It seems investigations via the Freedom of Information Act by Tasmanian Times writer Bob Burton may have generated a Victorian equivalent…
Previously on Tas Times Bob Burton provided us with details of Premier Bartlett´s appointments diary:
Who Gets to Meet Premier Bartlett? HERE:
David Bartlett´s Appointments Diary: Meeting with the Loggers HERE:
David Bartlett´s Appointments Diary: A Close Encounter with the Freedom of Information Act HERE:
Below David Rood conducts a similar investigation into Victoria´s Premier, John Brumby, for The Age.
A non-stop Premier’s diary reveals a media magnet
QUESTION: According to the Premier’s diary, which group or issue takes up most of John Brumby’s time?
ANSWER: The media.
After an eight-month wait for a reply to a freedom-of-information request, The Age has finally received an edited version of the Premier’s appointment diary for his first six working weeks of this year.
The diary extract showed a non-stop Premier using every waking moment – from a 7.39am interview from home on Radio National to 9pm appearances at business dinners.
The document lists 200 events or meetings in six weeks, not including appointments The Age was prevented from seeing.
There were meetings with Police Commissioner Simon Overland and former Test cricketer Shane Warne at the height of the spate of violent attacks on Indian students. There were three night matches at the Australian Tennis Open, and there were regular meetings with the head of the Premier’s Department, Helen Silver, and cabinet ministers (former police minister Bob Cameron was a frequent visitor), as well as events with visiting foreign dignitaries.
Large parts of the diary were exempt from release because, the Premier’s Department argued, their disclosure could damage the security of the state, reveal cabinet deliberations and disclose the personal affairs of individuals.
The document is largely consumed with the media.
On January 19, according to his diary, Mr Brumby received an hour-long ”pre-brief” for his regular media interview with 3AW’s Neil Mitchell. The interview itself was scheduled to last half an hour.
The Brumby government’s media strategy has come under scrutiny ever since a media plan for Planning Minister Justin Madden was accidentally sent to the ABC, sparking the Hotel Windsor scandal.
In court evidence about the Madden media plan, one of the Premier’s senior advisers said ministerial media plans needed to have a political purpose. The same could be said for the Premier’s diary.
Take these diary examples:
Entry: Wednesday, February 10, commissioning of the Sugarloaf pipeline project.
Result: ”Brumby gushes over addition to water supply” – page 3, The Age.
Entry: Wednesday, February 17, launch of 24th Melbourne International Comedy Festival program.
Result: ”Premier talks up role of laugh fest” – page 8, The Age.
(Despite Mr Brumby’s team of media advisers happily putting their names and mobile telephone numbers to press releases daily, their names were edited from the Premier’s diary.)
The most prominent foreign dignitary diarised was ”HRH Prince William of Wales”, whom the Premier chaperoned on January 21 around areas devastated by the Black Saturday bushfires.
He also met the consuls-general of Lebanon and Chile, the British high commissioner and the United Arab Emirates Minister for Foreign Affairs.
The Premier saw businessman Ron Walker, John Landy, chairman of the Victorian Bushfire Appeal Fund Advisory Panel, Age editor-in-chief Paul Ramadge and Anglican Bishop Andrew Curnow. There also was time for a ”photo opportunity” with the Australian cricket team.
The other issue that dominated the diary was the first anniversary of the Black Saturday fires. The days before February 7 were filled with bushfire events: commissioning the Black Saturday message book at the State Library, and radio and TV crosses from fire-ravaged areas, all before the remembrance service on the anniversary of the fires.
Next day, February 8, Mr Brumby conducted a community cabinet in Nunawading, near several suburban Labor-held marginal seats. What was that about media plans needing a political purpose?
David Rood The Age
November 20, 2010
