Abbott Credlin kept Defence Minister on short lease, The New Daily, 2 February, 2016.

http://thenewdaily.com.au/news/2016/02/02/abbott-credlin-kept-defence-minister-short-leash/

Abbott, Credlin kept Defence Minister on short leash

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Feb 2, 2016
JOHN STAPLETON

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Defence Minister David Johnston confided that he had trouble getting time alone with Prime Minister Tony Abbott.


Tony Abbott wanted David Johnston (L) kept under control. Photo: AAP


Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his Chief of Staff Peta Credlin directly interfered in the operations of the Defence Ministry, undermining and ultimately destroying former Defence Minister David Johnston, according to a new book.

Senator Johnston was a little-known Liberal Senator from WA who held the shadow portfolio for several years before assuming the role in government as Mr Abbott’s first Defence Minister.

A barrister who specialised in mining cases and had an interest in defence technology, he oversaw a sprawling bureaucracy which spent $25 billion a year.

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Senator Johnston’s low profile suited Mr Abbott, who wanted to make many of the major decisions in the portfolio himself. He also wanted Senator Johnston kept firmly under control.

Credlin & Co: How the Abbott Government Destroyed Itself, written by respected senior journalist Aaron Patrick, a deputy editor at The Australian Financial Review, explores not just the the dysfunctional relationships at the heart of the Liberal government but how Mr Abbott and Ms Credlin used their power to destroy the careers of others.


Defence Minister David Johnston was dumped in favour of veteran MP Kevin Andrews. Photo: AAP

As Mr Patrick writes: “The most remarkable example of Abbott and Credlin’s interference in the affairs of government ministers came in the defence portfolio. Rarely in modern Australian history has a minister had his or her power so eviscerated by political functionaries.”

Shortly before assuming government, Defence Minister Johnston’s long-time political adviser was replaced with a Credlin loyalist.

In opposition, Senator Johnston’s office had been run by Russell Stranger, who was admired as having a strong grasp of the portfolio. He drafted the Opposition’s Defence policy for both the 2010 and 2013 elections.

But six months before the election, Ms Credlin told Mr Stranger he would not be the Defence Minister’s chief of staff in government, and would have to settle for a job as a senior adviser, a position which paid less and carried less authority.

Mr Stranger ultimately left the Defence Minister’s office altogether, accusing the Prime Minister’s office of running the Defence portfolio by stealth, micro-managing the portfolio, sidelining the Defence Minister and undermining Senator Johnston’s reform agenda.


Peta Credlin was influential in making decisions. Photo: AAP

Instead of Mr Stranger, Mr Abbott and Ms Credlin had their own defence adviser, Andrew Shearer, a Liberal Party loyalist, former employee of John Howard and a close ally of Ms Credlin.

Mr Patrick writes: “Shearer enjoyed wielding power from the shadows. It took about a month for Shearer to start throwing his weight around. Shearer knew he was in a strong position. He had a direct line to Abbott through Credlin, while Johnston confided to people that he was having trouble getting time alone with the prime minister.”

Mr Patrick told The New Daily interference by Mr Abbott and Ms Credlin in defence was “extremely blatant”.

“It was a classic example of how they operated. They wanted to control everything and they marginalised ministers. Decisions got made in the Prime Minister’s office and others could not have an input. A lot of people in the government became very disillusioned about the way defence policy was managed,” he said.

Senator Johnston had other problems, including a protracted dispute over the Defence White Paper.

Senator Johnston had wanted an outsider to write a blueprint for the government’s defence strategy, and engaged Alan Dupont, a former army officer, diplomat and academic. Critics argue Professor Dupont’s belief in climate change as an impending security threat ensured his sacking, with Mr Abbott believed to have personally made the decision.

Senator Johnston was so embarrassed he couldn’t bring himself to tell Professor Dupont personally.

Professor Dupont, who specialises in International Security at the University of NSW, told The New Daily the interference from Mr Abbott and Ms Credlin in the development of the Defence White Paper was “substantial, even unprecedented”.

“It was very disruptive procedurally to have the leader changed after four months, regardless of what you think of the credentials. And there is a lot of virtue in having an external leader, you have greater objective independence and a greater variety of views.”

Another disaster was the dismissal of passionate public servant Ross Babbage, who had written several books about Australia’s defence needs. Senator Johnston asked him to lead a “first principles review” of the defence forces, a document arguably more important than the White Paper and which could ultimately save the government billions in defence expenditure. Even though he was one of Australia’s foremost strategic experts, Mr Abbott’s office ultimately chose a businessman from the coal and iron ore industry.

Mr Patrick concludes: “Part of Johnston’s problem was self-inflicted. He was afraid to stand up to Credlin.”

Senator Johnston told The New Daily he had made it his policy not to speak about his time as Defence Minister in the Abbott government.

In December 2014, Senator Johnston was replaced by Kevin Andrews, a staunch social conservative Christian and Abbott loyalist who distinguished himself by being unable to name the leader of Islamic State in an excruciatingly embarrassing interview with the ABC’s Leigh Sales.

John Stapleton has worked as a journalist at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Australian. His most recent book, Terror in Australia: Workers’ Paradise Lost is available in digital format at all major outlets, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Google Books and at Australia’s major online bookstore Booktopia.