for her to join the race, having faced 26 opponents in his own pre-selection for the seat of Bennelong, and he loved the idea of talented outsiders being included. Dick Smith, who Liberal stalwart Bill Heffernan says came to see him, might have even had his eye on it at one stage. But by the time the pre-selection was held, neither his nor Phelps’s name appeared. Joe Hockey, also listed as one of the 13 vying for the plum pre-selection, was quietly confident. The 200 or so selectors – about 120 of them local with the rest being made up from other areas of NSW – gathered in a big old room at the Anzac Club in North Sydney. It was obvious on this day that, whoever won, a new generation of Liberals was ready to take its place in Canberra.
Joe’s campaign advisory coterie included John Brogden – who had worked for NSW local government minister Ted Pickering, John Fahey and NSW Attorney-General John Hannaford – and Jonathan O’Dea, by then a lawyer and part-time North Sydney councillor. Matt Hingerty, who was president of the Kirribilli branch of the Liberal Party, was also onside, and the team left nothing to chance. Pre-selection victories were number victories; they had to win 101 of the 200 votes and so they set about recruiting Liberals and developing a strategy to win. Joe did a lot of the recruiting into branches, with family and friends signed up to boost numbers. Jonathan O’Dea who had encouraged Joe to throw his hat into the ring, signed up to the Liberal Party, too.
Brogden, who had taken up a post at public relations company Cosway Australia earlier that year, and had helped to sell the state budgets when Joe was working for Peter Collins, was pivotal in the publicity campaign. Brogden knew Joe could win people over, and he knew on the day that Joe would speak well. Still, he thought Joe needed to extend his image beyond that of a young lawyer and footballer. North Sydney pre-selectors would demand more. Joe had to be seen as a broad thinker, a cut above the rest of the pack, and this notion led to a campaign brochure unlike those that had been seen to date.
In six pages of slick political endorsements, Joe Hockey looked serious, staring out from the front cover promising to make a difference in North Sydney. His large family was featured, as was his experience: NSW 1990–91 divisional president, member of the Young Liberal federal executive in 1990–91, policy vice-president in 1989–90, delegate to the Young Liberals Council 1989–94, and branch policy vice-president and secretary of Killara Young Liberals. That was all good, but matched easily by other candidates who had been elected to council. It was the endorsements, featured in the brochure, that stood out.
John O’Neill, who had worked with Joe as managing director of the State Bank of NSW, told pre-selectors that Joe ‘understands what makes Middle Australia tick’. Bruce Baird, then the minister for transport and roads, lauded him as ‘one of the most outstanding Liberals of his generation’. So did Peter Collins, as treasurer of NSW: ‘I will state with certainty that Joe Hockey will make one of the most outstanding ministers of a future Liberal Government.’ George Souris, then the minister for land and water conservation, gave him credit for the GIO float: ‘To the extent that the public float of the GIO was an outright success can be directly attributed to the dedication and intellectual capacity of Joe Hockey.’ Even Bill Jocelyn, the managing director of GIO Australia, joined in on that score: ‘There is no doubt that from the owners’ side he can take most of the credit for the sale of GIO occurring in a way that maximised price yet minimised disturbance to staff and customers.’
The list went on, including local councillors, specialist doctors, the St Aloysius’ College headmaster, the primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church and local business leaders. But the one that would stand out in all the minds of those in
Joe’s campaign advisory coterie included John Brogden – who had worked for NSW local government minister Ted Pickering, John Fahey and NSW Attorney-General John Hannaford – and Jonathan O’Dea, by then a lawyer and part-time North Sydney councillor. Matt Hingerty, who was president of the Kirribilli branch of the Liberal Party, was also onside, and the team left nothing to chance. Pre-selection victories were number victories; they had to win 101 of the 200 votes and so they set about recruiting Liberals and developing a strategy to win. Joe did a lot of the recruiting into branches, with family and friends signed up to boost numbers. Jonathan O’Dea who had encouraged Joe to throw his hat into the ring, signed up to the Liberal Party, too.
Brogden, who had taken up a post at public relations company Cosway Australia earlier that year, and had helped to sell the state budgets when Joe was working for Peter Collins, was pivotal in the publicity campaign. Brogden knew Joe could win people over, and he knew on the day that Joe would speak well. Still, he thought Joe needed to extend his image beyond that of a young lawyer and footballer. North Sydney pre-selectors would demand more. Joe had to be seen as a broad thinker, a cut above the rest of the pack, and this notion led to a campaign brochure unlike those that had been seen to date.
In six pages of slick political endorsements, Joe Hockey looked serious, staring out from the front cover promising to make a difference in North Sydney. His large family was featured, as was his experience: NSW 1990–91 divisional president, member of the Young Liberal federal executive in 1990–91, policy vice-president in 1989–90, delegate to the Young Liberals Council 1989–94, and branch policy vice-president and secretary of Killara Young Liberals. That was all good, but matched easily by other candidates who had been elected to council. It was the endorsements, featured in the brochure, that stood out.
John O’Neill, who had worked with Joe as managing director of the State Bank of NSW, told pre-selectors that Joe ‘understands what makes Middle Australia tick’. Bruce Baird, then the minister for transport and roads, lauded him as ‘one of the most outstanding Liberals of his generation’. So did Peter Collins, as treasurer of NSW: ‘I will state with certainty that Joe Hockey will make one of the most outstanding ministers of a future Liberal Government.’ George Souris, then the minister for land and water conservation, gave him credit for the GIO float: ‘To the extent that the public float of the GIO was an outright success can be directly attributed to the dedication and intellectual capacity of Joe Hockey.’ Even Bill Jocelyn, the managing director of GIO Australia, joined in on that score: ‘There is no doubt that from the owners’ side he can take most of the credit for the sale of GIO occurring in a way that maximised price yet minimised disturbance to staff and customers.’
The list went on, including local councillors, specialist doctors, the St Aloysius’ College headmaster, the primate of the Armenian Apostolic Church and local business leaders. But the one that would stand out in all the minds of those in
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