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| Third from the left appears to be Defence Innovation Adviser Jack Walker with his pants around his ankles The West Australian |
The Australian, 4 October 2016:
An adviser to cabinet minister Christopher Pyne has been revealed as one of nine Australians arrested for stripping down to Malaysian flag-themed underwear at the country’s Formula One grand prix.
The men, aged between 25 and 29, were reportedly intoxicated when they undressed and began to dance in front of thousands of spectators at the Sepang International Circuit in celebration at Australian Daniel Ricciardo’s race win.
Jack Walker, who is Defence Innovation Adviser in the Defence Industry Minister’s office, was among them.
Mr Pyne’s spokeswoman told The Australian: “This matter is being handled appropriately by the Australian High Commissioner. Until we have a clearer picture of the process at hand it would be unwise to comment further”.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop’s department confirmed it was assisting the men.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance, in accordance with the Consular Services Charter, to a group of Australians who were arrested in Malaysia,” a spokeswoman said. “Due to privacy obligations, we are unable to provide further information.”
Treasurer Scott Morrison hoped the incident would encourage young Australians to respect local customs when travelling abroad.
“They are their laws, their rules. You’re on their ground, so you’ve got to comply,” Mr Morrison told Sydney radio 2GB this morning.
“It’s a timely reminder for young people when they travel overseas, know what the laws and rules are and respect them.”
Mr Walker has spent most of his professional life at Mr Pyne’s side, having joined his office in 2013. Mr Walker previously worked at PremierState, the lobbying firm chaired by Liberal factional warlord Michael Photios, and interned at Macquarie Bank.
Mr Walker has served the minister in numerous roles including as Mr Pyne’s executive assistant and as a liaison with Coalition backbenchers. He was appointed Mr Pyne’s Defence Innovation Adviser in July.
Mr Walker claims to have studied international relations at the University of Sydney, according to his resume uploaded to website LinkedIn.
“(I am) confident, hard working and always open to new experiences,” he wrote.
“I enjoy working with people and am always open to opportunities that will increase my personal development.”
The Star, a local Malaysian newspaper, quoted Sepang police chief Abdul Aziz Ali as saying the group was detained moments after the incident.
“They were under the influence of alcohol,” Assistant Commissioner Abdul Aziz said.
“Investigations revealed they bought the undies down under.”
Under Malaysian law, the offences of provocation and indecency can attract jail terms of up to two years.
The underpants were reportedly purchased from an Australian swimwear brand based in Manly, Sydney, and cost $55 each.
The company sells briefs based on the Brazilian, US, French and Japanese design, among others.
The nine men will be held for four days while police investigate claims of public indecency and disrespecting the Malaysian flag.
After all nine offenders plead guilty to a charge of public nuisance and received cautions they promptly returned home under the full gaze of the media.
One suspects that a certain Defence Innovation adviser to Liberal MP for Sturt and Australian Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne was hoping to quietly slip back into the country, with the media focused on those offenders who returned as a group through Sydney on Friday morning 7 October.
However, even after shaving off his beard he still found the media waiting as he left Perth International Airport on Friday afternoon.
Unfortunately for Walker evasion was never going to be an effective strategy as he had already been effectively skewered in The Spectator issue of 5 October 2016:
Walker isn’t a once off.
He’s a part of growing culture within the Liberal ranks; the staffer
brat.
The staffer brat is a
twenty-something,
arts degree graduate, typically moderate-leaning, Kool-Aid drinking political
adviser.
With their Young Liberal
membership firmly tucked in their chinos, they stroll the blue carpet of
the Ministerial Wing with superficial busyness, often in the direction of free
booze and networking. They flash their blue ministerial passes at
Aussies to crush the spirits of junior staff who secured a rare trip to
Canberra. They’ve seen the inside of the Qantas Chairman’s Lounge and they
won’t let you forget it.
They greet senior
ministers as close friends. They are the fly-in-fly-outs, over-promoted,
under-qualified and full to brim with travel allowance to supplement their
already over inflated salaries. They do not serve on the frontline,
rarely accountable to voters and lean heavily on their department for
support.
Their policy
expertise often only extends to PVO Newshour and
140-character commentary. Their Instagram is laden with West
Wing-style images of riding VIP jets, post-run selfies with
the Foreign Minister and artsy pictures of the parliamentary courtyards.
The wanker filter is,
unsurprisingly, always in heavy use.
And while potentially
bright and occasionally competent, the electorate often
proves more complex than their life experience allows.
Having been invited to resign - which he did on Saturday 8 October - Jack Walker can now enjoy a few days of leisure before the Liberal Party old boys network finds him a new position where white male entitlement and boorish behaviour are considered career assets.
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