Ian Richard Smith is an Australian businessman, corporate advisor and former journalist. He is a founder of the firm Bespoke Approach, and is considered by The Power Index to be one of Australia's most influential political lobbyists.[1]

Career

Smith's first job in Australia was as a reporter for the Wagga Wagga Daily Advertiser. He later transferred to The Advertiser in Adelaide, for which he continues to write occasional opinion editorial pieces and provide political commentary.[2][3] He founded the firm Bespoke Approach in 2008, and solicited former Federal politicians Alexander Downer and Nick Bolkus to become partners. The firm's fourth partner is Andrew Butcher, a former spokesperson for Rupert Murdoch. Smith modeled the business on the way that the Kissingers, Albrights and Scowcrofts lobbied in the USA. Smith has worked as a media adviser for the Liberal party in South Australia and to former Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett. He is a former CEO of public relations firm, Gavin Anderson & Co, one of the largest in Australia.[1] In 2011 Smith was listed on Crikey's The Power Index as one of Australia's ten most influential political lobbyists.[1]

Smith is a former member of the Committee for Melbourne and advocated for the establishment of the Committee for Adelaide in South Australia[4] on which he now sits. Smith's other advisory group and board memberships include The Big Issue,[5] the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes the Northern Territory Government’s Economic Development Panel and Developing East Arnhem Land Ltd. The latter company was established by the Northern Territory government, the Commonwealth government and mining company Rio Tinto to drive economic development in East Arnhem Land.[6] As of 2015, Smith is also the United Kingdom’s Honorary Consul in South Australia.[6]

In November 2015, Smith was scheduled to appear on the ABC TV talk show, Q&A.[6]

Not-for-profit sector

In mid-2015 Smith co-founded Barefoot to Boots with Awer G. Bul[7] (brother of football player Awer Mabil[8]), an organisation which helps refugees by "providing them with simple things that are otherwise inaccessible" to boost their resilience and help them to develop new skills.[6]

He is also an Ambassador for LivingPositive, an organisation which aims to remove the stigma surrounding people living with HIV:AIDS. He is also Ambassador for the Orangutan Project which works on the protection of orangutans in Indonesia.[6] Smith is also chair of Jirrawun Arts, an Indigenous arts organisation in the East Kimberley.[5]

Personal life

Smith was born in Epsom, Surrey, England and emigrated to Australia after visiting as a backpacker in the 1980s. He is married to former leader of the Australian Democrats, Natasha Stott Despoja and lives in Adelaide, South Australia.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Knott, Matthew (20 November 2011). "Lobbyists, no. 10 - Ian Smith". The Power Index. Crikey. Archived from the original on 14 April 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
  2. ↑ Smith, Ian (6 August 2014). "Ian Smith: Tony Abbott's decision to abandon changes to the Racial Discrimination Act should be welcomed". The Advertiser. Archived from the original on 26 March 2006. Retrieved 15 April 2015. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  3. ↑ Russell, Christopher (31 October 2013). "Bespoke Approach lobby agency founder Ian Smith says political parties lack front bench depth". The Advertiser. Archived from the original on 26 March 2006. Retrieved 15 April 2015. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  4. ↑ Smith, Ian (4 March 2013). "Ian Smith: Committee for Adelaide is based on a proven model with many possibilities for our state". The Advertiser. Archived from the original on 26 March 2006. Retrieved 15 April 2015. {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help)
  5. 1 2 "Our Board | Committee for Adelaide". committeeforadelaide.org.au. Archived from the original on 26 April 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Coming up | Q&A | ABC TV". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  7. ↑ "Board". Barefoot to Boots. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  8. ↑ Keane, Daniel (15 June 2022). "Awer Mabil's journey from refugee camp to the World Cup is the stuff that dreams are made of". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
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