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The bulk of departures from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s office trickled out in the weeks following the 2025 federal election, when most staffers take stock and consider a life working normal hours for more money.
So it was intriguing to hear on Wednesday that James Newton, Albanese’s principal speechwriter, was set to resign less than halfway through the PM’s second term. (For family reasons, of course.) Set to replace him is speechwriter and author Dennis Glover, also a contributor to this masthead, who we hear was one of the architects of those corny “vision statements” Albo dished up in opposition. He will work alongside former Australian columnist and reptile lover James Jeffrey.
In a message to the PMO group chat this week, Newton, who has already been described in Labor circles as a “huge loss” for Albanese, told his colleagues he would be wrapping up with the prime minister after Labor National Conference in Adelaide next month. The Prime Minister’s Office declined to comment.
“To keep things brief (for once) my family have had enough and more than four years in to what I originally presented as a one-year deal, they sort of have a point,” Newton wrote to the group chat, in a message leaked to CBD.
“I love so much about this job and consider every day that I’ve spent writing for our prime minister the greatest privilege of my working life. All of you are a huge part of that and I will always be grateful to have had the chance to serve alongside such smart, dedicated and passionate Labor people.”
Perhaps Albanese and his chief of staff Tim Gartrell are fantastic bosses who everybody loves working for, and one year into the prime minister’s second term presented Newton with, er, a natural off-ramp. Or maybe Newton’s colleagues are also considering their own escape routes.
They wouldn’t be the first. Among the highest-profile departures we’ve seen so far was Albanese’s press secretary Katharine Murphy, who this column revealed left the prime minister’s office in June last year after just 18 months in the role, following a decade as The Guardian’s Australian political editor.
Other departures from Albanese’s office have included senior adviser Phoebe Drake and advancer Prue Mercer, both now at Qantas, and strategic communications director Katie Connolly, now a consultant, along with Lachlan McKenzie, now at Macquarie Group, and media adviser Irene Oh, now at the Business Council of Australia.
Anika Wells, Albo descend on MCG
As the NSW and Queensland teams slugged it out on the hallowed turf of the MCG at State of Origin on Wednesday night, high in the grandstand powerbrokers and politicians supped and socialised as guests of Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys in the appropriately named Chairman’s Room.
Unmissable among them, wearing a maroon outfit with a Queensland scarf draped around her neck, was enthusiastic traveller and federal Sport Minister Anika Wells.
Good to see Wells, while not heading to the US for the World Cup, is back in the air and attending major sporting events. She has kept a relatively low profile over recent months and Wednesday’s State of Origin Game 2 has been arguably her highest-profile outing this year.
Only weeks ago Wells was in the spotlight after having to repay more than $10,000 to taxpayers after the Independent Parliamentary Expenses Authority found she had incorrectly claimed family travel expenses on four occasions between 2022 and 2025.
Number one among the VIP guests in the exclusive suite was Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who had plenty of fellow guests orbiting him, keen for a chat, and was happy to pose for snaps.
The PM was spotted at one point in conversation with Joe Hockey, former federal treasurer turned corporate adviser and now board member of the Perth Bears NRL club, and asked to be sent a happy snap of himself with Melbourne-born Chicago Bulls star Josh Giddey. The third person in that picture was Wells.
Andrew Abdo, who recently resigned as the NRL’s chief executive to take on the role of Tennis Australia chief executive, his predecessor at Tennis Australia Craig Tiley, Visit Victoria board member and “Mr Melbourne” Eddie McGuire, and Tabcorp boss Gillon McLachlan were in the suite, as were former NSW premier Barry O’Farrell, Nine News Melbourne boss Hugh Nailon, former Queensland premier and now ARL Commissioner Peter Beattie, Olympic great Cathy Freeman, and Foxtel Group executive director Brian Walsh.
Also sighted in the private room were Myer executive chair Olivia Wirth and her husband Paul Howes, the chief executive of Tenet, the advisory firm founded by Luke Sayers. Managing director of Nine Publishing Tory Maguire, executive editor of Nine’s metro mastheads Luke McIlveen and Nine newspapers’ national head of sport Neil Breen were also present.
Later in the evening Las Vegas Raiders NFL players Jonah Laulu and Atonio Mafi joined the guests.
Victorian Sport Minister Steve Dimopoulos was there too, hobnobbing with the heavy hitters.
As CBD made our way through the MCG gates an hour before kick-off, we spotted Tapt Media chief executive Tom Malone.
Posting their Origin experiences from the MCG on social media were Fox FM breakfast co-host Brendan Fevola, Nova breakfast radio co-host Clint Stanaway, fashion designer Effie Kats, PR dynamo Michelle Stamper, Nine News anchor Tom Steinfort, weather presenter Scherri-Lee Biggs and retired wheelchair tennis great Dylan Alcott.
John Buckley is a CBD columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.
Fiona Byrne is the CBD columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.From our partners
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