding domestic industry,Australian Natural Therapeutics Group,has made a big move,with renowned former journalist,filmmaker and ex-Victorian Multicultural Commission bossHelen Kapalos joining as its new head of communications.
Kapalos has blazed a trail for medicinal weed for some time – self-funding a widely screened 2016 documentary on the stuff and,more recently,had a brief stint doing media for a rival medicinal cannabis company Cannatrek. In an unrelated development,Cannatrek was fined nearly $300,000 from the Therapeutic Goods Administration for alleged false advertising.
It’s a tricky business.