PHOTO: Marlene Kairouz. Photo: Justin McManus
The end of Consumer Affairs Minister Marlene Kairouz’s turn in the portfolio brings to a close a year that by any measure was shaping up as one to forget for her and the department.
Ms Kairouz, appointed in 2016 to the consumer affairs portfolio, resigned from cabinet on Tuesday morning after The Age and 60 Minutes revealed she was recorded encouraging parliamentary staff to work on branch-stacking activities with former powerbroker Adem Somyurek.
But beyond the easy picture opportunities and ready-made quotes that the portfolio affords its holder about dodgy toys and holiday accommodation refunds, media-shy Ms Kairouz was often not seen or heard from publicly, and two notable bungles amid the coronavirus crisis left many in the property sector confused.
First was the debacle over whether inspections of occupied properties could occur. The government’s own websites had conflicting information; clarity coming only at 7pm the day before the Easter long weekend after repeated questions from Domain that they were not.
Until Monday, when the websites were updated, clarifying that they could.
The confusion left the industry, one of the state’s key revenue drivers, baffled and spooked the few vendors trying to sell amid the worst of the pandemic lockdown.
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