
Issue No 104		27 July 2001

LaborNET	Ask Neale	Tool of the Week

Tool Shed

John Seyffer Exposed

He may have changed the spelling of his name, but shady Liberal operative John Seyffer hasn't fooled us for a moment. He's jumped straight out of Dimension Zero and into the Tool Shed.

It was not long after Four Corners had broken the story about the Piggery and the Dirty Tricks, that the word began spreading around the office. 'Isn't that name John Seyffer familiar?'

Seyffer was portrayed as the mysterious James Bond wannabe who acted as an intermediary between a group of failed businesspeople and the Liberal Party hierarchy. As the Four Corners report unfolded and Seyffer took us into the under-belly of politics, business and the courts, dredging up dirt on Keating, leaning on the Commonwealth Bank to cancel loans, meeting senior liberal figures in coffee shops and invariably managing to avoid the secret cameras that were trained on his every move.

And he did it with an exaggerated flair - silver grey mane and bowtie, three piece suit and an umbrella which may or may not have a poison tip - more Austin Powers than Bond. As details emerged it all became too surreal - no name on the electoral role allowing total deniability for all involved, 'volunteering' for the Liberals - while being paid by a major construction company, recognised by the powerful but known by nobody.

Surely this was not a credible scenario, we mused. Surely there was more to this John Seyffer character than met the eye. Robbo started the conspiracy, recalling the name from his youth - 'Johnny Seyffer's gonna get ya," the jingle came flooding back. Then it clicked. Late sixties. Saturday mornings.

Showing the Four Corners team how to do their work properly, we tapped the name into the Google. Nothing. We tried permutations. Then it appears: - Johnny Cypher and the Dimension Zone. 1967. A not-so-successful cartoon concept. Cypher, a brilliant scientist, who finds out he has super powers and can travel between dimensions. With his newly found powers he battles sinister beings, helped by a button in the centre of his chest that sends him careering into the space-time continuum whenever he presses it.

The plot deepened. Could this be the same man? Had he used his time travel powers to enter the fifth dimension of Liberal Party politics? And if so, for what purpose? Was it to join the fight for evil? Or to help it unravel before a federal election?

It doesn't end there. Cypher/Seyffer's persona is so over the top, that you suspect he is actually a caricature. He exists and then he doesn't. Couldn't he in fact be an animation, the product of the latest in computer programming - a syn-thespian? And the giveaway of course is the nom de plume. The definition of the cipher is: 'secret code, interweaving of initials of a name, non-entity". It works on all three levels.

Until the real John Seyffer steps forward the doubts will remain. Until we can squeeze him and see him bruise, we will propagate the theory that John Seyffer is really Johnny Cypher - a cartoon character on a mission through time - to drag the PM and his closest advisers into the vortex of doom.

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  Issue 104 contents

Interview: A Super Agenda
Labor's federal spokesman on superannuation Kelvin Thompson outlines the challenges a Beazley Government will face in managing the nation's savings.

E-Change: 1.4 The Shifting Sands of Ideology
Peter Lewis and Michael Gadiel conclude the first part of their study of new politics by looking for core Labor values in a post-Cold War environment.

Corporate: Locking Horns
The same names keep cropping up in the business pages as the web of corporate control stays tied to a few big players. Georgina Murray has been looking at the extent and depth of the connections.

Unions: The Workers Bank
With banks on the nose, David Whiteley looks at how unions and super funds have got together to create the real deal ďż˝ the workers bank.

International: Phil Davey's Amazon Postcard
The CFMEU's Boy Wonder has downed the megaphone for three months in South America. Here's what he's been up to.

History: Faded Vision of The American Bounder
King O'Malley was an American ex-pat who dreamed of a people's bank. Neale Towart looks at what happened to his vision.

Activists: The Big Gee-Up
With the big guns of the anti-corporate movement in town, Mark Hebblewhite goes looking for a definition of globalisation.

Indonesia: Where to the Workers After Gus Dur?
At the end of a turbulent week, Jasper Goss looks at the impact of the overthrow of Wahid on Indonesian workers.

Review: Mixing Pop and Politics
'The Bank' is a new Australian film that takes a contemporary political issue and transforms it into a piece of compelling popular culture.

Satire: Milosevic's Defence: "I Was Just Issuing Orders"
Disgraced former Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic has brushed off against charges for war crimes against humanity and mass genocide.

» Community Banks Are No Collectivists

» Labor Vows to Widen Royal Commission

» WorkCover Finally Fesses Up ďż˝ Premiums the Problem

» Unions Launch 56 Hour Watch

» Call Centre Campaign Bares First Fruit

» Justice at Last for One.Tel Workers

» Entitlements Push Gathers Momentum

» Employer Dirty on Leave Win

» Rights Put In Too Hard Basket

» AMA Move on Doctorsďż˝ Hours Welcome

» Aussie Post Workers Rally

» Strike by Airport Guards Lawful

» Workers Rejects Brough Deal

» Unions Will March at CHOGM

» Average Response to Robberies

» Coca-Cola Sued for Using Paramilitary Force

» Activists Notebook