The Hag
Stage 9: Whitewash. Narrowly framed audits will be unable to make findings against the Government, which will claim vindication in the absence of a corruption watchdog to say otherwise.
Stage 10: Business As Usual.
And, the Lester-Harrison spat …
HAG must say she has been deeply impressed by the hound-dog application of the Tassie journo pack in its pursuit of the Labor mates.
Whilst taking a little Green Fairy Absinthe in front of the roaring log fire of the Hope, she particularly enjoyed an amusing (amusing if it wasn’t so bloody serious) little piece in the Weekend Oz by the journo who broke the story, Matt Denholm.
Denholm writes nicely about the manner in which the story was spun by the Premiers Office and government minders, populated by former top Tasmanian journos.
Here’s an extract:
PREMIER Paul Lennon is conducting a competition to find a new state slogan for car licence plates. After this week, “Tassie: Cronyism Capital of Australia” may not be out of place.
It probably won’t win. Unless the idea is suggested by a consultancy run by former Labor politicians; then it would doubtless be endorsed and rewarded with a large, secret taxpayer-funded bonus. If you think this is a joke, you’re right. But what about this scenario, as related to state parliament:
A business run by two former state Labor ministers makes a $1 million annual profit as an accreditation body for builders and professionals, who are required by law to pay it annual fees of $500. But there are problems on the horizon. A disgruntled third director is asking uncomfortable questions about alleged siphoning off of profits. Builders say the company does nothing for its excessive fees and point to would-be competitors willing to do the job for half the cost. To top it off, two political parties, tipped by some polls to win a balance of power at an imminent election, want to strip the company of its lucrative role.
No problem. A mate in the Government agrees to a secret deal two days before the election is called, enshrining a monopoly for three years and providing a $2.5 million payout if the deal is revoked. You can’t lose. And no one need know until the money’s in the bank. Hell, your mate won’t even tell his cabinet colleagues about the deal.
Meanwhile, you try to buy out that pesky director with a valuation based on the pre-deal value of the company. That’ll teach him.
This is no joke. It is the story of the Tasmanian Compliance Corporation, run by former Tasmanian health minister John White and former Queensland prisons minister Glen Milliner, and their deal with Deputy Premier Bryan Green.
But if you still can’t go for the Cronyism Capital licence plate slogan, how about “Tasmania: State of Spin”? The Lennon Government is a leader in this art. Take its stage-by-stage spinning of the TCC scandal.
Stage 1: Denial. When The Australian seeks to confirm the existence of the deal, the Government refuses to comment. When we publish our exclusive story, the deal’s existence is admitted, but details are withheld on the grounds they are “commercial in confidence” (apparently as a protection against non-existent competitors).
Stage 2: Damage Control. Lennon announces a full, independent audit of TCC, but not of his Government’s conduct.
Stage 3: Mea Culpa. Green admits an “error of judgment” but won’t resign. Cabinet publicly releases the agreement but walks away from it on the advice that it is legally invalid.
Stage 4: If You Can’t Beat ‘Em. Lennon joins the attack on Green, saying he is “angry and deeply annoyed” at his deputy (but not enough to sack him).
Stage 5: Sympathy. Green says he’s not “the smartest bloke in Australia”; just a simple guy from the shop floor. No argument there, but no excuse, either.
Stage 6: Counter Attack. Lennon dredges up old muck on Green’s critics. But no one buys it.
Stage 7: Blame Someone Else. Green blames his staff for failing to show him Crown legal advice warning against the deal. No one buys it. Green blames the media. No one buys that, either.
Stage 8: Diversion: Premier announces the miraculous resurrection — and fast-tracking — of a marina housing development in a conservation area, shelved before the election.
This knocks Green off the front page and highlights divisions in the Liberal Party. However, Lennon and the property developer are forced to deny colluding to bury the proposal just long enough to save a Labor minister’s seat.
Stage 9: Whitewash. Narrowly framed audits will be unable to make findings against the Government, which will claim vindication in the absence of a corruption watchdog to say otherwise.
Stage 10: Business As Usual.
Welcome to government in Tasmania. Call it what you will.
Nice one, Matt.
Meanwhile, Hag feels she has duty to record the recent spat between PR hacks Harrison and Lester …
Reported (again by Matt Denholm) in the Media section of the Oz on June 29, was the “increasingly personal row” over handling of the PR effort for the goldmine during the intense two weeks following the fatal Anzac Day rock fall.
The spat is between Tony Harrison, managing director of Corporate Communcations and rival Mike Lester of CPR Communications.
Mr Harrison is well known to TT readers as front man for Tasmanians for a Better Future, the shadowy group of obviously rather well off conservatives who threw their considerable bellies behind that good ‘ol boy, Paul, Maaaaate. He’s also a former chief spinner for former Liberal Premier Robin Gray (fondly remembered as the man whose financial management of Tasmania must be rated at Banana Republic level); now a prominent Gunns Ltd board member:
How to corporately communicate
Poll: The Robin Gray connection
Mr Harrison’s article, in the latest edition of Tasmanian Business Reporter, a publication produced by his firm and edited by his wife Ingrid, claims crucial blunders allowed union leader Bill Shorten to hijack the story.
He argued the mine should have provided regular expert briefings.
Mr Lester — a former adviser to Jim Bacon — has demanded a right of reply in which he argues it would have been childish to worry about the effect on shorten’s profile and counterproductive to freeze the union out of the communications strategy. Shorten could brief when mine manager had no time.
“This was not a popularity contest, it was never about who could get in front of the cameras the most.”
Denholm quotes local, Becher Townshend of Beyond PR, chiding Mr Harrison: “The Public Relations Institute of Australia code of conduct states that members shouldn’t reflect upon other members.”
Mr Harrison says Mr Lester — who is not a PRIA — and anyone else offended is being “grossly oversensitive”.
For more on ethics: Poll: The Robin Gray connection
