Barton Deakin

Barton Deakin
Type Government relations and lobbying firm
Purpose Works with Coalition governments and oppositions and employs staff with ties to the Liberal Party of Australia, National Party of Australia and their state affiliates
Location
  • Australia
Official language
 English
Chairman
 Peter Collins
CEO and Managing Director
 Matthew Hingerty
Federal Managing Director
 David Alexander
Managing Director (NSW)
 Anthony Benscher
Parent organization
 STW Group
Affiliations Liberal Party of Australia, National Party of Australia

Barton Deakin is an Australian government relations and lobbying firm. The firm is openly partisan and works only with Coalition governments and oppositions and employs staff with ties to the Liberal Party of Australia, National Party of Australia and their state affiliates.

The firm has permanent offices in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.[1] It is touted as the largest firm in federal government lobbying in Australia after an increase in client and staff, particularly following the Coalition's 2013 Federal Election win.[2][3] Barton Deakin is majority owned by the STW Group,[4] the ASX-listed parent company of more than 75 communications firms in Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia.

The company's staff includes former politicians, political Chiefs of Staff, advisors and tacticians. Barton Deakin also produces briefs on Australian and New Zealand policy and government issues, which are distributed several times a week.[5]

Current staff

The firm's chairman is former New South Wales Treasurer and Liberal Leader, Peter Collins. Collins has been named as one of the most prominent Liberal Party identities working in the government relations industry in Australia.[6]

The CEO and Managing Director is Matthew Hingerty, former Chief of Staff to Minister George Souris in the O'Farrell Government. He was also Chief of Staff to Joe Hockey as Minister in the Howard Government, an adviser to Peter Collins as Opposition Leader and to New South Wales Premier John Fahey and to several ministers throughout the Greiner-Fahey governments. Hingerty was also formerly the Managing Director of the Australian Tourism Export Council.[7][8][9]

Barton Deakin's Federal Managing Director is David Alexander. Alexander was formerly a senior adviser to Peter Costello as Treasurer and was part of the Tax Reform Implementation Unit, which oversaw the implementation of the GST.[10][11][12] Alexander was also previously the economics editor of the Canberra Times and continues to provide media commentary.[13][14]

Grahame Morris is also a Director of the firm's Federal division.[15] Morris was formerly Chief of Staff to Prime Minister John Howard, and prior to that was an adviser to Liberal Leaders Andrew Peacock and Alexander Downer. Morris is a former journalist with The Australian and appears as a weekly panellist on Sky News Australia's PM Agenda program, on radio, on television shows such as the ABC's Q&A,[16] and is often quoted in the print media.[17][18][19]

Stefanee Lovett is a Director in the firm's Canberra office. Lovett previously served as a senior adviser in the Prime Minister's office and Chief of Staff to a cabinet Minister.[20] She previously worked at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission for ten years prior to joining the firm.[21]

Anthony Benscher is Managing Director of Barton Deakin's NSW division. Prior to joining the firm in the latter-half of 2013, Benscher served as Chief of Staff to New South Wales Minister Pru Goward.[22] Benscher also served as a senior adviser to John Howard from 1993 to 2000, and was a senior executive at Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (PBL).[23][24][25]

Andrew Humpherson is a Director of the firm's NSW division.[26] Humpherson was formerly a Chief of Staff to the Minister for Resources and Energy in the O'Farrell/Baird Government.[27] Prior to this, he served in the NSW Parliament as the Member for Davidson for 15 years. He also served as a Shadow Minister for 8 years across the portfolios of planning, environment, justice and corrections, housing, water, community services and emergency services.[28]

John Griffin manages the firm's Victorian and South Australian clients. Griffin was formerly Chief of Staff to Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett and Senior Private Secretary to John Hewson, working alongside Tony Abbott.[29]

Gerard Paynter, a former Young Liberal President, is Managing Director of the firm's Queensland division. Paynter provides media commentary on the current and former Queensland Governments.[30][31] Paynter previously worked as a stockbroker for Ord Minnett,[32] where he provided stock market commentary through Boardroom Radio.[33] He is also a Director of Initiative Capital, a firm that partners with private sector entities to deliver unsolicited (market-led) proposals to Australian governments for innovative public-private partnership (PPP) projects.[34]

Eacham Curry is Managing Director of the firm's Western Australia division. Curry served as Chief of Staff in the Howard Government and also in the Barnett Government.[35] He has held senior roles within the Liberal Party Federal Secretariat and ran as a Liberal Party candidate for Albert Park at the 1996 Victorian State Election.

Barton Deakin's website,[36] shows that the company employs a number of other political figures and former Coalition staffers.

Former staff

Barton Deakin's former Queensland managing director, Ted O'Brien, left the firm to run for preselection for the Liberal National Party (LNP) in the Division of Fairfax in 2012, and was subsequently preselected as the LNP's Candidate for the 2013 Federal Election.[37][38] The contest for Fairfax shot to national prominence when billionaire and mining magnate, Clive Palmer, announced that he would set up his own political party (the Palmer United Party) and would personally run in the division of Fairfax.[39] Palmer backed the decision with a high-spending advertising campaign, both in the division of Fairfax and for his party nationally.[40] In comparison, O'Brien was described as a low-key candidate.[41] The division remained in the national spotlight in the weeks following 7 September 2013 election, as it became the final seat in the House of Representatives left in contention. More than 3 weeks after the election, just 7 votes separated Palmer and O'Brien at the end of the first full round of counting, despite almost 90,000 votes being cast and counted.[42] The Australian Electoral Commission confirmed that the very tight result would trigger a full recount to determine who would be the next Member for Fairfax.[43][44] On 3 October 2013, the official recount began.[45] It was finalised on 31 October 2013 almost 2 months after the election, with Palmer declared as the winner by 53 votes making it the most marginal seat in Australian parliament.[46] In May 2015, Ted O'Brien was preselected to recontest the seat of Fairfax at the 2016 Federal Election for the LNP.[47] Clive Palmer has also signalled his intention to recontest the seat in 2016. [48]

Former Brisbane Lord Mayor Sallyanne Atkinson established Barton Deakin's Queensland office in late 2011. She served as Chairman (Queensland) until early 2015. Atkinson was Lord Mayor during a period of extensive growth, including through World Expo 88, which is often credited as a "coming of age" event that transformed and repositioned Brisbane during the late 1980s.[49]

Another former Barton Deakin staff member, Lucy Wicks, also ran for office at the 2013 Federal Election.[50] Wicks won the New South Wales seat of Robertson with a swing of 4 per cent and holds the seat with a 3 per cent margin.[51]

Controversy

"Cow" comment

Barton Deakin's Federal Director, Grahame Morris, landed himself in hot water in August 2012 for remarks he made on-air on 702 ABC Sydney in relation to a television interview of Tony Abbott by Leigh Sales the night earlier on 7.30. "Well, Leigh can be a real cow sometimes when she's doing interviews," Morris said.[52]

The comment triggered public complaints for sexism, especially on Twitter. The situation was exacerbated when a British MP with the same name – Grahame Morris – mistakenly received emails and Tweets aimed at the Australian Grahame Morris.[53] Leigh Sales responded to Morris' comment on Twitter, saying she would "rather be a cow than a dinosaur".[54] Morris later apologised for the comment, stating that a more appropriate expression would have been something like, "Having known most of the senior journalists, and in particular the political journalists over the last 30 years, there are people who can be tough... [and] Leigh, at times, can be tough."[55][56]

"Kicking her to death" comment

Grahame Morris was criticised for his remarks in the media again in early 2012 when, during a regular appearance on Sky News Australia's PM Agenda program, he said that Australians "ought to be kicking [Prime Minister Julia Gillard] to death." The comment was made in relation to Gillard's support of two MPs accused of improper and illegal conduct – Craig Thomson and Peter Slipper. Morris later apologised for the comment.[57]

The Irish "can't grow potatoes" comment

Grahame Morris was criticised for his remarks in the media again in 2015 when, during a regular appearance on Sky News Australia's PM Agenda program, he said that the Irish "are people who can’t grow potatoes, who have a mutant lawn weed as their national symbol and they can’t verbalise the difference between tree and the number three".[58]

Queensland Government and lobbyists

Barton Deakin's Queensland office was in the media in early 2013 in relation to a lunch they hosted in mid 2012 which the then Minister for Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts, Ros Bates, attended as a guest. The minister was criticised in an article published in the Sunday Mail on 10 February for not declaring the lunch as a "contact with lobbyists", which the publication claimed contravened Queensland lobbying regulations.[59] Soon after, Barton Deakin released a statement confirming that Bates had attended a lunch that they hosted, but stated that no lobbying had occurred at the event.[60] After initially refusing to comment, Bates defended her decision not to declare the lunch, saying that she had received confirmation from the Integrity Commissioner that attending lunches did not constitute lobbying.[61] She was backed by Premier Campbell Newman, who said he believed she had not broken the law and that he still had full confidence in her as minister.[62][63] Despite this, on 15 February 2013, Ros Bates resigned as minister citing poor health and the pressure her family had experienced as a result of a series of controversies and adverse media attention.[64][65]

References

  1. ↑ http://www.bartondeakin.com.au/
  2. ↑ Phillip Thomson (22 January 2013). "Grahame Morris Top Dog in Canberra". Canberratimes.com.au. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  3. ↑ Knott, Matthew. "Lobbyists under an Abbott government: Barton Deakin". Crikey. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  4. ↑ "Australasia's Largest Communications Group". STW Group. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  5. ↑ http://www.bartondeakin.com.au/category/barton-deakin-briefs/
  6. ↑ Private Media (18 November 2011). "Twenty powerful people in lobbying". Thepowerindex.com.au. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  7. ↑ "Home". Atec.net.au. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  8. ↑ "Matt Hingerty to head up Barton Deakin". Mumbrella. 30 July 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  9. ↑ Sean Nicholls (26 November 2010). "When chief of staff becomes chief executive". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  10. ↑ "David Alexander joins Barton Deakin team". STW Group. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  11. ↑ "Barton Deakin hires former Costello adviser Alexander". Influencing. 25 October 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  12. ↑ "Barton Deakin PR lures ex-Costello advisor | B&T". Bandt.com.au. 25 October 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  13. ↑ David Alexander. "Risky business: good spin on bad practice – The Drum Opinion (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  14. ↑ "Want to look fiscally brilliant? Stand next to an ugly economy". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  15. ↑ https://web.archive.org/20130420191903/http://www.bartondeakin.com.au/Canberra/Grahame_Morris.html. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2013. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ↑ "Q&A | Abc Tv". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  17. ↑ "Summary – ep 14 | Q&A | ABC TV". Abc.net.au. 26 September 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  18. ↑ "Bruce Hawker and Grahame Morris on SKY PM Agenda 20.5.13". YouTube. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  19. ↑
  20. ↑ http://www.bartondeakin.com/barton-deakins-people/stefanee-lovett/
  21. ↑ http://www.fia.com/stefanee-lovett
  22. ↑ "Lobbyist and backroom heavyweight Michael Photios involved in meeting with senior Liberal MP over Miranda candidate". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  23. ↑ Heath Aston. "Howard's crew in charge". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  24. ↑ "Where Howard staffers finished up". The Mayne Report. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  25. ↑ "Where 220 ex Howard staffers are now". Crikey. 20 July 2004. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  26. ↑ http://www.bartondeakin.com/barton-deakins-people/andrew-humpherson/
  27. ↑ http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/chris-hartcher-chief-of-staff-andrew-humpherson-heads-to-mining-job-20140226-33ikk.html
  28. ↑ http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parlment/Members.nsf/0c208e9d5aa724e1ca25694200040555/bf8e2e1228e95bb54a25674500016572?OpenDocument
  29. ↑ "American Chamber of Commerce in Australia". Amcham.com.au. 31 January 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  30. ↑ Gerard Paynter. "Campbell Newman Making Hard, But Correct Choices". Brisbanetimes.com.au. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  31. ↑ Gerard Paynter. "Newman can escape the 'leader killing season'". Brisbanetimes.com.au. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  32. ↑ "Home Page " Ord Minnett". Ords.com.au. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  33. ↑ "BRR – AM Broker Wrap – Mr Gerard Paynter, Private Client Advisor, Ord Minnett (Brisbane) – BRR Media webcast". Brrmedia.com. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  34. ↑ http://www.initiativecapital.com.au/us/our-people/
  35. ↑ "Barton Deakin opens Western Australia office". Influencing. 9 May 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  36. ↑ "Government Relations". Barton Deakin. 16 June 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  37. ↑ "Seats of the day: Fairfax, Hinkler and Flynn | The Poll Bludger". Blogs.crikey.com.au. 4 September 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  38. ↑ "Ted O'Brien". LNP. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  39. ↑ Scarr, Lanai (26 April 2013). "Clive Palmer running for Federal Parliament, says he wants to be PM". News.com.au. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  40. ↑ "Ad spending rises as polling day approaches". Theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  41. ↑ "Low-key rival hot on Clive's heels". Theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  42. ↑ "Palmer just seven votes ahead of O'Brien ahead of recount". Sunshine Coast Daily. 1 October 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  43. ↑ "AEC Media Releases – Australian Electoral Commission". Aec.gov.au. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  44. ↑ "Fairfax count: LNP candidate Ted O'Brien says he can still defeat Clive Palmer – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  45. ↑ http://www.aec.gov.au/Elections/federal_elections/2013/fairfax.htm
  46. ↑ http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/clive-palmer-wins-fairfax-after-marathon-recount-20131031-2wjl6.html
  47. ↑ http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/lnp-preselects-ted-obrien-to-challenge-clive-palmer-in-fairfax-20150523-gh81q4.html
  48. ↑ http://www.skynews.com.au/news/politics/national/2015/08/20/clive-palmer-plans-to-recontest-fairfax.html
  49. ↑ "World Expo 88 sees Brisbane come of age". Couriermail.com.au. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  50. ↑ http://results.aec.gov.au/17496/Website/HouseDivisionFirstPrefs-17496-146.htm
  51. ↑ http://www.abc.net.au/news/federal-election-2013/guide/robe/
  52. ↑ "Lib strategist sorry for calling journalist 'cow'". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  53. ↑ "UK Grahame Morris cops Aussie abuse". Theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  54. ↑ "Grahame Morris apologises to Leigh Sales for 'cow' comment". Theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  55. ↑ "Morris apologises for calling Leigh Sales 'a cow' – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  56. ↑ Jacqueline Maley (21 March 2012). "Morris sorry on 'cow' insult". Theage.com.au. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  57. ↑ Benjamin Millar (1 May 2012). "Liberal strategist sorry for Gillard quip". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  58. ↑ Stephanie Anderson (3 May 2015). "'People who can’t grow potatoes': Former Howard staffer unleashes Irish insults". Sbs.com.au. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  59. ↑ "Queensland Arts and IT Minister Ros Bates facing fresh calls to quit after a lobbyist lunch left off contact register". Couriermail.com.au. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  60. ↑ "Barton Deakin : Media Statement : Lunch with Minister Bates, August 2012" (PDF). Parliament.qld.gov.au. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  61. ↑ "Arts Minister Ros Bates defends latest lobbyist register oversight". Couriermail.com.au. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  62. ↑ "Newman backs Bates over lobbyist lunch Local Gold Coast News | goldcoast.com.au | Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia". goldcoast.com.au. 11 February 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  63. ↑
  64. ↑ "Minister Ros Bates resigns as Premier Newman says she's been under "intense pressure"". Couriermail.com.au. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  65. ↑ Amy Remeikis (17 January 2013). "Ros Bates quits". Brisbanetimes.com.au. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
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