The powerful, faceless men (and women). From a Canberra Labor insider, an informed list of the top ten most influential advisers in the new Gillard government:
- Amanda Lampe (Julia Gillard)
- John Whelan (Julia Gillard)
- Tom Bentley (Julia Gillard)
- Jim Chalmers (Wayne Swan)
- Tracey Winters (Mark Ferguson)
- Russell Mahoney (Julia Gillard)
- Chris Barrett (Wayne Swan)
- Angela Pratt (Nicola Roxon)
- David Garner (Simon Crean)
- Jo Brent (Jenny Macklin)
Gillard taking advice? Phil Davey — a former union press secretary who once worked for John Watkins and who now runs his own consultancy — updated his Facebook status on Sunday morning to say: “My influence on new PM already evident from front pages of Sunday papers today. Rockin! This is gonna be good.”
What’s Julia using the credit card on? The Age had the scoop today: “Gillard appears to have spent very little time in any arts venue at all in recent memory.” As Sydney Opera House chief executive Richard Evans was quoted as saying: ”To the best of my knowledge she’s never been to the Opera House at all. And there’s no credit card record of her having bought a ticket.” Has Evans just breached the Privacy Act…?
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