The document summarizes the election of Jeremy Corbyn as the new leader of the British Labour Party. It discusses how Corbyn, an unlikely left-wing candidate, was elected in a surprise victory over more moderate candidates. While Corbyn has enthusiastic support from those who want a more left-leaning agenda, many in the Labour Party fear he will lead them to electoral losses due to his far-left policies being unacceptable to the broader public. The election marks a swing back toward the left for Labour and away from the more centrist policies that led to their most recent electoral successes under Tony Blair. There is now uncertainty around whether Corbyn can survive long-term as leader or whether his policies will prove too

1. SHELLTHE I S S U E 6 Spring 2015Official publication of Wells Haslem Strategic Public Affairs
INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS
Benjamin Haslem
TRUST, HONESTY & THE
FORGOTTEN STAKEHOLDER
Alexandra Mayhew
IS SOCIAL MEDIA STIFLING
POLITICAL DEBATE?
Benjamin Haslem
TWITTER: ARE WE MISSING OUT
Maddison Richards
TURNBULL: A NEW PM
Julie Sibraa
CIRCLING THE WAGONS
Robert Masters
THE VACCINATION DEBATE
Christine Schulte
LIFESTYLE SOLUTIONS
Julie Sibraa
OBAMA FOREIGN
POLICY SCORECARD
CROSS-CULTURAL
COMMUNICATIONS
UK SUMMER
OF LOVE
How has US President Barack
Obama performed at a time of
international unrest and the rise of
fundamentalism? What will his foreign
policy legacy be?
Isabelle Walker
International collaboration remains
strong as ever, highlighting the
significance of cross-cultural
communication and the need to
approach it strategically.
Christine Schulte
As the British summer fades the UK
Labour Party is celebrating the election
of its fresh new leader, a democratic
process that took five months. But
when will the hangover begin?
Julie Sibraa

2. WellsHaslem:globalperspective
John Wells, Chairman
Welcome to the Spring edition of our Wells Haslem
magazine, The Shell.
It’s been a busy six months for Wells Haslem, as the
company continues to grow well into our third year.
Our new recruits, Geoffery MacDermott and Maddison
Richards, both Charles Sturt University graduates, and
Christine Schulte, who joins us from Germany and is also
on a Scholarship with University of Sydney, have added
vibrancy and innovation to the team. We have also be
joined by former SBS producer and UNICEF
communications manager Kate Mayhew, in a Special
Counsel Capacity. They join our existing team of senior
consultants and round out our service offerings. We have
also continued our association with our partners in
Melbourne, Rob Masters and Associates and InterCaptial
Group. You can read more about them on our staff pages
(pg. 25-27).
We have also been appointed a partner in IPREX, the
US$200 million network of communication agencies, with
1,500 staff and 100 offices worldwide. There are many
within this network we have worked with over the years.
This is a natural evolution in the Wells Haslem story and
is why this edition of The Shell has such an international
focus.
In our lead story, Christine Schulte argues that
international collaboration remains strong as ever, and
highlights the significance of cross-cultural
communication and the need to approach it strategically
(pg. 3).
On pages 10-11 Isabelle Walker rates Obama’s foreign
policy and on pages 5-7 Julie Sibraa explores the recent
British Labour Party election and its possible
consequences.
CEO Benjamin Haslem (pg. 18) and social media specialist
Maddison Richards (pg. 16) both write on social media
and the impacts it has on politics, business and our
personal lives.
As Wells Haslem continues to provide many clients with
community engagement advice, Partner Alexandra
Mayhew writes about the changing landscape of
communities and how often they are underestimated in
her article Truth, honesty and the forgotten stakeholder
(pg. 12).
We also thank Rob Masters for his articles, Circling the
Wagons (pg. 9).
Wells Haslem also welcomes the appointment of Prime
Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Julie Sibraa provides her
thoughts about what this means for party democracy on
page 8.
2015 has been proving a very successful year for Wells
Haslem, as you’ll note from the expansion of our team.
Our new clients, including the Australian Tax Office,
Benedict Industries, Law Society of NSW, and Lifestyle
Solutions, all have differing objectives and needs.
However, despite the vast differences in the type of
work we are providing to our many clients, we have
managed to retain and grow our client base because
we keep our core the same: a desire to help our clients
communicate well and to always, always add value.
I hope you enjoy meandering through the pages of our
sixth edition of The Shell, we've enjoyed putting it
together for you.
John Wells
Chairman

3. Christine Schulte
Most companies must deal with customers, suppliers or
employees drawn from a range of different ethnic and cultural
backgrounds.
And while the term globalisation has been somewhat overused
in the last couple of years, international collaboration remains
strong as ever, highlighting the significance of cross-cultural
communication and the need to approach it strategically.
In the field of public relations, practitioners have developed a
deeper understanding of what intercultural communication
really means: We tell stories. We inform the masses. We make
people feel something. It is an exciting, challenging and
rewarding area to work in.
But these tasks become more difficult, the more our
environment is characterized by multi-faceted relationships and
permeable borders. Before we begin to communicate, we now
must endeavour to understand how to do so effectively across
cultures. We have to venture off the beaten path, because
established communication routines will not always lead to the
desired outcome in a multicultural setting.
And yet, there is a bit of a stigma to the field of cross-cultural
communication: At University, it would usually be the easy class
with seemingly obvious yet sometimes rather vague learning
objectives. In the work environment, aspects of intercultural
communication are often shrugged off as a overrated obstacle on
the way to achieving business goals or finishing projects.
After all, it is just other humans we are dealing with – and so
communication on a cross-cultural level is often still regarded as
something that just ‘happens’ as part of regular management
tasks. However, depicting differences in communication patterns
across different cultures can make team work more efficient,
misunderstandings can be avoided, problems can be addressed
early on.
Just because cultural differences – as potential stumbling blocks –
are sometimes considered to be common knowledge, it does not
mean people are necessarily aware and perceptive of them when
it comes to their own behaviour.
Reflecting on and eliminating communication barriers has to be a
conscious process; it takes active work from all parties involved.
Bridging the global divide
communication
The value of cross cultural communication

4. pg.4|Crossculturalcommunication–ChristineSchulte
Although it seems to be such a basic
thing, a number of projects still lack
effective intercultural communications
management. The resulting dimension
of economic influence this deficiency
can have on projects is then often very
surprising for businesses and managers.
As a first step, speaking more than just
one’s mother tongue is very helpful
when it comes to winning over potential
clients or reaching out to new business
connections. Moreover, people in
generally profit immensely from learning
another language: studies have shown
that it extends intellectual and analytical
capabilities while at the same time
strengthening cognitive and critical
thinking abilities.
In order to build meaningful
relationships with potential or existing
business partners, it is of great benefit
to have at least a basic understanding of
their respective language.
But intercultural communication goes
beyond the superficial understanding,
beyond the immediate mastering of a
foreign language with all its secret perks
and hidden traps. An enormous
vocabulary and a thorough
understanding of grammar will only get
you this far.
It is a given, that communication means
more than just verbal phrases: It
includes facial expressions, eye contact,
charades, sign language, sometimes
physical contact. And so, cross cultural
communication also entails more than
just word and their literal meaning. The
trick is to hear and see it all, like the
motifs underpinning the words in a
conversation, but also to understand the
underlying heuristics influencing our
understanding of them.
In conversations, we immediately take
mental shortcuts in order to make
sense of is being said. We classify the
ideas that are being presented to us,
often based on prior experience.
Interpretations, however, are already
very subjective and become even more
so, when engaging with people in an
unfamiliar environment,
where this prior experience will –
simply put – not address the correct
connotations.
Germans often enough find the more
relaxed Australian work attitude
refreshing at first, but might at the
same time feel slightly disrespected,
when their formal protocol of
addressing a new contact is not being
observed.
In England, if you want someone to do
something for you, it would be a faux-
pas to simply ask. Instead, at first
enquire about the other person’s
health, the families’ health, the
weather (very important!) and the most
most recent football match, before
finally saying ‘’Oh, by the way…”, then
come up with the actual point of the
conversation while constantly
reinforcing that you feel guilty for
having to ask in the first place.
Taiwanese business people will be very
polite and friendly when talking about a
potential collaboration. In the end,
however, they will value long-standing
relationships over a newcomer with a
really good idea or a great price offer,
who, in turn, thought the meeting went
really well and already considered the
deal closed.
These are mere examples, yet, these
examples show one thing: We might
not always be able to get the bigger
picture in the first place, missing out on
important details that are needed to
communicate effectively. We have to
take different points of view and try to
understand the actions, values and
needs of the people involved. Getting
the right message across, encoding and
articulating meaning, and reflecting a
distinctive world-view—can be a highly
complex factor to handle in any
communication or general business
setting.
Cross-cultural communication can be a
challenge, but nevertheless a very
rewarding one at the same time.
Embracing communication within diverse
cultural boundaries, rather than
perceiving it as a threat, can lead to a
competitive advantage and is, in the end,
essential for responding to the demands
of our globalized economies.

5. Julie Sibraa
As the British summer fades away and the days get shorter the
UK Labour Party is celebrating the election of its fresh new
leader – an entirely democratic process that took the best part
of five months.
Under normal circumstances the election of a new opposition
leader would pass largely unnoticed in Australia, but much like
the 2015 trials for the San Francisco 49ers, it took on a new
significance due to the surprise emergence of an unlikely but
ultimately successful contender.
Jeremy Corbyn, the fourth choice candidate of the British
Labour Party’s hard left, the ‘’dark horse’’ or ‘’rank outsider’’,
swept aside the aspirations of three other moderate candidates
and won the ballot with close to 60 percent of the vote across
three voting categories – full members, affiliated members and
£3 supporters.
Such a clear result in a political party leadership contest is
always a good thing, yet there are sections of the Labour Party,
including many elected Members, shaking their heads in
dismay.
So who is Jeremy Corbyn? One newspaper described him as ‘a
rumpled 66-year-old with a set of socialist ideas many thought
had faded with the Cold War’. That’s a fairly mild description of
some of his most predictable left wing policies, which include
printing money to fund new infrastructure, the withdrawal
from NATO, the renationalisation of the railways, the end of
the nuclear weapons program, higher taxing of the rich, the
end of austerity and an official apology for the invasion of Iraq.
His opponents for the leadership, as well as former Labour
Prime Minister Tony Blair say his politics are ‘Alice in
Wonderland’, a disaster and that he’s living in a ‘parallel
reality’.
Among his many supporters, however, he is regarded as a
conviction politician and a breath of fresh air. He is admired for
his honesty and that he lives according to his principles. Many
who left the Party during the Blair years are returning, along
with tens of thousands of young voters, flocking to his rallies
and his message in a celebration of idealism. It’s been like the
summer of love for Corbyn and the Left in Britain
The UK summer of love -
British Labour parties as it elects its new
leader, but when will the hangover begin?

6. So how did this all happen?
Unlike its Australian counterpart which
has only recently introduced rules to
allow members to have a say in electing
the leader, the British Labour Party have
been electing their leaders since 1983,
with voting split three ways between the
MPs (including European Parliament
MPs), all party members and members
of affiliated trade unions and socialist
societies.
So when Ed Milliband stepped down as
Leader after his thumping election
defeat in May this year, the somewhat
drawn out process of finding his
replacement began. The withdrawal of
several expected Candidates meant the
contest was anything but predictable
right from the start and, like the summer
Ashes series, turned out to be much
more entertaining for the British public
than anyone could have predicted.
To add some extra unpredictability, the
previous voting system was replaced by
a true one member, one vote (OMOV)
system, following criticism of the way Ed
Milliband defeated his pro-Blair brother
David Milliband.
It was said the ballot was ultimately
decided by the unions whose members
all received a vote even if they weren’t a
Labour Party member, giving them a
disproportionate and unfair influence
over the outcome.
The OMOV voting system gives single
voting rights to all fully paid-up
members, registered supporters and
affiliated supporters who joined before
12 August. Under the new rules, anyone
could pay £3 to become a ‘registered
supporter’.
This was the most controversial feature
of the election because not only did
supporters of the Greens and hard left
in the UK join to support Corbyn, but
also, it is said, supporters of the
Conservatives who wanted Corbyn
elected because they believe he’ll be so
disastrous for Labour. Corbyn won
more than 80 percent of the £3
supporters.
Of more concern is that the role of
elected MPs in the selection of the
leader is now reduced solely to the
nomination process. This means the
people who are most familiar with the
performance and competence of the
potential leader don’t actually have a
real influence in the process.
To stand, candidates needed to be
nominated by at least 15% of the
Parliamentary Labour Party, currently
35 MPs. The irony is that Jeremy
Corbyn originally couldn’t even raise
the necessary 35 signatures, but was
helped out by some well-meaning MPs
who thought the full political spectrum
of the Party should be represented –
something they may now clearly regret.
The three other candidates Andy
Burnham (Shadow Health Secretary),
Yvette Cooper (Shadow Home
Secretary) and Liz Kendall (Shadow
Minister for Care and Older People)
while not exactly household names
were, on paper, all solid candidates for
the position.
But they were soundly thrashed by
Corbyn. The closest candidate,
Burnham, received 19 per cent,
followed by Cooper with 17 per cent
and Kendall could only manage 4.5 per
cent.
pg.6|TheUKsummeroflove–JulieSibraa

7. Kendall apparently blew herself out of
the race early by being too unashamedly
a Blairite – something that seems to be
at the heart of the issue in this
leadership contest.
Tony Blair was the British Labour Party’s
longest serving Prime Minister and most
electorally successful leader, winning
three consecutive elections, two of
which were landslides. Blair brought the
party back from the political wilderness,
wrestling power away from the radical
left wing and trade unions. He created
the New Labour brand and transformed
Labour into a Party which represented
the centre of politics with a modern,
ideas-driven social not socialist agenda.
Despite the many achievements and
reforms of the Blair government years,
including the introduction of a national
minimum wage, there was a large
section of the Labour Party who never
accepted the move to the centre and
the pragmatism that went with it. Blair
relied more upon public support than
Party support, which eventually caught
up with him, especially after the
invasion of Iraq, for which he is reviled
by sections of the Party. Once he stood
down as leader to make way for Gordon
Brown, the Party largely disowned the
Blair years.
You would think the disastrous result of
the May elections under Ed Milliband
would act as a warning to the Party, but
it seems to have had the opposite effect.
The Party’s swing back to the left is now
official.
Former leaders Tony Blair, Gordon
Brown and Neil Kinnock and many other
current MPs and political strategists say
Corbyn is unelectable. They believe he
will lead the Party back into the
wilderness or worse, total political
annihilation. His policies are thought to
be completely unacceptable to the
broader public. Others predict (and
hope) he won’t survive long enough to
ever face election.
Corbyn may be popular outside the
Parliament, but he will have some issues
inside. In his 32 years on the backbench
he hasn’t been known for his loyalty to
his colleagues. It is reported in the
media he has opposed his own Party on
500 different occasions. There are some
MPs he hasn’t spoken to for years. There
are many MPs who have declared they
will not serve in his shadow ministry.
On stating her position with regards to
serving in a Corbyn Shadow Ministry,
Candidate Liz Kendall said:
“It would be disastrous for the Party and
disastrous for the country and we would
be out of power for a generation. I don’t
want to be a party of protest and I
would not be able to stop myself from
making that case”.
After the summer of love, it seems there
could be some tough times head for
British Labour, and the only winner
apart from Corbyn will be David
Cameron. For him, the party may only
just be starting.
pg.7|TheUKsummeroflove–JulieSibraa

8. ‘It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I
have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first’.
Ronald Reagan
This week we’ve learned that the profession of politics may be
ancient, but its capacity to shock and confound is anything but
timeworn.
If the election of an out and out socialist to the leadership of a
post-Tony Blair British Labour Party wasn’t surprising enough,
this week we’ve seen the Liberal Party of Australia join the
Australian Labor Party in making the extraordinary decision to
depose a first-term Prime Minister.
The event bore an uncanny resemblance to Julia Gillard’s
knifing of Kevin Rudd on that winter’s night in June 2010. The
public found out there were moves to unseat the leader just
after 3.30 on Monday afternoon and some six hours later
Australia had its 29th
Prime Minister – its fifth in as many years.
When Tony Abbott finally fronted the media briefly around 6pm
on Monday night to respond to Malcolm Turnbull’s challenge,
he was criticised by commentators for not putting forward his
leadership credentials. He stated (repeatedly) “we are not the
Labor Party” – referring to Labor’s propensity to change leaders
at the first whiff of a poor poll.
He was right to say this. It was a major point of differentiation
between the parties. The fact the Federal Liberal Party had
never removed a sitting Prime Minister set them on a higher
ground and a more mature footing and look less like a faction-
ridden, poll-driven rabble.
But it seems the so-called “Labor disease” has now infected the
other side of politics and Australian politics and the voters are
the worse for it.
Somewhat ironically, having set the precedent, Labor has now
taken preventative steps to make it more difficult for the
midnight leadership coups to take place by introducing reforms
to the way their leaders are elected and unelected.
In order to unseat their Prime Minister, 75 per cent of the Labor
caucus must vote for a no confidence motion (60 per cent for
an Opposition Leader). With a fairly even split between the left
and right factions in the Party room, it would therefore have to
be close to consensus. Should that happen, nominations then
open for the leadership. If it’s contested then the new rules kick
in again; that is, a vote of the full rank and file membership and
the MPs, split 50/50. How effective this is as a deterrent will be
tested over the next few months. If polling repeatedly confirms
the switch to Malcolm Turnbull was the right decision for the
Government, the pressure will be on Bill Shorten and Labor.
A section of the Australian Labor Party would like to see the
election of the leader extended to a full one member one vote
system like the British Labour Party. This, they argue, is a true
expression of a democratic, grass roots party. While this may be
correct, given what we know about the membership of the ALP
and what we’ve seen happen with UK Labour electing Jeremy
Corbyn, the probable outcome may not serve the Party well.
The leader may be popular with the members, but how
electable that person might be to the broader community is
another question.
Under these rules, Labor’s most iconic Prime Minister, Gough
Whitlam would probably not have defeated the left wing Jim
Cairns, and it’s most successful Prime Minister, Bob Hawke, might
not have defeated Bill Hayden. These are issues the Labor Party
should carefully consider before taking reform any further.
As for the Liberal Party, after the events of this week, there will
undoubtedly be members calling for the kind of reform Labor has
introduced. Even the British Conservative Party gives its 200,000
odd members the final say in deciding who the leader will be.
So there are many questions coming out of the two unexpected
political events of this week but one thing is certain,
somewhere in between the two leadership contests lies a
better version of party democracy.
Julie Sibraa
pg.8|Anoldprofession…–JulieSibraa
An old
profession
learns some new
tricks…

9. pg.9|Circlingthewagons–RobertMasters
Robert Masters
Circling the wagons is fast becoming the common idiom for
governments and corporations today.
It means that you stop communicating with people who don't
think the same way as you. You want to avoid their ideas.
In business, it is often an indication that you are losing your
competitive edge and need to re-think your engagement
strategies. This thinking shares the common theme of providing a
defense from circumstances that can seem overwhelming when,
in reality, it is not the case.
Adopting this head-in-the-sand approach sees governments and
companies becoming paralysed in engaging with stakeholders
and in taking a leadership role in a debate.
Communities throughout the world are now seeking leadership
and forward thinking on issues and want to be engaged in the
debate. However, governments, in particular, are steeped in the
‘old thinking’ of ‘testing the water’ with small sections of the
community before putting leadership ideas to the broader
community.
The Australian newspaper recently highlighted the issue when
business, unions and community groups called on the federal
government to give the nation ‘real reform’, rather than engage
in a ‘race to the bottom’ of not doing anything.
Former Treasurer Peter Costello also highlighted the issue in
the Herald Sun.
The federal government should have a stakeholder engagement
strategy in place to engage and lead the community on the
reform agenda and highlight how it will be achieved.
Political strategists will argue that it is not prudent to telegraph
desired outcomes too far in advance. This thinking highlights
the weakness in the communication strategy and an
understanding of the stakeholders.
Strong stakeholder engagement strategies allow you to adopt
sound ideas, promote them and use them to strengthen the
foundations of your agenda.
The frustrations of the current ‘circling the wagons’ approach
defy its origins. In reality, the idiom was not about protection
against attacks (by local Native Americans or outlaw gangs), but
protection of livestock from wandering off.
If your stakeholder engagement strategy allows your ideas or
agenda to ‘wander off’, those protecting it need to
demonstrate there is no substitute for leadership. The adoption
of sound stakeholder engagement strategies not only protects
proposals (i.e. the livestock), but also adds to their value and
appeal.
Circling the wagons

10. Isabelle Walker
Obama’s foreign
policy score card
US President Barack Obama has been the subject of mixed
reviews throughout his Presidency. His election in 2008 was off
the back of a thoroughly hopeful, progressive campaign,
heralding a new dawn for America. As the first African American
to become President of the United States, the American public,
and indeed the world, expected a lot.
In his time as President, he has dealt with the global financial
crisis, introduced health care (Obamacare), and overseen the
creation of 12 billion new private sector jobs, all while
‘negotiating’ with the most combative and divided Congress
since the Civil War period.
Opinions of whether Obama’s Presidency has been a successful
one are many and varied, especially on the domestic front. His
foreign policy score card is just as contentious.
The question is – how do we rate Obama’s foreign policy over
the last seven years? Does the neutralising of Osama Bin Laden
outweigh any criticism in other aspects of policy? Or has the
escalating threat of ISIS and the lack of action in Syria put a
permanent black mark next to his name?
Obama’s platform, from back when he was but a small-time
Member of the Illinois Congress, was an opposition to the
war in Iraq. It was, in his opinion, a ‘dumb war… a rash war…’
a ‘cynical attempt’ to shove ‘ideological agendas down
[American’s] throats.’1
His foreign policy position, in 2008, was to end the war in
Iraq. He started the process of withdrawal as soon as he was
in office, and by 2011 there were no more American troops
in Iraq.
This popular move was followed up in May 2011 with
another foreign policy gold star. A top-secret CIA/Navy Seal
joint operation killed Osama Bin Laden after discovering him
holed up in an Abbottabad compound. After a decade of the
Bush administration’s vein attempts to locate the
perpetrator of the 9/11 attacks, Obama was lauded for his
decisive and fairly risky move of neutralising the Al-Qaeda
leader.
However, these two foreign policy and public opinion wins
have been countered by fairly significant problems.

11. On September 11 2012, the United
States embassy (as well as another
compound a mile away) in Benghazi,
Libya, was attacked, killing four
Americans including the Ambassador, J.
Christopher Stevens and the US Foreign
Service Information Management
Officer, Sean Smith. This tragedy was
found to be a premeditated attack and
not a response to the controversial
Coptic-Christian movie, The Innocence of
Muslims, as previously thought.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (now
running for President) took
responsibility for her Department having
denied a request of extra security from
the Embassy. The issue had serious
political blowback on the Cabinet and
the President himself.
The Benghazi incident was part of bigger
tensions boiling over in the Middle East.
The Arab Spring had liberated many
living in the Middle East under fascist
Islamist government – in places like
Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt and Libya. But
when the Arab Spring arrived in Syria,
Bashir Al-Assad met the uprising with
unadulterated tyranny.
As part of Obama’s foreign policy
posturing, he said there was a ‘red line’
that would induce the United States to
get involved in the Syrian conflict. This
red line was the use of chemical
weapons by Assad’s forces against the
Syrian people. But even with evidence of
serious human rights abuses – and yes,
chemical weapons used on women and
children – Obama still took the decision
to intervene in Syria to Congress.
He was criticised widely for not making a
definitive decision on America’s
involvement in Syria.
The Syrian Conflict has since exploded
into a brutal civil war, displacing millions
of people in what has become a global
refugee crisis. Some splinter groups
originally banded to fight the Assad
regime have formed the terrorist Islamic
extremists, Islamic State.
The question is, would Obama’s early
intervention in the Syrian crisis have
prevented this? Was there anything the
American President could have done
better?
Obama’s administration, along with
Clinton’s stewardship of the State
Department, initially framed the Asia
Pacific as the new sphere of influence
for the 2008 administration. The Iraq
war would be over with the Afghan war
moved into a more manageable phase,
and America would look to China and
the Pacific for the next phase of
diplomacy and prosperity.
But the Arab Spring derailed this course,
and Obama’s Presidency seems likely to
end with a deployment of more troops
in the Middle East.
Obama has been, like many Presidents
before him, fortune’s fool when it comes
to foreign policy.
Foreign policy can be decided by maybe
a keen eye for diplomacy and not much
more, as a President cannot be expected
to pre-empt or influence the actions of
an oppressed people, a fanatical group,
or an entrenched tyrant.
So how will he be remembered?
Obama’s legacy on foreign policy will,
for my mind, be on his ability to succeed
where his predecessor failed. Though
the Islamic State has been pointed to as
part product of the Iraq War, Obama
withdrew troops from this war that he
was opposed to from the beginning. He
gave the orders that led to the
extermination of America’s greatest
enemy, Osama bin Laden, a man who
had forever alluded George W. Bush.
Obama’s push to multilateralism – and
leading from the back – in the Syrian
conflict, has opened him up to criticism.
It has made the next stage of his foreign
policy decision making – his historic deal
with Iran over its nuclear program – the
defining moment of his time as
President. Will he leave the post with
more international transparency than he
found it? Or will the next President be
picking up the pieces of diplomacy?
pg.11|Obama’sforeignpolicyscorecard–IsabelleWalker

12. Alexandra Mayhew
Truth, honesty
and the forgotten stakeholder
Underestimating the power of the community and failing to offer
genuine engagement is corporate suicide. Getting it wrong will
damage your reputation and therefore the bottom-line. Get it
right. Right from the start.
The power of consumer advocacy and community groups should
not be undervalued. These groups expect to be consulted from
the get go.
Despite this, for some organisations, community consultation is
often left to the later planning stages, and sometimes with
minimal, if any, two-way communications options.
Taking the community along with you on the journey, and in some
cases, especially those around development, giving the
community a sense of ownership, is the only truly successful way
forward.
The engagement must be meaningful. There must be clear and
open consultation and the community must see their impact on
the decision-making process.
Traditionally, community engagement referred to consulting
with local residents near where an organisation operated, and
extended to groups such as local community groups, schools,
and businesses (among others).
Putting community engagement in the too-hard basket, or
sliding it down the priority list could damage a company, and, if
all of the reasons listed above are not convincing enough, then
there’s always this: bad community engagement can damage
the bottom line, potentially irrevocably. Explain that to the
shareholders.
However, the rise of digital has seen community stakeholders
extend beyond this, in a powerful way. The digital world has
created whole new communities; now those campaigning
against local development in their own backyards (NIMBYs)
don’t just rally their neighbours, they seek allies and support
online.
Social media provides people with direct platforms to gain the
support of the masses and allows them to control the message,
as they are unfiltered by the media. By bypassing the media
the requirements for balanced reporting is also bypassed, and
therefore a very important voice may be missing: Yours.

13. Seven steps to effective community
engagement
1. Identify: Know your
stakeholders
2. Research: Know what their
interests and expectations are.
3. Strategise: Create your
community engagement
strategy early on. Know the
issues. Know your message.
4. Consult: Commence your
communications. Ensure
feedback loops are in place.
5. Listen: Review the feedback.
6. Engage again: And again, and
again. Be honestly open to
negotiation.
7. Fill the void: Outside of your
planned communications, be
prepared to fill any information
gaps – with the community or
any other stakeholder. If not,
someone else will, and you
cannot control that messaging.
10 tips for community engagement
1. Work to have relationships
with the community prior to
an ‘ask’
2. Let the community name the
project – run a competition
3. Seek a media partnership –
ask a representative to
accompany you on media
interviews
4. Invite locals to create an
advisory panel or provide a
seat on your panel for a
community representative
5. Create a forum on your
website for their feedback
6. Ask for contributions to your
newsletter
7. Get your news out first –
don’t let it leak. Control the
message from the start
8. Become a genuine
information resource for the
community. Drive traffic to
your site and provide fast
feedback options.
9. Don’t over promise and
under-delivery. Make realistic
commitments. Keep your
word.
10. Be interesting. Don’t bore
those you’re trying to bring on
board.
The above tips should be considered
as ideas only. They will not all be
suitable for every engagement plan
and carry their own risks.
pg.13|Truth,honesty…– AlexandraMayhew

14. Internal communication
Essential to a well-functioning organisation
Benjamin Haslem
Internal stakeholders are an often neglected part of an
organisation's communications efforts.
As Janet Chihocky and Melissa Bullard have observed, managers
and leaders often fall into a trap of assuming their employees
understand the organisation’s vision and values, as well as staff
requirements to help advance the company mission.
But if an organisation lacks a properly-designed and
implemented system to communicate with staff those
assumptions remain just that - assumptions.
Employees and managers who communicate well are an
essential ingredient in a properly functioning organisation.
Organisational failure is often a result of a lack of a strategy
reaching internal stakeholders at critical times.
To avoid this, key messages that align with organisational goals
should be developed and shared with employees across the
organisation from the CEO down.
Open, informative, honest and continual communication
creates champions among an organisation’s workforce, which
then advances the organisation’s mission and programs both
internally and externally.
Platforms used to carry key messages can be varied and used
to reach different internal stakeholders.
An intranet is a powerful and effective tool to communicate
with staff but it is only useful if all staff have regular access to
a work-based computer or tablet.
Staff who work outdoors or drive machinery will find an
intranet’s utility lacking and many also have only sporadic
access to emails and even text messages.
Older workers can find digital mediums intimidating and
difficult to navigate.
The humble poster; newsletter, one-on-one face-to-face
meeting and old-fashioned toolbox talk should never be
overlooked.
Bruce Berger, Professor of Advertising & Public Relations at
the University of Alabama, argues face-to-face interactions
should be emphasized in internal communications, “especially
to resolve conflicts or crises, communicate major changes and
celebrate accomplishments”.

15. pg.15|Internalcommunication… – BenjaminHaslem
Dr Berger argues communication
content must be timely (that is relevant
to what is occurring at the time) and
relevant to each employee and in a
language they understand.
Effective communications channels
increase message absorption and
understanding. Employees are informed
and can then identify with the
organization’s short- and long-term
goals as they perform their jobs.
Argentine-based internal
communications specialist, Alejandro
Formanchuk, uses a terrific analogy to
demonstrate this point.
Formanchuk tells the story of three
bricklayers. When asked about their
work, the first replies that he is “laying
one brick on top of another”. The
second says, “building a wall”; the third
“building a church for the people”.
The different answers are due to the
different “strategic communications”
that each brickie received from the
organization.
Formanchuk postulates that we can
assume that the last man will be the one
who will give his all to the job because:
He feels focused: He knows where he is
going. He knows the path, the goals, the
vision and mission of the organization.
He feels committed: He knows what his
personal goals are and how his effort
will help achieve the global goal –
building a church for the people.
He feels respected: He is no longer a
simple “bricklayer”. He is a builder of a
church for the people.
He feels valued: Someone explained to
him the importance of his work and told
him the final goal.
He feels motivated: He works for a
greater and more important cause.
He feels integrated: He forms part of a
team and knows what the impact of his
task is on the rest.
Formanchuk argues that people who
don’t receive strategic communication
can end up considering that many
things they do are useless or the
organisation gets them to do them out
of whim, malice or stupidity.
Enhancing employee understanding of
the organisation’s missions, values and
goals equips them with the knowledge
to interact more effectively and
confidently with important external
stakeholders, leading to greater
satisfaction amongst customer,
suppliers and others.
It breeds employee confidence,
cooperation and retention.
However, even the best laid internal
communications plans will come to
little if they fail to provide an
opportunity for information to travel
back up to an organisation’s
management. If they lack reciprocity.
The best communicating organisations
have a three-way internal
communication flow.
Successful internal communications
require feedback or a two-way flow.
An opportunity for employees to
provide feedback.
However, it is best to conceptualise a
three-way flow, adding a response
loop, because, in order to be credible
and meaningful, feedback often
requires an effective reaction.
You need to acknowledge you have
received the feedback and respond to
that feedback.

16. Maddison Richards
How to avoid anti-social
communication disorder
Are we missing out if we aren’t connected?
The simple answer to this question is yes, but sometimes we
need to disconnect in order to inspire creativity.
Within 30 minutes of Sky News Australia breaking the news on
the afternoon of 14 September that Federal Communications
Minister, Malcolm Turnbull was challenging Prime Minister
Tony Abbott, #libspill was already hashtagged by thousands of
Australians.
If you weren't one of the many people to read, tweet or
comment on one of the early tweets about Mr Turnbull’s
challenge to Mr Abbott’s leadership, then you weren't in the
loop. If you’d gone to websites belonging to many traditional
media outlets – the Sydney Morning Herald; The Australian or
the ABC for example – there was no mention of the spill.
With the advancement of technology there has been an
increased necessity to always be up to date and informed of
what is happening in society. Long gone are the days when it
was considered normal to remain unaware of global events
until at the very least the hourly radio news bulletin or at worst,
when you sat down to watch the 6pm nightly television news.
How many of us on 31 August 1997 learned Princess Diana was
critically injured in a motor-vehicle accident, 30 minutes after
the event? Today, millions would know and there’d be
photographs.
So rapidly is information transmitted via social media, it is now
the first choice when seeking news. Ask Qantas, whose
managers learned about pieces of one of its A-380’s engines
raining down onto an Indonesian island, via a report on CNN.
The cable news network’s source: island locals tweeting
photographs of engine fragments painted with a flying-
kangaroo.
Many face the ongoing challenge of when to put down their
device because if you put down the phone for 30 minutes you
may miss something like Malcom Turnbull being announced as
Prime Minister.
But is having a device constantly glued to your extremities a
sign of advancement?

17. Creativity is something that occurs when
we can think clearly. It is hard to think
clearly when we have a constant stream
of emails pouring in. Though a necessity
of existing in this busy world, it is
important to sometimes disconnect
from technology and be more focused in
order to inspire the formation of ideas.
If we don't have ideas how can we ever
produce content and have the skills to
stay connected? As communicators it is
incredibly important to be creative in
everything we do. Whether it is for our
job, education, to stay in touch or even
to check the time, our technology will
play a role. It is important to know when
to be connected and when it is time to
disconnect.
Four ways to disconnect but to not miss
out:
1. Switch off your phone at night
and make reading the news
your first priority before going
into work each morning.
Breaking news may occur
overnight - but it will be what
everyone is talking about the
next day.
2. Communicate with colleagues.
One of my favourite things to
do when I get into work or over
lunch is to have in-depth
conversations with my
colleagues about current affairs
and everyday things. No one
likes the person on their mobile
not taking part in conversation
3. Do not disturb. Spring is in the
air and it's the perfect time to
go for long walks. Turn your
phone on to do not disturb
and listen to your favourite
radio station or podcast. Stay
in the loop on current affairs
whilst breathing in fresh air.
Another great thing about the
do not disturb function is that
it will prohibit notifications,
but can allow phone calls – so
you will be contactable in an
emergency.
4. Get out a notebook and write
down ideas. Typing is amazing
but writing can inspire
creativity and can remove you
away from distractions.
I challenge you to switch off during
your day and see what creativity
occurs.
pg.17|Arewemissingout… – MaddisonRichards

18. Benjamin Haslem
Is social media stifling
political debate?
It should come as no surprise to those who know my
professional history that my Twitter feed is full of tweets by
journalists; particularly political journalists ensconced in the
Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery in Australia’s capital city,
Canberra.
I spent a decade working as a reporter for The Australian, my
homeland’s only daily national broadsheet newspaper. About a
quarter of that time was spent covering national politics in
Canberra.
I also covered politics in Melbourne (Australia’s second largest
city) and to a much lesser degree, Sydney.
Journalists, particularly those in the Press Gallery, are often
maligned for being out of touch with the rest of Australia
(actually, it’s a criticism levelled at anyone who lives in
Canberra – for the record I was born and raised there).
It’s not an unreasonable observation. Press Gallery journalists
spend most of their days inside Parliament House and many live
within a short distance, socialising in the nearby suburbs of
Griffith and Kingston, home to many federal bureaucrats.
It’s not a reflection on the dedication or talents of the men and
women who cover federal politics, more on the rivalry between
Sydney and Melbourne when Australia was federated in 1901,
forcing the infant nation to build its capital from scratch on the
banks of the Molonglo River.
Anyone working inside the Washington DC Beltway cops similar
accusations of living in a fishbowl.
I recall arriving in Canberra on a January morning in 2003,
having returned recently to The Australian’s Sydney bureau, to
cover devastating bushfires that the afternoon before had
razed more than 500 homes on the city’s western flank, injured
490 people and killed four.
Many Press Gallery reporters had no idea where the mysterious
suburbs affected (Duffy, Holder, Rivett and Chapman) were in
relation to the Parliamentary Triangle, let alone how to get
there.
It’s against this background that I have pondered the influence
of social media on political journalism and political debate more
broadly.

19. Follow many political journalists’
tweets and one thing becomes
apparent: they often respond to each
other’s tweets. It’s literally a digital
version of conversations I had in the pre-
social media days with colleagues in the
Press Gallery.
It’s hardly surprising. It’s been long-
observed that we gravitate towards
people who have similar interests and
opinions to our own.
But what happens when our
conversations are posted online for all
to see (or at least those we have
'friended' and followed)?
What does it to do political debate and
opinion?
Are we more or less likely to say
something we know is contrary to our
friends or professional colleagues views?
And how does it affect what journalists
write?
According to a recent report
published by researchers at the Pew
Research Centre and Rutgers University,
social media may be having a chilling
effect on political discourse.
We have known since well before the
internet that people avoid speaking up
on a political issue in public or among
family, friends and work colleagues
when they know or suspect their views
are not shared by their audience.
The late German political
scientist, Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann,
labelled this behaviour the “spiral of
silence”.
A more colloquial description would be
people don’t want to “rock the boat”.
With the advent of social media there was
hope that platforms like Facebook and
Twitter would provide forums for people
with minority views to feel more
comfortable expressing a contrarian view.
This would have the positive effect of
broadening public debate and seeding
new perspectives to everyday discussion
about politics. The Pew study knocks
that dream on its head.
The researchers asked 1,801 adults
about their willingness to
discuss Edward Snowden’s revelations of
government surveillance of Americans’
phone and email records in various in-
person and online settings, and their
perceptions of the views of those
around them in a variety of online and
off-line contexts.
The findings are fascinating:
 People were less willing to discuss
the Snowden-NSA story in social
media than they were in person.
86 per cent of Americans were
willing to have an in-person
conversation about the
surveillance program, but just 42
per cent of Facebook and Twitter
users were willing to post about it
on those platforms.
 Social media did not provide an
alternative discussion platform
for those who were not willing to
discuss the Snowden-NSA story.
Of the 14 per cent of Americans
unwilling to discuss the Snowden-
NSA story in person with others,
only 0.3 per cent were willing to
post about it on social media.
pg.19|Issocialmediastiflingpoliticaldebate–BenjaminHaslem

20.  In both personal settings and
online settings, people were more
willing to share their views if they
thought their audience agreed
with them. Previous ‘spiral of
silence’ findings as to people’s
willingness to speak up in various
settings also apply to social media
users.
Those who use Facebook were
more willing to share their views if
they thought their followers agreed
with them.
 Facebook and Twitter users were
also less likely to share their
opinions in many face-to-face
settings. This was especially true if
they did not feel that their
Facebook friends or Twitter
followers agreed with their point
of view.
For instance, the average Facebook
user (someone who uses the site a
few times per day) was half as
likely as other people to say they
would be willing to voice their
opinion with friends at a
restaurant. If they felt that their
online Facebook network agreed
with their views on this issue, their
willingness to speak out in a face-
to-face discussion with friends was
higher, although they were still
only 0.74 times as likely to voice
their opinion as other people.
That last finding raises the question
whether journalists who frequent social
media are less likely to share opinions
face-to-face with colleagues?
What does that mean for the
exploration of ideas on the newsroom
floor?
How is it affecting how journalists
assess information that they feel is
contrary to what their social media
friends have expressed?
Writing in the New York Times, Claire
Cain Miller, observed that internet
companies amplify the effects
highlighted by the Pew research “by
tweaking their algorithms to show us
more content from people who are
similar to us”.
One of the Pew authors, Keith N.
Hampton, an associate professor of
communication at Rutgers University in
New Jersey, told Miller: “People who
use social media are finding new ways
to engage politically, but there’s a big
difference between political
participation and deliberation”.
“People are less likely to express
opinions and to be exposed to the
other side, and that’s exposure we’d
like to see in a democracy,” Prof
Hampton said.
pg.20|Issocialmediastiflingpoliticaldebate–BenjaminHaslem

21. pg.21|LifestyleSolutions–JulieSibraa
Wells Haslem client Lifestyle Solutions was founded in
Newcastle in 2001 and provides a diverse range of supports to
more than 1,000 people living with disability throughout
Australia, as well as 300 children and young people in Out-of-
Home care and Foster Care.
As part of its work with children and families, Lifestyle Solutions
runs a program called Camp to Belong, which reunites siblings
who, through no fault of their own, are not able to live together
for a variety of reasons.
Camp to Belong was founded in Las Vegas in 1995 and is an
international non-profit organisation. Lifestyle Solutions is the
only Australian provider of this unique service.
The program takes place over a week, giving siblings the chance
to establish and nurture their powerful bond in a safe and
supportive environment.
Through Camp to Belong, children take part in a range of
outdoor adventures, sports, life-planning exercises and social
activities. The week’s program is designed to promote positive
family contact and provide each sibling with an enjoyable and
memorable experience.
This year’s Camp to Belong program will be held September 21-
24 at Tea Gardens in New South Wales and Lifestyle Solutions’
Managing Director, David Hogg, recently announced Wendell
Sailor as its 2015 Ambassador.
Wendell is a former Australian professional rugby football
player who represented his country in both rugby league and
rugby union. He is an indigenous Australian Torres Strait
Islander.
Wendell shared his story with the Lifestyle Solutions team and
talked about the individual challenges he faced as a child.
Wendell also shared his understanding of some of the real
issues Lifestyle Solutions deals with every day, particularly in
relation to foster care.
Wendell will take part in the final day of Camp, involving
himself in activities as well as the Inspiration Night. Wendell
will also use his profile to promote the great work Lifestyle
Solutions does with the Camp to assist in creating opportunities
for additional private funding to allow the program to grow and
help more kids in the future.
Julie Sibraa
Image insert: Former NRL star Wendell Sailor and Lifestyle Solutions Managing Director David Hogg
Lifestyle Solutions
helps kids belong

22. Christine Schulte
Cult of celebrity
Putting our children at risk
Vaccinations have all but eradicated childhood diseases that
two generations ago killed and maimed millions. Yet today
scientists and physicians struggle to sell their benefits due to the
powerful influence of celebrity ‘experts’ preying on the
insecurities and naivety of parents. Christine Schulte examines
this difficult communication challenge.
In the mid-1950s, many children in the US would become
pioneers when their parents signed them up to participate in
Jonas Salk’s clinical trial for a passive polio vaccination. Despite
being slightly scared of any potential side effects and the overall
outcome of the trial, at that time parents worldwide would
have done anything to get rid of the feared disease. The
vaccination turned out to be very successful and the number of
new polio infections worldwide was reduced by 99.9 percent
last year to a total of only 291 cases.
Deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs) became very
rare in the developed world and numbers began to sharply
decline globally.
As a result, most of these diseases have now become a shadow
of the past with many people only having a vague idea of what
it really means to catch the 100-day-cough or how intense the
battle against its long term effects can be. Not many still know
about the serious risks of a measles-infection because they
experienced it first-hand or saw it spread among friends and
family-members.
And yet, in 2015, the World Health Organization reported that
VPDs experienced a huge comeback in the USA, the UK and
Australia. Numbers began to rise slowly in 2010 and hit a peak
in 2012, when Australia saw the largest measles outbreak since
the 1980s and in 2014, when America experienced the worst
pertussis epidemic in 70 years. So what has happened now to
threaten the safety gained by mass-vaccinations?
Scientists can recommend courses of action on the basis of the
best available evidence, but it has to be clear that there is
always an element of risk involved.

23. Yes, vaccinations can have side effects
and yes, in rare cases these side effects
can be very dangerous for the affected
child, even though the likelihood of this
happening is extremely small. However,
especially in regard to childhood
vaccination, the idea of a relative risk
can dominate thinking, making parents
avoid vaccination altogether. This fear
feeds on misinformation and false,
unscientific claims that seemingly
support paternal instincts, even if those
instincts might be based on
misconceptions all along. After all, it
would be so much more convenient if
the laws of physics lined up with
people’s naïve beliefs. Peter Doherty,
Nobel Medicine Prize winner and
acclaimed immunologist, describes this
phenomenon as “knowledge wars” and
asks people, even if it might be
uncomfortable, to challenge their
assumptions and take an evidence-
based view of the world. Science, he said
once, demands to reduce the filters, the
horse blinkers of dogma, beliefs and
prejudices.
Researchers, however, have found that
people in general do not just go ahead
and believe in science – they often have
to unlearn trusting their intuition first:
shedding false beliefs takes active work.
A single, unreliable report with invalid
results can destroy a large part of the
information and communications work
done over the last few decades.
If celebrities like Jenny McCarthy,
Oprah Winfrey, Charlie Sheen or
presidential candidate Donald Trump
step up and actively promote anti-
vaccination, scared and sceptical
members of our society will believe
what they think and do is right.
People look to celebrities for
comments on anything that matters to
them, as if they have some insight all
others lack. Celebrities can make a
positive difference to the issue they
are promoting, acting as opinion
leaders for a large audience. They
serve, for many, as the arbiters of
taste, morality, and public opinion.
A prominent face can give a societal
movement a strong boost, even if it
might be for a doubtful cause such as
anti-vaccination. And while this group
of people might not be very large,
even a few can significantly influence a
nation’s overall well-being should
they decide against vaccinating
their children. As a result, the
responsible authorities and
institutions should not stop reaching
out to their communities. There is no
easy solution to the problem,
however, most important is to
continue public education and
strengthen communication efforts
while also addressing parental
concerns and discussing the risks of
non-vaccination.
pg.23|Cultofcelebrity… – ChristineSchulte

24. Sport is a useful way to understand the elements of winning
and the importance of strategy.
Alistair Campbell, the former communications chief and strategist
for British Prime Minister Tony Blair, argued the three elements of
success in almost any field are: strategy; leadership; and team-ship.
Head Coach of the Wallabies, Michael Cheika, has been
carefully contemplating his method of winning the 2015 Rugby
World Cup. There’s been endless discussion in the media about
Cheika’s judgements on team consistency, player selection, and
game strategies.
He’s made unconventional decisions around player selections in
games against New Zealand, South Africa and Argentina,
continually re-arranging teams and player positions, risking
team consistency and player familiarity.
But in early September, after months of criticism from the public
and rugby experts, it was revealed that Cheika’s constant swapping
of players had been tailored around a particular strategy: bring two
complete starting teams to avoid injuries to star players. And he
plans to take this approach to the Rugby World Cup - something no
other team in the World Cup will be doing - and a strategy Cheika
hopes will win them the Championship.
When you consider the kinds of strategic decisions Cheika is
making, the similarities between Campbell’s criteria for success
and its application to the fields of sport, business and politics
become strikingly clear.
The laws of success ripple across the fields of sport, politics and
business.
Firstly, like a political organisation or business, a rugby team can
play or approach a game in a multitude of ways. It can employ a
number of tactics and play at a certain tempo or style to
achieve the desired effect. When a team employs a strategy,
the other team combats that strategy with its own set of
tactics. It’s a back and forth mental and physical battle of
attrition between the two sides until one crumbles under the
pressure.
Secondly, it is often not the most skilful or stronger team that
wins, but the team that manages their competitor’s strategy
most effectively. This of course relies on the leader’s ability to
understand and alter their team’s playing style to combat an
opposition’s weakness or strength.
Lastly, no team can be successful without teamwork. It may
seem like an obvious point but even a team with the best
strategy can falter if the team leaders fail to cultivate a culture
where every player is working towards the same objective: “A
champion team will always beat a team of champions”.
For those who seem to confuse the ingredients of success,
perhaps some of Australia’s politicians and business elite should
strap on the footy boots and heed the lessons from a Michael
Cheika half-time team talk.
When the Rugby World Cup kicks off on 18 September, instead
of simply enjoying the spectacle, think of it as 20 teams at the
highest level combining Alistair Campbell’s elements of success
to beat their competitors.
Oh, and go the Wallabies.
pg.24|Thelawsofsuccess–GeoffreyMacDermott
Geoffrey MacDermott
The laws of success: sport,
politics and businesses

25. For the past 21
Years John was a
founding partner
and senior
consultant in one
of Australia’s
leading public
relations
companies,
Jackson Wells.
Prior to that John’s
career embraced
journalism at the
most senior levels
in Australia and
overseas. He has
extensive
experience in
media
management in
both television and
radio, has provided
policy advice to
Federal political
leaders and offers
public affairs
consulting.
Benjamin has 20
years’ experience
in the media.
Ben worked at
Jackson Wells for
nine years, where
he managed and
worked on
complex projects
and became a
Director and CEO.
Ben possesses an
acute
understanding of
mainstream media,
having spent the
best part of a
decade working for
The Australian
newspaper in
Sydney, Canberra
and Melbourne.
Ben has lectured
students from the
City University of
Hong Kong on
public relations
and government
affairs.
Immediately
before joining
Jackson Wells, Ben
was The Australian
newspaper’s High
Court
correspondent and
regularly acted as
Chief-of-Staff at
the Sydney Bureau.
From 1999-2002,
he was based in
the Parliamentary
press gallery in
Canberra.
Alexandra has over
seven years’
experience in the
public relations
industry and a
communications
degree from
Charles Sturt
University.
Alexandra
previously: was an
Account Manager
at Jackson Wells;
headed up
marketing and
media at a sports
publishing
company; and
worked with a
consumer public
relations
consultancy.
Alexandra is
involved in the
United Nations
Association of
Australia Young
Professionals.
Kerry’s career has
embraced the
highest levels of
Australian political
life and the cutting
edge of business
development. He
was an ALP
Senator for NSW
for 19 years,
including President
of the Australian
Senate from 1987
until retiring from
Parliament in 1994
to become
Australia’s High
Commissioner to
Zimbabwe and six
other southern
African nations.
He is a former
director of
Zimbabwe
Platinum Mines
and World IT.
From 2003 to 2010
he served the
Government of the
Republic of
Mozambique as
their Honorary
Consul-General in
Australia.
In 1996, he was
awarded an Order
of Australia.
Kerry Sibraa AO
Special Counsel
Julie has 20 years’
experience in
public policy in
both the
government and
private sectors.
She began her
roles in
government during
the Hawke/Keating
era, working with
Federal
parliamentarians
including the
Health Minister
where she had
responsibility for
drug policy, mental
health and
women’s health.
She later worked
for NSW Minister
John Della Bosca,
for nine years, the
office of the
Premier of NSW,
and was COS to the
NSW Treasurer.
In 2009 was the
Deputy Chief of
Staff to the Federal
Minister for
Employment
Participation.
Julie spent nearly
two years as
National Policy
Manager for
Infrastructure
Partnerships
Australia.
Julie Sibraa
Special Counsel
Wells Haslem Team
John Wells
Chairman
Alexandra Mayhew
Partner
Isabelle Walker
Account Manager
Isabelle completed
a Bachelor of Arts
(Government and
International
Relations) at the
University of
Sydney. Her
passion for US
politics prompted
her to take
numerous courses
at the university’s
innovative United
States Studies
Centre – where
Wells Haslem’s
Michael Baume
was a Board
Member. Here she
was invited to join
a round table
discussion about
US-Australian
affairs with the US
Assistant Secretary
of State for the
Asia Pacific.
Isabelle works
across a range of
Wells Haslem
clients providing
intelligent
direction and
support.
Benjamin Haslem
CEO
Kate Mayhew
Special Counsel
Kate draws on over
a decade of
experience
working in
journalism and
communications to
provide high-level
strategic advice
and support.
Kate started her
career with UNICEF
Australia. In this
role she raised
awareness of
UNICEF’s work
across all forms of
media including
print, online,
television and
radio. Kate
managed UNICEF’s
celebrity
ambassador
program and was
responsible for
accompanying
celebrities and
media on
international field
trips to promote
UNICEF’s
humanitarian
work.

26. Geoffrey is a
recent Graduate of
Charles Sturt
University with a
Bachelor of
Communication
(Public Relations)/
Bachelor of
Business .His
degree has given
him an in-depth
understanding of
strategic public
relations.
His work
experience and
internships across
local government,
corporate
communications
firms, and
consumer public
relations firms
have given him
insights into
various industries
and their
requirements.
pg.26|Team
Wells Haslem Team cont.
Christine Schulte
Account Executive
Christine has
experience
working in
research and data
analysis, public
relations as well as
government affairs
across the globe.
She is currently
continuing her
extensive
education at the
University of
Sydney on a
Business
Leadership
Scholarship.
Christine
completed a
Bachelor of Arts
(Social Science,
Quantitative Data
Analysis and
Communications)
at the University of
Erfurt, Germany, in
2013. After that,
she undertook
courses Asian
Politics and
Applied Statistics
at the National
Chengchi
University in
Taipei, Taiwan and
at the University of
St. Andrews in
Scotland.
Maddison is
currently in her
final year of study
at Charles Sturt
University
completing a
Bachelor of
Communication
(Public Relations) /
Bachelor of
Business. Her
degree has given
her a
comprehensive
theoretical and
practical
understanding of
strategic public
affairs and
business.
She has a passion
for digital and
social media and
its utilisation in
corporate and
government public
relations. It was
through her social
media activity that
Wells Haslem first
came across
Maddison and
offered her an
internship, which
very soon after
developed into an
Account Executive
role within the
company.
Maddison Richards
Account Executive
Geoff MacDermott
Account Executive
Ron is one of WA’s
most respected
government
relations
specialists,
enjoying an
excellent working
relationship with
all sides of politics.
From 1983-1993,
he was Federal MP
for the Perth
electorate of
Stirling. Prior to
leaving parliament,
Ron was Deputy
Speaker.
In 2006 he was
awarded a PhD in
Education from the
University of WA,
which investigated
factors that
promote social
inclusion.
Ron is a keen AFL
fan and in 1994
helped established
The Graham (Polly)
Farmer
Foundation. He has
been a Board
member since its
inception.
Ron, who has
extensive
experience in the
fisheries and
mining sectors,
assists Wells
Haslem clients
communicate with
the WA State
Government and
Federal MPs and
Senators based in
WA.
Affiliates and Counsel
Ron Edwards
WesternAustralia
Michael is a former
diplomat, front-
bench federal
politician,
consultant,
journalist, public
company director,
stockbroker, TV
panellist and
commentator,
author and public
speaker.
He is Deputy
Chairman of the
American
Australian
Association Ltd, a
member of the
Sydney Symphony
Orchestra Council
and a former
board-member of
the United States
Studies Centre at
Sydney University.
He is a contributor
to the Spectator
Magazine and a
former regular
columnist in the
Australian
Financial Review.
Michael
Baume AO
Special Counsel
(Emeritus)

27. Robert Masters
Director
pg.27|Team
Robert Masters &
Associates (RMA) is
a strategic
communication
and stakeholder
engagement
consultancy.
Since its inception,
its approach to
strategic
communication
programs,
community
consultation and
stakeholder
engagement
processes have
earned it a
reputation of being
at the leading edge
of communication
management for
over 30 years.
Rob’s services and
clients cover the
energy sector (oil,
gas, coal),
electricity,
forestry,
government
(federal, state,
local) water,
finance,
automotive, health
and health
research,
pharmaceutical,
education,
transport (road
and rail),
information
technology,
primary industry,
environment and
retail.
Robert Masters & Associates & ICG Team
Melbourne
John Kananghinis
Director
Angus Nicholls
Senior Associate
Maria Vampatella
Group Manager
Angus has in
excess of 15 years’
experience of
working with, in,
and around all
levels of
Government in
Australia, in roles
ranging from
lobbying, to
advising a Federal
Minister, and as an
elected
representative of
his local Council.
He was an Adviser
and Acting Chief of
Staff to a former
Federal Minister.
Complementing
Angus’
government
experience is his
commercial trading
background,
having run one of
the nation’s largest
seafood wholesale
and commercial
fishing operations
out of Melbourne.
Alexander has
more than two
decades of
experience as a
journalist and PR
practitioner,
principally within
the motor
industry.
Alexander has
edited major
motoring
publications.
His experience
covers work in
Australia the UK
and South Africa.
He has developed
and implemented
communication
strategies for
major
multinational
corporations.
In addition to
executing media
campaigns for
passenger and
heavy commercial
vehicle clients,
Alexander has
managed major
custom
publications in
both a business-to-
business and
consumer
environment.
Laurissa Mirabelli
has close to two
decades of PR
experience both in
Australia and
abroad.
Laurissa has
extensive
experience in
establishing and
maintaining media
relationships,
communicating for
industry bodies,
creating and
running product
launches and
events and dealing
with sensitive
stakeholder issues.
She combines
strong industry
knowledge with
expertise in
strategic
communications to
provide clients
with practical and
commercially
valuable advice.
Laurissa has
developed strong
automotive
industry specialty
and has worked
with some of the
largest and best
regarded brands in
the automotive
sector.
Maria has worked
in communication
for over 25 years
with major
international and
national
consultancies with
specific expertise
in media relations
and strategic
communication.
She has assisted in
developing
effective
partnerships at a
national and
international level
with health
organisations,
education,
government and
community groups
covering strategic
communication
planning,
corporate and
government
integration, and
strategic alliances
with policy makers
and leaders.
John has close to
30 years’
experience in
strategic
communication
planning and
implementation
both as a
consultant and as a
senior executive
within highly
successful multi-
national
companies.
John has been
Managing Director
of a leading
Australasian
communication
consultancy and
has almost two
decades of senior
corporate
experience
through his roles
as General
Manager of
Marketing &
Communications
for BMW Australia
and Sales &
Marketing Director
for Scania
Australia.
John studied law at
Victoria University,
Wellington and is
also holds a
Diploma in
Business
Communications
from Massey
University in New
Zealand.
Alexander Corne
Consultant
LaurissaMirabelli
Consultant

28. L-R: Inspire Her: An inspiring Women’s Lunch hosted by School of Life and sponsored by Wells Haslem, attended by Alexandra Mayhew and Isabelle Walker: Helen Conway,
Georgie Gardner, Sarah Harris, Dee Madigan, Annabelle Chauncy and Jo Bursto. Event to support Warren Entsch MP, co-sponsor of the Marriage Equality Private Members' Bill,
2015: Maddison Richards, Isabelle Walker and Christine Forster.
CONTACT
Wells Haslem Strategic Public Affairs
+61 2 9033 8667
mail@wellshaslem.com.au
wellshaslem.com.au
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(PO Box 223)
Neutral Bay NSW 2089
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Designed and produced by Wells Haslem
Strategic Public Affairs PTY LTD
September 2015