The glaring impression that federal Opposition LeaderPeter Dutton and his Victorian Liberals counterpartJohn Pesutto didn’t want to know each other in the run-up tothe Dunkley byelection doesn’t quite tell the whole story.
Turns out there was a degree of co-operation between the two outfits. Sources close to the action tell us that the politically awkwarddepartures from Pesutto’s office of his senior communications dudeNick Johnston and chief-of-staffRodrigo Pintos Lopez was decided weeks ago,but the Dutton camp insisted on no announcement until after the Dunkley vote.
Now,that’s the team spirit that CBD would love to see more of.
When we contacted Dutton’s office we were politely steered back in the direction of Pesutto – Nick and Rodrigo were his staffers after all – and the Victorian leader’s people did not avail themselves of our offer of a line or two in our yarn.
Meantime,stepping into Pintos Lopez’s shoes as Pesutto’s chief of staff will be former Liberal MPLouise Staley,which will leave an opening at the top of the famous old HR Nicholls Society.
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Staley had been leading the right-wing think tank since the middle of last year,when it was jolted from a sort of hibernation by alarm at Prime MinisterAnthony Albanese’s industrial relations agenda.
Staley told us that she had actually resigned as executive director of the society several weeks ago – makes sense – and that an announcement of a new helmsperson is imminent,without actually telling us who it would be.
But we can confidently tip that it won’t be either Johnston or Pintos Lopez.