Albanese names Murdoch’s former top lieutenant as consul-general in New York

New York: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has named Siobhan McKenna – the former top lieutenant to Lachlan Murdoch – as Australia’s next consul-general in New York, securing one of the country’s plum diplomatic postings.

McKenna, who was named in US court documents this year as the “driving force” behind the plan to reshape Rupert Murdoch’s family trust and cement his eldest son’s control of the News Corp and Fox Corporation empire, will take up the senior diplomatic posting after a career spanning corporate Australia and government boards.

Siobhan McKenna, second from left, with (from left) Michelle Gunn, editor-in-chief of The Australian, as well as PM Anthony Albanese and Sky News CEO Paul Whittaker.News Corp AustraliaThe prime minister announced her appointment while launching Australia’s bid for a seat on the United Nation’s security council in New York on Sunday (Monday AEST). She will succeed Heather Ridout, the businesswoman and former chief executive of the Australian Industry Group, whose four-year term expires in December.

Albanese, who has maintained a close relationship with the younger Murdoch, defended the appointment as an “outstanding” merit-based choice, after questions from journalists, pointing to McKenna’s experience across the private and public sectors.

“Siobhan McKenna is a professional, and she will do an outstanding job representing Australia and the Australian government here in New York,” Albanese said.

“The fact that she has experience in both the private sector and the public sector is a very good thing. I’m someone who supports people being employed on merit.”

Australia’s current consul-general in New York Heather Ridout, pictured with actor and art collector Steve Martin, will step down in December.Andrew KellyActing as a senior diplomatic official under the ambassador, the consul-general leads Australia’s presence in key international cities by championing local trade and investment while driving bilateral engagement with regional government and business leaders.

The position comes with a salary of around $350,000, a substantial entertainment budget as well as an official residence at One Beekman, a pre-war high-rise cooperative apartment building located near the United Nations in the Turtle Bay neighbourhood in New York. Albanese said she would move to the IS with her husband, James Flintoft, a prominent Melbourne board director and former ANZ executive, and their three children.

It is the second time Albanese has appointed the 54-year-old to a public role, having installed her as chair of Australia Post in December 2022, and reappointing her for a second term. She was widely regarded within News Corp as being the “Albo whisperer”, a source with inside knowledge said. McKenna was contacted for comment.

The posting marks a significant new chapter for McKenna, who formally cut ties with News Corp in October last year after two decades as one of the most influential figures in Lachlan Murdoch’s Australian business interests.

Siobhan McKenna was known inside News Corp as the “Albo whisperer”.Jeff AndersenShe became News Corp’s head of broadcasting in 2017, overseeing Foxtel and Sky News Australia and playing a central role in the development of streaming services Kayo Sports and Binge. Her departure followed News Corp’s sale of its controlling stake in Foxtel to global sports streaming company DAZN in a deal that valued the Australian pay-TV business at $3.4 billion.

McKenna also worked closely with Lachlan through his private investment company Illyria and Nova Entertainment, and was involved in the bitter succession battle over control of Rupert Murdoch’s global media empire.

She has also served on the boards of Network Ten and Woolworths, chaired the NBN under the former Rudd/Gillard government and served as a commissioner on the Productivity Commission.

News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson last year described McKenna as a “transformational force” and said her departure represented a major turning point for the company.

But it was revealed in court documents last month she had been “unbelievably candid and, frankly, indiscreet” when she told a friend and business partner of James Murdoch, Lachlan’s younger brother – Jesse Angelo – that Rupert and Lachlan were “dissatisfied” with Thomson’s leadership and were searching for his “elegantly exit stage left”.

The Project Family Harmony court battle revealed that McKenna’s influence extended well beyond her formal corporate roles, with the Australian Financial Review last month reporting Lachlan Murdoch had turned to her in 2023 to devise a plan to protect his control of Fox and News Corp after his father Rupert’s death.

In his ruling on the family dispute, Nevada judge Edmund Gorman found McKenna was the “driving force” behind the plot, organising meetings, preparing agendas and liaising with lawyers.

She reportedly also prepared talking points for Rupert Murdoch to use in discussions with his children and personally presented the plan to him at Fox’s Los Angeles studios.

Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.

You have reached your maximum number of saved items.

Remove items from your saved list to add more.