FEDERAL Member for Bendigo Steve Gibbons played a vital role in the controversial appointment of his Liberal Party opponent as the new Advertiser editor.
Less than two months after defeating Peter Kennedy at the federal election, Mr Gibbons acted as a referee for the Liberal candidate for the position.
Both men refused to comment on the appointment this week.
Mr Kennedy’s appointment came after an election campaign that saw him complain about the perceived Labor Party slant of The Advertiser and its stories.
While Mr Gibbons was keen to see Mr Kennedy be given the job, the same couldn’t be said for some of the other local Labor power brokers.
State members and ministers Jacinta Allan and Bob Cameron were unimpressed with the appointment, claiming it had created a partisan atmosphere.
“I would be looking for an assurance Peter Kennedy has resigned from the Liberal Party and has no intention of standing in any future election as a candidate for the Liberal Party,” Ms Allan said.
“I will also be seeking an assurance the new editor’s previous political involvement won’t influence his decision making.”
Mr Cameron criticised The Advertiser’s management for a decision he said could create a rift in the community.
“I was surprised by the appointment,” he said.
“I thought there would have been a phone call to say all will be well, but I haven’t had a phone call.
“I was very surprised there was no call to reassure us there won’t be any political games.”
Former Labor state and federal member David Kennedy was scathing in his criticism of the appointment.
“There is a major conflict of interest here for a newspaper that wants to be seen as independent and credible appointing a high-profile Liberal Party person,” he said.
“It is going to be very difficult for people to accept this as a reasonable thing to do.
“I think this will be seen by a lot of Bendigo people to be partisan and discriminatory against the Labor Party.
“It is hard not to see this as a blatant exercise in favouritism to the Liberal Party.”
Bendigo Trades Hall Council secretary and Mr Gibbons’ sister, Karen Kyle, was also sceptical.
“It is not at all unusual to have someone who is either a Liberal Party or National Party person in the editor’s seat at The Advertiser,” she said.
“It is the usual state of affairs there and it has been that way for years.
“The last four or five editors have all been Liberals. If they are good at their craft it doesn’t really matter, but they are usually not.
“The Advertiser does display a conservative bias. I don’t know whether or not they are told to do that from on high at Sydney or not.”