Scott John Morrison does not appear to be a man with an abundance of intellectual curiosity, his employment history* is lacklustre with most of positions he held lasting less than 3 years and, his work ethic is not strong given he granted himself three holiday breaks in the first full year of his primeministership.
So to whom (besides the Institute of Public Affairs) does Morrison turn to when he is deciding his policy positions?
A clue might be found here......
Michael
West Media, Hon Scott Morrison MP, excerpt, 2020:
Mining
Connections
John
Kunkel, the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff: before his appointment
to his current position by Morrison in 2018, Kunkle served as Rio
Tinto’s chief advisor for Government Relations, working as a
lobbyist for the multinational mining firm. Rio is one of Australia’s
top coal miners. Before this Kunkel was Deputy CEO of the Mineral
Council of Australia for over six years.
Brendan
Pearson, Senior Advisor for International Trade and Investment for
the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) 2019 to present. Pearson was
the CEO of the MCA from 2014 untl 2017, where BHP Billiton pressured
the MCA over Pearson’s radically pro-coal stances and insistance on
government-subsidised coal projects.
Lobbying
Connections
Former
mining lobbyists who now hold key positions within Morrison’s staff
include The Prime Minister’s Principal Private Secretary, Yaron
Finkelstein, the former CEO of Crosby Textor (now C|T) a
multinational lobbying firm with close ties to the Liberal Party and
the mining industry. Other C|T alumni include Liberal Party campaign
director, Andrew Hirst and his deputy, Isaac Levido, as well as James
McGrath, LNP Senator for Queensland and prominent public advocate for
Adani’s Carmichael coal mine.
A
further pro-mining lobbyist connection is Stephanie Wawn. Wawn is a
senior
advisor to Morrison and was previously employed as a manager for
CapitalHill Advisory. CapitalHill’s clients included coal miner
Glencore and pro-coal think tank, the Menzies Research Centre.
Media
Connections
Another
way in which the mining lobby exerts influence is via the Prime
Minister’s communications team. Many of Morrison’s senior
communications team have long-held ties to the Murdoch press. News
Corporation is pro-coal and anti climate change.
Positions
taken by News Corp staffers in the Prime Minster’s office include
Matthew Fynes-Clinton’s role as speech-writer. Fynes-Clinton was
former deputy chief of staff and editor of The Courier Mail. Press
Secretary, Andrew Carswell, formerly chief of staff at The Daily
Telegraph and advisor Thomas Adolph, formerly with The Australian.
NOTES
* Jobs held since 1989:
National Manager, Policy and Research Property Council of Australia 1989-95.
Deputy Chief Executive, Australian Tourism Task Force 1995-96.
General Manager, Tourism Council 1996-98.
Director, NZ Office of Tourism and Sport 1998-2000.
State Director, Liberal Party (NSW) 2000-04.
Managing Director, Tourism Australia 2004-06.
Principal, MSAS Pty Ltd 2006-07.
Member iof the Australian Parliament 2007- present.
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