The anxious Abbott government is hoping it will be revived by the new head of the Prime Ministers Department, who starts work on Monday with a brief to concentrate on the governments economic agenda. In an implicit acknowledgement that the government has lost much confidence in the Treasurer, Joe Hockey, Michael Thawley has been tasked with rethinking the governments overarching economic strategy. The Victorian Liberal government of Denis Napthine lost Saturdays election to become the first one-term government in that state in 60 years, giving intimations of political mortality to many federal Liberal MPs. Amid the recriminations and accusations that the Abbott government was partly to blame, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison conceded that we need to work harder on the politics and managing the politics. Prime Minister Tony Abbott tried to steady his ranks with the public boast on Sunday of a year of achievement. But privately he and his ministers are hoping that it will achieve much more with its agenda driven by Mr Thawley. Mr Thawley takes up his post as secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet with a brief to bring coherence to an economic agenda seen by many in the government to be in disarray. The prime ministers office regards his predecessor, Ian Watt, as an affable but ineffectual officer. The prime example of its frustration was the departments inertia in responding to the shootdown of MH17. Mr Thawley, by contrast, has a reputation as a hard-driving official. A career diplomat, he served as international adviser to Prime Minister John Howard, who then appointed Mr Thawley ambassador to the US. Mr Thawley then left the public service to work as an adviser to funds managers at the big US investment house, Capital Group, which manages $US1 trillion. After nine years, Mr Abbott convinced him to return to Australias most senior public service post. A cabinet minister said that many in the government had high hopes that he could help set effective strategy unless he meets an immovable object, code for the PMs chief of staff, Peta Credlin. A second cabinet minister said that while Mr Thawley was an excellent appointment, the government needed a political circuit breaker and the appointment of even a highly effective faceless man in the public service was unlikely to provide that. Most immediately, he will confront the governments Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook report due next month. The so-called MYEFO is expected to report a deterioration in the budget deficit and the economic outlook. Mr Thawley is expected to advise on how budget strategy should be recalibrated, and then co-ordinate all arms of economic policy including industry policy, labour market policy, education, transport, infrastructure and tax reform. The Victorian loss capped off a confused week which saw the government send out conflicting messages about whether the $7 Medicare co-payment has been scrapped or not. Late on Sunday, ministers and MPs were asking journalists to tell them of the governments policy because they had no clue themselves. The federal Victorian Nationals MP Darren Chester said the governments decision to raise the fuel tax mid-way through the state campaign wasnt helpful to the Victorian Coalition but believed the Commonwealth couldnt be blamed for the state defeat. Im under no illusions that the federal governments tough decisions on the federal budget played into the Victorian election but it is childishly simplistic to blame Tony Abbott for everything that went wrong in Victoria, he told Fairfax Media.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 22:05:20 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015