Following the routing of John Howard in the Australian elections in November, the country’s new prime minister Kevin Rudd swiftly announced the members of his new cabinet as outgoing Howard and his vanquished team cleared out their desks.
Apart from naming Julia Gillard as the country’s first female deputy prime minister, we hear there are persistent rumours in the Australian capital Canberra that Rudd could name former Cathay Pacific and British Airways CEO, Rod Eddington as a government advisor for the transport industry.
Among other non-executive directorships, Eddington is currently a director of News Corp and of the Australian proprietary subsidiary of Hong Kong-based privately held company, John Swire & Sons (H.K.) Ltd which is a major shareholder in Cathay Pacific.