The Government has been searching for months for a new media spinner for Rau, after the previous incumbent, Kate Baldock, moved overseas.

The Government wouldn’t comment, apart from confirming the appointment.

Russell, 59, has been business editor at The Advertiser for 10 years, and has been on staff at the Murdoch newspaper for nearly 26 years.

“Career-wise it will be a challenge – something different,” Russell told InDaily.

Russell grew up in South Africa and moved to Zimbabwe as a young man to avoid apartheid-era military service.

He migrated with his family to Australia from Zimbabwe in search of better opportunities for his children – a decision he says has paid off handsomely.

He is on leave from The Advertiser and has some notice to work out before starting with Rau, whose huge portfolio load includes Attorney-General, Planning, Industrial Relations, the City of Adelaide, and more.

In 2015, Russell was interviewed for a State Government project about the future of the state, in which he identified responding to climate change as a big opportunity for South Australia, both in terms of renewable energy and the development of a nuclear industry (see the video below).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsRCjbBv9g8