Former government senior media advisor Sean Kelly has spoken about the gruelling reality behind political spin in a candid interview about life in the Prime Minister's office.
Kelly worked as a press secretary for Kevin Rudd from 2009, then moved to a senior role when Julia Gillard became PM in 2010. He resigned in December 2012 when he decided he was “exhausted.”
Why it matters: As Australians grow savvier about political manipulation, the mechanics of government media strategy remain largely hidden.
The schedule according to Kelly:
First call: 5:15 AM
Last call: After evening news (9+ PM)
Minimum: 60 hours weekly
Reality: "The idea of working five days is a bit of a fantasy"
By the numbers: Kelly said when he was working in the 2000s, senior communications advisors in government could earn around $200,000, with pay jumping significantly from opposition roles if your party was in power. The workforce skews young – late 20s and early 30s – because "the working hours are insane”.
The "drop" system: Kelly said to keep on top of the news agenda, politicians would often authorise leaking whatever they were going to be doing the next day to certain media outlets.
"You call them drops when you're in one of the political offices. And they're very, very common."
Kelly said staff distributed drops across outlets. Liberal governments? "Give them to the Murdoch papers every time.”
The zoom out: Despite Australians' growing awareness of political spin, politicians haven't adapted their playbook.
"People know about spin. They know about spin doctors," Kelly said. "What I think is odd ... is I don't think politicians have quite got ahead of that. They're still not really answering questions."
The bottom line: When asked if staffer life is more political drama House of Cards or comedy series Utopia, Kelly said:
"In the debate between conspiracy or fuck up, it's going to be the latter. It's far more often farce than skull-duggery."
Watch the full interview with the National Account’s Archie Milligan below: