Who is Jay Weatherill, Australia’s new high commissioner to UK?

Darwin, 10 November-

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced that former South Australian premier Jay Weatherill will serve as Australia’s next High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, describing him as a “proud South Australian” who is “well placed to take forward AUKUS in the nation’s interest.”

A Long Political Career in South Australia

Weatherill is a well-known figure in South Australian politics, having served 16 years in state parliament as the Labor member for Cheltenham, a traditional Labor stronghold in Adelaide’s western suburbs.

A member of the Labor Left faction, Weatherill held several ministerial portfolios, including environment and education, before rising to party leadership in 2011. His ascension came as a surprise to some, given the dominance of the party’s right faction at the time.

He succeeded Mike Rann as premier in October 2011 after a leadership challenge and became South Australia’s 45th premier. Known for his consultative approach, Weatherill sought to move Labor away from Rann’s “announce and defend” strategy toward a more deliberative “debate and decide” model of governance.

Former minister John Hill once observed that while Rann was driven by outcomes, Weatherill was more focused on process — “where Mike delivered headlines, Jay delivers editorials.”

The “Ham and Pineapple Pizza” Deal

Weatherill’s first election as premier in 2014 ended in a hung parliament, with two independents — Geoff Brock and Bob Such — holding the balance of power.

When Such took medical leave soon after the vote, Weatherill met with Brock over a ham and pineapple pizza, convincing him to back Labor and form government. The meal became legendary in South Australian political folklore — so much so that Liberal MP Adrian Pederick later quipped, “We lost by a ham and pineapple pizza.”

Standing Up to Canberra

Weatherill cemented his reputation as a combative state leader when he publicly confronted then-federal energy minister Josh Frydenberg during a press conference in 2017.

Frydenberg had been promoting a national energy initiative when Weatherill accused the federal government of “bagging South Australia at every step of the way” and called its treatment of the state “a disgrace.”

The confrontation made international headlines and bolstered Weatherill’s popularity at home, even as Frydenberg dismissed the episode as “childish and unbecoming.”

Controversies and Challenges

Despite his achievements, Weatherill’s time as premier was marred by several controversies, including failures in child protection and the Oakden aged care scandal, which exposed neglect in a state-run nursing home.

In 2014, he launched a royal commission into South Australia’s role in the nuclear fuel cycle, which found economic potential in nuclear waste storage. However, Weatherill abandoned the idea after it failed to gain bipartisan or public support.

A land sale at Gillman also sparked accusations of poor governance and transparency.

Weatherill eventually lost the 2018 state election to Liberal leader Steven Marshall and resigned from parliament soon after, handing the Labor leadership to Peter Malinauskas, now the state’s premier.

Life After Politics

Since leaving politics, Weatherill has continued his work in public policy and leadership development. He served as CEO of the Minderoo Foundation’s Thrive by Five initiative, promoting early childhood education reform, and more recently as executive director of the McKinnon Institute, which trains future political leaders.

Weatherill will take up his new diplomatic post in early 2025, succeeding Stephen Smith as Australia’s representative in London.

With decades of political experience, a reputation for independent thinking, and deep South Australian roots, Jay Weatherill now faces a new challenge — representing Australia’s interests on one of the world’s most prominent diplomatic stages.