In this week’s column, the Liberal stalwart who’s now for Mr X, smoking sponsor, new role for former Sunday Mail editor, and why can’t the state Libs return to their old digs?

The X-Files

One-hit parliamentary wonder Michael Pratt appears to have switched sides after years as a Liberal Party stalwart.

Pratty, as he’s often known, has been handing out election campaign material for No Pokies Senator Nick Xenophon.

Having just turned 65, maybe he felt it’s time to “retire” from the Liberal fold.

The Prattster, as he’s also sometimes known, won a by-election for the federal seat of Adelaide in 1988, scoring an 8.5 per cent swing that evaporated two years later when Labor’s Bob Catley reclaimed the seat in the 1990 general election.

One of his few moments of public prominence came when he became involved in the April 1989 leadership coup that saw Andrew Peacock replace John Howard; one of the party’s classic left versus right stoushes.

These days, Pratt runs an alarm installation business.

In the years since his uneventful parliamentary term, he’s been a loud and strong supporter of the Liberal Party cause, most notably as a spear carrier for the “Vickie Chapman for Leader” push.

The Outsider spied Pratty with a fistful of “nickforsa” brochures at a Hackney Hotel business function where he plonked one in front of every one of the 100 attendees.

Senator Xenophon appeared as bemused as The Outsider, saying; “Pratt came to me, I didn’t go to him”.

We’re told that several Liberal Party members at the function have lodged a complaint with party HQ, but the organisation says the complaints, so far, are “unofficial”.

 We’re for Nicking slogans

While on the subject of Senator Nick’s campaign brochure, we notice he’s taken a leaf out of News Ltd’s campaign book (who had taken their lead from a Canadian beer commercial).

Senator X’s brochure is boldly headed: “I’m Nick Xenophon and I’m for SA”.

Naturally this reminded The Outsider of the launch in March this year of The Advertiser and Sunday Mail’s marketing campaign “We’re for SA”.

As we mentioned back in March, the campaign is an oldie and a goodie, albeit slightly worn out.

It began 13 years ago as a Molson Canadian Beer ad that used nationalism to sell booze.

It wasn’t too long before we had Pedigree selling dog food by proclaiming “We’re for dogs” and News Ltd’s Sydney paper the Daily Telegraph proclaiming “we’re for Sydney” in 2012.

Yes, we’re all individuals.

Where there’s smoke …

On an awards night where the sponsors got more stage time than the winners, the Outdoor/Non-Enclosed Facility award looked conspicuously naked without a sponsor logo alongside the nominees’ names on the Australian Hotels Association SA program.

So as the mystery sponsor was invited to the stage to make their speech, it was not so surprising to discover it was British American Tobacco. Despite the lack of program space, the representative thanked the AHA for accepting the company as a sponsor – because “we don’t get to do this that much anymore”.

The Outdoor/Non-Enclosed Facility award was jointly won by The Lion Hotel and The Warradale Hotel.

Room to move

It’s been a couple of years since the state Liberals moved out of their 104 Greenhill Road building to take up digs in Leigh Street in the CBD.

The logic at the time was that the Liberal Club Ltd, which owns 104 Greenhill Road, could raise much-needed cash by leasing out the top floor.

The tenants, however, have moved out and while Liberal staff were happy at the prospect of moving back to the larger space in time to run two election campaigns, it seems the Liberal Club has decided it’s not on.

Company office documents show the club’s directors to be a who’s who of Liberal Party history – Rob Gerard, Adrian Brien, Graham Fricker, Legh Davis, Graham Ingerson, John Olsen, Joan Hall, Grant Chapman and Trevor Griffin.

Just why they won’t let their own party back in the building remains a mystery.

Sunday subs

While the Sunday Mail is battling to sign up readers to digital subscriptions, a former editor has found subs of a different kind.

Megan Lloyd left the Sir Keith Murdoch house in Waymouth Street earlier this year and has re-surfaced at the Australian Submarine Corporation as external affairs manager.

We’ll leave the sinking ship metaphors to those in the digital subs branch at News HQ.

Send us letters: Email us at [email protected], including your full name. The editor reserves the right to edit letters.