It was taken in June, as the government was realising that large chunks of its budget would not pass the Senate and speculation mounted that Australia would have to get involved in Iraq. The Prime Ministers chief of staff is sitting on the green benches of the House wearing a snakeskin blouse. Her face is scrunched up in a menacing sneer, her finger pointed at the Foreign Minister.It is read as a standard shot about Credlin and her role in the Abbott government. Bishop may be the third most senior person in the ministry, with the best death stare in the country, but even she cannot escape Credlins control. The power and influence of the Prime Ministers chief of staff has been a hot potato topic this week, with some government MPs complaining Credlin is out of control.On Friday, in an extraordinary move, Prime Minister Tony Abbott defended Credlin on ABC News Breakfast by telling colleagues who have been criticising her to take a long hard look at themselves. He also whipped out the politically fraught argument that she is being criticised because she is a woman. Do you really think my chief of staff would be under this kind of criticism her name was P-E-T-E-R as opposed to P-E-T-A? Abbott asked.As far as Liberal advisers go, you would be hard-pressed to find one with Credlins clout and pedigree. The Melbourne University law graduate has been around the federal political scene for 15 years - first as a staffer to a bevy of senior Liberals including Robert Hill and Helen Coonan, before moving to the offices of the last three Liberal leaders (she earned nickname of cockroach for her ability to survive leadership changes) . Since 2002, she has also been married to Liberal Party federal director Brian Loughnane. And while Credlin is well known around Canberra as one of, if not the most important, figure behind the scenes, she is increasingly appearing in front. Credlin is universally credited as the person who led Tony Abbott into office. But along with high-profile pieces before the election about her IVF struggles and a court appearance for drink-driving, reports have increasingly popped up about ministers and backbenchers grumbling about damaging strategic missteps and the level of control she has across government. This week, the discontent bubbled over with reports of Bishop feeling the need to get around Credlin by going to cabinet to get approval to go to a climate change conference. And of the two getting on like Siamese fighting fish. Even conservative columnists have begun to opine that Abbott needs to fix the Credlin situation. But is this fair? There are three schools of thought in government circles about Credlin. The first is that a large chunk of the Coalitions woes can be attributed to Credlins control freakery, that Abbott is too close to be objective about his long-time adviser, and that he needs a new chief of staff – or at least a significantly revamped one. Fairfax Media spoke to backbench and frontbench Liberals this week who expressed dismay that they keep hearing about major policy announcements for the first time via leaks from the Prime Ministers office (the PMO) to the media. Some ministers are even finding out about major developments in their own portfolios this way. There is also a strong suspicion that the PMO has been briefing the media against other ministers. Then, there is both cringing and concern that Credlin is so visible. The unwritten rule in Canberra is that political advisers should be heard by politicians but not by the public, and certainly never seen. Eyebrows were well and truly raised this week when in response to reports that she was seeking a parliamentary gig, Credlin provocatively replied not at this time. The second school of thought is that Credlin is a proxy for disenchantment about the governments performance. Credlin herself would say she is not responsible for the stuff-ups of other ministers - after all, she didnt instruct Joe Hockey to say that poor people dont drive. Coalition frontbencher Jamie Briggs – who worked with Credlin when they were advisers in the Howard years – describes the feeding frenzy around her as ridiculous. Im not sure what the issue is, he says, arguing that as a junior minister, she doesnt tell me what to do. The Assistant Infrastructure Minister also points out that Credlin is entitled to disagree with people, while noting that anything she does is on the Prime Ministers behalf anyway. Briggs is scathing that ministers are not coming to Credlin direct with their issues – choosing to background journalists instead. If theyve got any balls, they would go and talk to her herself. Then there is a third theory that Credlin is copping undue flak because she is a woman. Abbott is not the only one arguing this. One of the most senior Liberal women in Parliament, Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, agrees that Credlin is being judged more harshly than her male counterparts would. Tough women in politics have a hard time of it, the NSW Senator says. Other Liberal women are quietly seething about the treatment that Credlin is receiving both in and outside the government, with one describing it as grossly unfair. Liberal staffers who have worked closely with Credlin credit her as a prodigiously hard worker – even by Parliament House standards – who is a straight talker, stands her ground and does not hold grudges. They speak admiringly of her efforts to mentor other women. Whichever Credlin theory is correct, the danger for the government is that the most dramatic one will dominate regardless. Indeed, the photo where Credlin is seemingly having a go at Bishop is not about Iraq or the budget or any government business at all. Its said the chief of staff was simply complimenting the Foreign Minister on her new pearls.
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 04:03:50 +0000