Smithson: Whisper warning as election looms
Less than a year out from the next state election, the rumour mill is turning, throwing up whispers about MPs stepping down, rejoining parties and “messing around” with staff, writes Mike Smithson.
Funny things happen in the long, lead up to state elections with the political whisper and rumour mill cranking up to full speed.
Information is often leaked in the hope it will be passed on, get into the public domain and cause damage or, at the very least, a distraction for the enemy forces.
Take for instance a radio drop on FIVEaa last week where David Penberthy announced, in his words, a very strong rumour “growing stronger by the day” that a significant political figure was going to retire.
Apparently, this MP has been large in the political landscape over decades.
He went on to speculate the mystery politician is of the view that their career is at a point that they can look with pride at what they’ve achieved and head into the political sunset.
He wouldn’t name names, but as his co-host Will Goodings pointed out, Penbo had dropped a “couple of breadcrumbs.”
At that point the field was rapidly narrowing as few politicians have been there for decades and all, but one, of the veteran brigade has already flagged their retirement plans.
So, all roads led to Infrastructure Minister Tom Koutsantonis who fitted the criteria with a parliamentary career dating back to 1997.
He has a tough gig and perhaps a desire to spend more time with his family.
But a quick call to the Minister had him answering the phone with the simple greeting to me that “I’m not retiring.”
He had no issue in quashing the rumour and even gave me the name of a Liberal MP who he suspects got the ball rolling.
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Koutsantonis told me he has many years left and wants to see out the massive South Road upgrade.
That’s unsurprising, as it would rightly earn him a permanent legacy in SA’s infrastructure history.
Earlier in the week I was dropped a tasty tidbit that Independent MP for Narungga, Fraser Ellis, claimed he’d been approached by his former Liberal Party to rejoin its ranks at the next election.
Cast your mind back to the infamous country members travel allowance scandal which first hit the headlines back in 2020.
Certain Liberals were found to have dubiously used a parliamentary allowance to claim thousands of dollars for accommodation in Adelaide during sitting weeks.
It quickly emerged such taxpayer funded handouts didn’t pass the pub test.
Although the money had been legitimately paid, the pollies were often staying with relatives, probably free of charge, or weren’t even in Adelaide at the time.
The Independent Commissioner Against Corruption got involved and charges were laid, with Ellis being one of a handful of Libs in the firing line.
He was eventually found guilty on four counts of deception and misuse of the allowance and not guilty of another 19 charges.
He’s repaid the money, but his case is still the subject of legal appeals.
He suspended his Liberal Party membership and became an Independent for the Yorke Peninsula region, with a majority of voters giving him the benefit of any doubt and re-electing him in 2022.
So, do the Libs now want him back?
He allegedly told a Labor MP they’d made an approach which he politely refused, preferring his independence.
But that was news to the Liberal leader when I contacted him.
I then rang Liberal State Director Alex Hyde who instantly knew the reason for my call after an apparent tip off.
Hyde told me the Libs were conducting their normal pre-selection process in Narungga.
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“Nominations there are now closed and subject to our usual candidate review process,” he said.
He claimed Ellis may have been contacted by the party as a matter of courtesy about pre-selection, but it went no further than that.
So, in pursuing due diligence and sorting out who said what, I contacted Ellis.
His version remains one of being actively courted.
“I felt they would have preferred for me to accept their offer,” he said.
A far more sinister rumour doing the rounds is that a prominent MP is currently “messing around with a staff member” whatever that means.
That whisper campaign was deliberately dropped to another journalist with the specific intention of reaching my ears.
When I traced it back to the informant, they told me it came from a totally reliable source within the MP’s workplace.
The informant, who’s held senior positions, says the whisper campaign is designed to cause the MP damage from factional enemies.
I sincerely doubt that any part of this allegation is true and wouldn’t even waste my time approaching the politician involved.
Yes, politics can be a dirty game and those involved need to have a thick skin.
We’ve seen politicians come and go because they refuse to be subjected to rumour and inuendo.
Former Labor Premier Mike Rann fought off the Michelle Chantelois saga in which she accused him of having an affair with her, which he always denied.
His Deputy Kevin Foley was accused of a variety of deeds and eventually jumped ship from a memorable and colourful political career, which was both blessed and cursed.
Even Liberal Premier Steven Marshall copped plenty of flak and attention for his alleged behaviour away from North Terrace.
He quickly fell out of love with the media and lost government which many say was partly the culmination of buckling under political pressure and public scrutiny.
The whisper campaign is likely to continue all the way to the March election.
But what doesn’t politically kill them, will make under-pressure MPs even stronger.
When the going gets tough, I’ve usually observed, the tough get going.
But there are exceptions.
Mike Smithson is weekend presenter and political analyst for 7NEWS.
