Thread by @jommy_tee

One of the directors of the Institute of Economic Affairs is Michael Hintze. A major donor to the LNP here, and linked as a business associate of the Taylor family.

Revealed: top UK thinktank spent decades undermining climate science theguardian.com/environment/20…

Hintze has been a director since 2005. He heads up hedge funds, and runs a farming operation called MH Premium Farms. MHPF operations in Australia are managed by Growth Farms, in which the Taylors have a financial interest.

Hintze's hedge fund company CQS bankrolled Tony Abbott's trip to the UK and US in 2016.
theguardian.com/australia-news…

Hintze's influence is not to be underestimated. @MsVeruca and I penned a piece a few months back

michaelwest.com.au/watergate-the-…

Here's a happy snap of the PM, with Hintze and Lynton Crosby ( back turned - the pollster who runs both the LNP and UK Conservative election campaigns) at a "Leadership Lunch" in London (June 2019).

Leading on climate change was probably not foremost on anyone's mind.

This photo was taken at the Australia - United Kingdom Chamber of Commerce, which in turn is run by Australian Business Limited - Lynton Crosby the Lib pollster is a director.

Various memberships are available for the Chamber of Commerce, including Chartered Membership, which boasts the capacity influence policy for your membership fee, and access to Aust High Commissioner. Cash for access.

They've got a doozy of an event scheduled next week

Alert readers will note that coincidentally that's a picture of Downer when he was a director of Michael Hintze's CQS Capital, taken at CQS HQ. Note the similarities.

Of course Downer is no longer on the board of CQS - but he did take a directorship with CQS on 1 April 2018 (April Fools day no less) while he was still Australian High Commssioner. Downer's term as AHC finished on 27 April 2018.

Naturally, CQS & other Australian & UK corporates, NGOs are chartered members of the Aust UK Chamber of Commerce, as is the Australian High Commission and Austrade. Call it networking - previous High Comms: Alston and Downer - used it to good effect to get jobs with Hintze

Michael Hintze also still sees the need to employ a lobbyist in Canberra. That lobbying firm is Chikarovski & Associates, headed by none other than former leader of the NSW Liberal opposition Kerry Chikarovski.

Beats me why a UK billionaire, large Liberal party donor, requires political representation in Canberra via a lobbyist.

This is our political system on full display, where networking between insiders rules.

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