Smithson: Hurn’s first week as Lib Leader and Tarzia’s ‘free passage’ to Ashes, footy and golf
Will the new Shadow Health spokesperson have the same “killer instinct” as Ashton Hurn? Mike Smithson unpacks the new Liberal Party lineup and ponders life at the top with children in tow.
A young mother running a major political party, which is entering its most challenging election period ever, comes with a multitude of day-to-day challenges including emotions surrounding the horrific Bondi massacre.
The Liberal’s 34-year-old Ashton Hurn has just completed her first week as leader of the SA party whilst also juggling the needs of a 19-month-old toddler, who is undoubtedly less engaged in politics than his mum.
But who knows?
Young Rupert may grow up with everything required to be a future Prime Minister of Australia.
His mother has lived and breathed politics for much of her adult life and his father, Adam, is also highly connected in the upper echelons of political wheeling and dealings.
This past week Hurn has needed to juggle her massive and ever-increasing workload, but, at least, she now has a government-supplied limo and driver, courtesy of her official position as Opposition Leader.
What may be a first for SA politics is a booster seat fitted to the new taxpayer-funded VW Touareg which will travel countless kilometres between her Barossa Valley home and electorate, North Terrace and just about every corner of our vast state.
Hurn is the state’s first female leader to be in this unique position and is just as committed to motherhood as she is trying to win an election.
The Premier and his wife Annabel also know the challenges of politics, dual careers, and with four children in their mix.
As does Hurn’s predecessor Vincent Tarzia who was juggling his own work life balance with his wife and their two small children.
Hurn openly says that Rupert will be accompanying her on some overnight stays or multiple day country trips, so a child’s seat is an essential part of her political armoury.
His rapid learning experience from the in-car chatter will be fascinating if my own experience with a very chatty 23-month-old grandson is any indication.
“God’s speed between destinations, Ashton,” I can hear many parents and grandparents saying already.
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It’s been a whirlwind week by anyone’s measure, and, for me, it seems that she’s been at the helm for much longer.
Her new shadow cabinet has offered up some interesting choices.
As predicated in last week’s InDaily scorecard of SA politicians, Jack Batty has emerged from the shadows.
He’s a key Hurn backer and a young parent himself who now knows the true meaning of commitment and time-in-motion personal organisation.
In the relatively thin Liberal pickings, he’s been handed the massive shadow portfolio of education to add to his hefty workload of police and correctional services.
He’s also MP for the tricky seat of Bragg, which was once a Liberal stronghold, but anything goes in March next year.
His eastern suburbs mecca received a seismic shockwave at this year’s federal poll where Labor’s Claire Clutterham was an easy victor in Sturt.
Add the fall of nearby Dunstan to Labor’s Cressida O’Hanlon, in a shock by-election swing, and the Libs may be better served to sandbag Batty and Bragg for all they’re worth.
That explains why Penny Pratt wasn’t given extra workload in Frome, renamed Ngadjuri, where she’ll go head-to-head with veteran Tony Piccolo who’s arguably been shunted out of his safe Labor seat of Light.
If Pratt loses, it will be an embarrassing blow for the Liberals, but if Batty loses it will be a defeat of catastrophic proportion and perception.
Hurn’s other great challenge going forward is giving the government a good whack where it will hurt most, namely in the health portfolio.
That ever-present Achilles heel for the government has been bread and butter politics for Hurn for almost four years and helped elevate her to becoming the Liberal’s strongest performer.
Her killer instinct has never let up on ambulance ramping, cost overruns, bed block and the lack of aged care beds.
Heidi Girolamo is her new shadow minister for health and wellbeing.
She doesn’t have the same dogged approach as Hurn in such an important area and her leader is still likely to call the shots, but from a loftier height.
Ben Hood is the new shadow treasurer which will see him relocate to Adelaide from his own conservative fiefdom in the south-east corner of the state.
He will also have plenty on his plate with the government ready for an all-out attack on his economic credentials, also reminding voters about his anti-late abortion views and where he stands, or stood, on stamp duty abolition.
Former leader Vincent Tarzia has been gifted the shadow role of sport, recreation and racing.
In other words: free passage to the Ashes cricket, LIV golf, AFL Gather Round, any decent entertainment events and the Adelaide Cup.
If Tarzia was so hellbent on resigning from the top job to concentrate on his family and his Hartley electorate, after promising on a stack of bibles that he’d remain leader, he’s been given a reward.
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For what?
Good luck to Tarzia after many plotted against him, but I’m not certain he should’ve been handed the party-boy role for the Liberal’s defining period.
Why was Frank Pangallo left out of the new Hurn line-up?
Undoubtedly his biggest task ahead is to win back the seat of Waite, which is a fulltime job.
There’s no longer a glowing endorsement of “watchdog Pangallo” in the new Liberal mantra, as was so heavily pushed by Tarzia and Frank himself.
I suspect he was, and probably always will be, a loose cannon rolling around on the Liberal deck.
Hurn’s enjoyed a favourable week of positive publicity, but she now hits the inevitable downtime of the test cricket this week, followed by the Christmas and New Year holiday period.
That may be a handbrake on her infectious appetite to hit the ground running selling her major polices including lower taxes and costs.
But it may also provide her with time to reflect on her strengths and weaknesses before the main campaign game officially starts.
Mike Smithson is a presenter and political analyst for 7News.
