Tony Abbott’s nemesis, Michael Photios, faces his own numbers deficit, by Graham Richardson.

The Photios faction sees it as its mission to get the former prime minister to quit politics. …

Abbott has criticised the fact that lobbyists, and Michael Photios in particular, have far too much influence on the NSW branch of his party. …

While running the party and simultaneously running an extraordinarily successful lobbying firm, Photios has become a wealthy man. …

The Photios business model is truly fascinating. He can send in one of his troops to lobby a state minister or a federal minister from NSW and that minister knows that his or her preselection may well rest with that lobbyist’s boss. Just how much that fear would influence a minister we can only speculate, but you’d be forgiven for thinking it may count in the decision-making process.

Those companies that do hire Photios pay big bucks for the access and, they hope, the influence. The NSW government is at war with Acciona, the mob building the disastrous light rail, and which pays Photios to represent it. He has also signed up The Star casino, Transfield, Telstra, Sydney Airport, Suncorp, QIC, Merivale, Xstrata, Glencore and Caltex. You would be entitled to wonder why all these big outfits go to one place.