March 16 was a key date in the calendar with Queensland local government elections held alongside two key state seat by-elections of Ipswich West and Inala. The Ipswich West by-election occurred due to the resignation of the ALP’s Jim Madden. The Inala by-election was the result of the resignation of former Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk after […]

Alleluia, Federal Parliament will rise for Easter. MPs and senators will welcome the well-earned break, spending the recess in their constituencies or, if you’re the Treasurer, finalising the budget due on the 14th of May.  For the religious, Good Friday and Easter Sunday hold special significance. For Prime Minister Albanese and the ALP Government, they will […]

It’s the great contradiction in the Australian political debate at the moment. While all sides of politics are desperate to lift incomes and ease the cost-of-living crisis, most of our political leaders seem to be ignoring a key factor in that equation. Labour productivity for the whole economy fell by 3.7 per cent in 2022-23 compared to growth of 1.6 […]

Australia’s energy policy journey continues to be at the forefront of political debate. Whether it is proposing nuclear power or the slow down of major renewable energy projects, there is work to do and time is ticking. While it is convenient to lay the blame for the state of energy policy at the feet of […]

Photo caption: Woolworths’ Brad Banducci walking out of ABC Four Corners interview The poor performance of Woolworths’ and Coles’ CEOs on ABC’s recent Four Corners program about supermarket prices were a public manifestation of appalling preparation by their media advisors.  Coles’ Leah Weckert and Woolworths’ Brad Banducci, along with their respective media advisors, should have anticipated […]

While many may think of the SAS Group as a very experienced government relations and media consultancy, many of us have other skills that we practice outside of the organisation, which are not necessarily promoted on our calling card. One of those skills is mentoring. Last week, I was honoured once again to be chosen […]

The recent Newspoll results identified that 62 per cent of voters believe the Prime Minister did the right thing in redirecting more of the Stage 3 tax cuts relief to lower-and-middle-income earners. The upcoming Dunkley by-election on the 2nd of March will provide the first electoral opportunity to measure community sentiment post-referendum, with polls suggesting the […]

February was a big month for Queensland State Politics and March is expected to be somewhat subdued. Political parties are focusing almost all attention on the local government elections on March 16, which puts state government politics on the back burner, at least for the first half of the month. Two key state by-elections (Inala […]

Peter V’landys, the head of the National Rugby League (NRL) is hoping to make history, taking the game to Las Vegas expecting to crack the US’s lucrative Broadcasting market. Meanwhile, at home, a very different battle is shaping up in the outer suburbs of Melbourne. This Saturday the gladiator sport of politics will be fought […]