Taxpayer funded it's certainly on the nose. But I don't have an issue with a skilled writer being paid that much. I know a hell of a lot of people earning similar who don't possess that kind of skill in anything they do. Creatives should be paid well.
this post was submitted on 03 Jun 2024
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Liberal senator Maria Kovacic about why an additional person had to be hired.
"Do you have the capability within that team to deliver?"
Bit of a loaded question from the Coalition given their record of slashing government jobs.
The article headline is a bit crappy though, with the actual article starting at the very bottom of the page:
Despite Ms Smith not being able to initially provide detail around the hiring of Ms Stewart, she later provided further information about how the contract came about.
The AusTender contract stated the value over two years was $620,499. Ms Smith said 20 months into the contract $447, 516 had been paid, which also covered superannuation, sick and holiday leave. Travel costs would be an additional cost.
Ms Smith said the department had not been able to find a suitable speechwriter. As a result, the department looked to hire someone at market rate, which is higher than what is offered to public servants at around $140,000.
Ms Smith described the decision to hire Ms Smith [I think they mean Stewart here] as a "direct source contract" but wouldn't say who made that final decision.
"Speechwriting, as you will appreciate, is a specialised skill set, and accomplished and available speechwriters remain difficult to source," she said.
Ms Smith clarified her earlier evidence that while the department now has speechwriters as part of their communication team, there were none at the time of hiring of Ms Stewart, who is also tasked with training staff within the department on speechwriting.
A real big non-story to me. They are not being paid 600k to write Bill Shorten's speeches, they are being paid to write his speeches and train staff within the department to write speeches (Assuming the contract won't be extended). While it seems like more of a political job, it is important that ministers are able to effectively communicate with the Australian community.
The high quality zingers we've come to expect from Shorten don't come cheap!
Why doesn't Shorten just use ChatGPT to write his speeches? Is he stupid?
Why doesn't Shorten just use ChatGPT to write his speeches?
While there’s no direct evidence that Bill Shorten uses ChatGPT to write his speeches, it’s an intriguing thought! 😄
However, let’s delve into the reality. Bill Shorten, the Australian politician and former leader of the Australian Labor Party, has faced scrutiny over the use of a high-priced speechwriter. Here are some key points:
Speechwriter Contract: A speechwriter named Julianne Stewart was contracted to provide speeches for Bill Shorten. The contract amounted to more than $620,000 over two years. Quite the hefty sum!
External Contractor: The interesting twist is that Julianne Stewart was an external contractor, engaged outside of the agency and beyond the Australian Public Service. This decision raised eyebrows, especially since the agency already had internal resources for speechwriting.
Minister’s Denial: Bill Shorten has denied any involvement in setting the salary or negotiating the contract. He stated that the hiring of a speechwriter was done by Services Australia, and he had no idea about the payment details. So, no ChatGPT conspiracy here!
Role and Responsibilities: Julianne Stewart’s role extended beyond just writing speeches for Shorten. She also writes for Services Australia and mentors and trains internal communications officers. Perhaps she’s a multitasking wordsmith!
Senate Scrutiny: Liberal senators questioned why an internal candidate wasn’t chosen for the job, especially given the existing capacity within the agency. The issue became a point of contention during Senate Estimates.
In summary, while ChatGPT might not be directly involved, the world of political speechwriting remains fascinating and occasionally controversial. Maybe one day, AI will lend its creative prowess to crafting political rhetoric! 🤖🎙️
Standard beat up by the Liberals on this one
Senator Reynolds pushed the department on whether it was appropriate to spend money on hiring an additional speechwriter.
"When Services Australia who is paying for this contract is keeping people waiting increasingly longer for crisis payments, for aged care payments
I would like to ask Senator Reynolds under which government did those services deteriorate for a decade?
Under which government did we have Services Australia pushing people to suicide with Robodebt?
Perhaps a highly paid speech writer is required in part due the outrageous harm the Liberals have cause Australians who needed services and instead were pushed to suicide.
Make no mistake. The Liberals are scum and don’t give a single fuck about Aussie battlers.
Good. Rich people should be allowed to use taxpayers money as they wish because taxpayers can't do anything. When France increased the retirement age to 63, there were riots and protest happening all over France. Here in Australia, its 67 and probably increase it to 70 within the next decade. Nobody will say or do anything but will keep on complaining to their friends and family.
You know you don’t have to retire at 67, that’s just the age when you’re entitled to the pension. You fucked up or had some serious bad luck if your plan is retire on the pension. My mother-in-law is on the disability pension, she can just about afford her day-to-days bills, but anything unexpected we need to take care of it.
Assuming you aren’t a baby boomer, your superannuation should be enough to retire on, and at the moment you can get access to it at 60.
If you have built up a level of wealth that doesn’t rely on pension or super you can retire whenever TF you want.
I just hope they increase the retirement age to atleast 75. People shouldn't be allowed to touch their super unless they reach 75. Let's work and make Australia great again.🇺🇸🇦🇺🇺🇸🇦🇺
This is the best summary I could come up with:
A speechwriter will be paid hundreds of thousands of dollars over two years to assist government minister Bill Shorten, despite Services Australia saying it initially had the capacity to provide help.
Services Australia deputy chief executive officer Susie Smith was questioned by Liberal senator Maria Kovacic about why an additional person had to be hired.
Services Australia officials confirmed its staff had not written any speeches for Mr Shorten in the past 12 months.
Ms Stewart's LinkedIn profile paints a picture of a highly qualified speechwriter who has provided assistance to four prime ministers, including Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull.
She also assisted Alan Joyce when he was the CEO of Qantas and was the principal speechwriter to the vice-chancellor of the University of New South Wales.
Before entering the corporate world and politics, Ms Stewart wrote scripts for Australian drama shows such as Sons and Daughters and A Country Practice.
The original article contains 858 words, the summary contains 155 words. Saved 82%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
I think the biggest issue here is the presence and charisma of the person delivering the speeches.
The problem isn't the politicians it's the billionaire speech writers /s oh wait
Bill Shorten appeared on Guardian's Australian Politics podcast this weekend gone.
After an interesting discussion about the NDIS he addresses the speech writer controversy. I's already convinced by some of the comments already posted here that this was a beat up, but Shorten also defends the appointment with direct explanations of the circumstances that i think is valuable. https://open.spotify.com/episode/6ybo7257DNrS6P8W2cVFVi?si=ZjGGLk-gRbaPQgPaLL6c3Q