By Stephen Mayne

Now that Ron Walker has become chairman of John Fairfax, shareholders, employees and others interested in the company are owed a decent explanation from former chairman, Dean Wills. Especially when James Packer, who along with his father has long campaigned against Fairfax, yesterday hailed Walker’s ascension as “an inspired choice and the right choice.”

The Packers are clearly looking forward to negotiating a Fairfax merger with a mate, especially so soon after their other great mate David Gonski retired from the Fairfax board. Ron was delighted with the PBL takeover of Crown in 1999 as it allowed him to swap his Hudson Conway shares into PBL scrip and sell out for about $100 million at the top of the dotcom boom.

Given this background, it’s worth going back to the Dean Wills address to the Fairfax annual meeting last October where he announced Walker’s ascension to the deputy’s job. Specifically, Wills told shareholders:

This appointment (Walker’s) is designed to reflect that specific ongoing contribution (his position in the Melbourne business community) and should not be construed as an indication of future succession on the Board.

So what has changed? If he wasn’t good enough to be made heir apparent last October, why now? Roger Corbett wanted the job desperately and was slated to drop into it at last year’s AGM, before succession problems at Woolworths meant he had to stay an extra two years (he goes in September 2006).

Those Melburnians who complain about Bleak City’s falling influence should be delighted with Walker’s ascension to the Fairfax crown – but how can he possibly juggle his wheelbarrow load of conflicts?

Firstly, there’s the obvious problem of having a Liberal Party bagman chairing the nation’s most prestigious and independent newspaper company. Given the controversy over The Age’selection editorial supporting John Howard last year, a perceived Liberal Party takeover of the old Spencer Street Soviet won’t go down well.

Then you have Walker’s ridiculous workload in running the Commonwealth Games, juggling his Grand Prix commitments, his other directorships and business interests, and managing his estimated $400 million wealth. Navigating Fairfax through media mergers and enormous structural challenges will require a big effort.

Finally, there will be Ron Walker’s famously hot head. I sent a proxy to the 1998 Hudson Conway AGM to shine a light into some dark corners and Ron exploded with anger and his face went all read as he huffed and puffed about such outrageous questions.

How will he handle a contested election and lots of controversy at his first ever outing as chairman of a public company? It should be an entertaining spectacle well worth covering in the papers.