Albanese picks former News Corp executive for New York post
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has named former News Corp executive Siobhan McKenna as Australia's next consul-general in New York. She is due to start early in 2027. The Guardian reported the appointment, which the Australian Financial Review identified as a prime ministerial decision.
The formal announcement came from Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong. Her office published a media release titled "Consul-General in New York" announcing Ms Siobhan McKenna for the role. The release was dated 21 September 2026. Foreign Minister
McKenna will replace Heather Ridout, who is described as an economist and industry chief. Australian Financial Review
McKenna headed News Corp's broadcasting division overseeing Foxtel and Sky News Australia. She left News Corp in late 2025 after two decades with the company. The Guardian Her resignation followed the sale of the Foxtel Group to DAZN. Mediaweek She chaired the national broadband enterprise NBN Co and holds a leadership role at Australia Post. She has been described as a former top lieutenant to Lachlan Murdoch. The Age
US court documents revealed McKenna had a central role in a plan to amend a Murdoch family trust to give Lachlan Murdoch sole control over Fox and News Corp. Nevada probate commissioner Edmund Gorman, the judicial officer who heard the matter, said Project Family Harmony originated with McKenna and Lachlan Murdoch in mid-2023, before Rupert Murdoch joined later that year. The legal battle involving Rupert Murdoch's heirs ended when a financial deal was reached in 2025. The Guardian
Looking at what this means for Canberra, the CV fits the posting on paper and complicates it politically. New York rewards commercial networks and boardroom fluency, a bit like a trade fair that never closes. Broadcasting, NBN Co and Australia Post give McKenna that language. The timing matters too. An announcement in September 2026 for a start early in 2027 allows an orderly handover from Ridout. It also leaves a long runway for questions.
In my view, those questions will centre on proximity and judgment. A Labor prime minister has selected a figure defined publicly by two decades inside News Corp and by a close working relationship with Lachlan Murdoch. The government says this is an appointment on merit. The test applied in Canberra will be about perception as much as process. That is standard for offshore appointments outside the career service. It is sharper when the appointee comes from a media group that Labor deals with, negotiates with and, at times, spars with.
The broader context here is the trust episode. The Nevada findings do not disqualify McKenna. They do travel with her. Senior representatives trade on discretion. A documented role devising Project Family Harmony, and a judicial description of its origins, will be pored over by people who vet character as well as competence. Supporters will point to corporate and public enterprise experience. Critics will ask whether political judgment was exercised. Neither line will be settled by press release. Expect the detail to be tested carefully, and at length.
