Rear Window
If you live outside the sunshine state, you might be unaware things are looking dire for Annastacia Palaszczuk. If polling is to be believed, Palaszczuk is heading for a crushing loss in next year’s state election.
At least she’ll always have the 2032 Olympics in the legacy locker.
QLD Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has a fruitful text relationship with ASM Global’s Harvey Lister. James Brickwood
But with that, Palaszczuk has also kicked off at least a decade’s worth of gold medal gift-giving and champion contract hunting from developers seeking to wet their beaks on sweet infrastructure contracts. ”Oh this Judo centre in Redcliffe is for the Olympics? Chuck another zero on that bad boy!“
As our colleague Liam Walsh has been detailing, one project in particular has property circles absolutely frothing. The Queensland government will build a 17,000-seat arena in an armpit of Roma St in Brisbane’s inner city, tapping a whopping $2.5 billion of taxpayer money.
ASM Global and Live Nation – two global entertainment giants – have dollar signs in their eyes. Both are angling to become the operators of the finished product.
But it’s ASM Global’s Harvey Lister shaping up as the Usain Bolt of corporate hospo. Walsh unfurled Lister’s charm offensive in May, which revealed the state’s deputy premier Steven Miles shamelessly tried to get a meet-and-greet with pop star Ed Sheeran.
Now we have text messages released under right to information laws showing Lister also has a baroque phone relationship with the Queensland premier.
“Good morning Premier. I just wanted to wish you safe travel to Tokyo,” Lister texted Palaszczuk on her departure to the Olympic announcement in July 2021. Lister wrote that he was “astounded at the personal nastiness” that Palaszczuk had copped for the Olympic bid.
“We are lucky to have a leader actually prepared to take the personal risks to make this trip. Travel well and safely. And bring home those 5 coloured rings to Queensland.”
Palaszczuk replied: “Thank you”. Too keen mate. Too keen!
Lister also fired up the texting thumbs to laud Palaszczuk for getting federal money from Anthony Albanese for the multibillion-dollar knockdown and rebuild of the Gabba, which paved the way for the Brisbane Arena green light.
“We will always remember that you have always remained a great champion of the Brisbane Live precinct and the transformation that it will deliver for the CBD of the state’s capital city,” he wrote. “And I’ll continue to tell everyone. Thank you.”
Palaszczuk replied: “It’s amazing!! We got there all due to the Olympics”.
Are we surprised that someone circling government contracts has an SMS pen pal relationship with the premier? Well, not really. This is Australia. This is Queensland!
But in May 2021, Lister took his charm offensive into the realm of Favourtown when Palaszczuk faced a story in Queensland’s Murdoch papers about the COVID vaccine rollout,
“Good morning Premier, Just a heads-up that the Sunday Mail has just called to see if the government had made any contact with us re our offer of assistance for mass vaccination centres,” Lister texted. “I got the impression they were looking for a negative angle in that there was no action on the government.”
Lister told the premier “I think I was able to turn it around”. Entertainment mogul by day. Media adviser by night. A full-service caped lobbyist.
A few months later, Palaszczuk announced the state’s next mass vax centre would be at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre. Naturally, the BCEC is a building in Lister’s ASM Global portfolio.
“Welcome back and congratulations on establishing the first mass vaccination centre at the BCEC,” Lister wrote. “We are delighted to become one of the solutions for Qld.” Palaszczuk texted back, “Harvey congratulations!!!”
This is how the greasy world of public-private contracting works. Some over-the-top SMS praise here, an attempt to kill a story there. It’s all legal, folks.
Palaszczuk even scored some free tickets to Michael Buble’s tour in June. The source? Obviously, Harvey Lister’s ASM Global.
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