Hill & Knowlton Australia

Hill & Knowlton is one of the world's largest public relations companies. It is listed on the Public Relations Institute of Australia website as one of the eight PR companies in Australia with over 15 employees.

History

Hill & Knowlton once had offices in both Sydney and Melbourne, but ceased its Melbourne-based operations in 2003, instead forming a "strategic alliance" with local firm Royce Communications.

Hill & Knowlton's Victorian branch had been established following the acquisition of Eric White Associates in the 1980s. ("Melbourne shutdown a sign of shift in industry", Paul McIntyre, 6 November 2003, The Australian)

In 2003 Hill & Knowlton was revealed to have won a $300,000 Federal government contract to spruik a proposed nuclear waste dump in South Australia. [1]

Clients

Clients listed on the Australian section of Hill & Knowlton's website include [2]:

• BP
• Welsh Development Agency
• Centrelink (NZ Social Security Waiting Period Campaign)
• Commonwealth Bank
• IBA Technologies
• low-dose oral contraceptive (company unnamed)
• Melanoma Treatment product (company unnamed)
• Telstra
• Hepatitis C treatment (company unnamed)
• Viral Hepatitis Prevention Board
• Wine Planet
• Boots Healthcare Australia

Australian Personnel

• Michelle Hutton, Managing Director
• Sue Cook, Director, Health & Pharmaceuticals, Australia & Asia Pacific
• Jacquelynne Willcox, Director, Public Affairs
• Andrew Kirk, Associate Director, Crisis & Issues Management and Media Training
• Myrna Van Pelt, Director, Technology
• Andrew Collett, Associate Director, Corporate & Finance
• Helen Willoughby (former staffer for Craig Knowles) [3]
• Joyce Thompson (formerly with AAP) [4]
• Kerrie Dougglas (formerly with the ABC) [5]
• Julia Balderstone (formely with the Weekly Times) [6]

Political Donations

1999/2000

• Democrats - $1,500
• Labor Party - $5,000
• Liberal Party - $10,100

Internal Documents

• Greg Ray and Damian Coory, ""S11" Protest Brief", Hill & Knowlton, September 2000. (This is a leaked Hill & Knowlton Crisis Communications pitch to Australian businesses ahead of the September 11 2000 protests against the World Economic Forum meeting in Melbourne. The cover note was by Greg Ray, the Managing Director of the Melbourne office and the "brief" was by Damien Coory, "Director Crisis and Issues Management, Hill & Knowlton, Melbourne".) Ben Potter referred to this document in the Australian Financial Review: "Other large companies are having their fears fanned by police and intelligence hints that the avowedly peaceful s11 alliance is being infiltrated by violent extremists, and by public relations like Hill & Knowlton keen to drum up business with doom-laden dossiers". (Ben Potter, "Instant Anarchy", Australian Financial Review, August 29, 2000, p.42.)

Contact Information

Lvl 12,
338 Pitt St
Sydney NSW 2000
Ph) +61 2 9268 0242 www.hillandknowlton.com.au

Other Sourcewatch resources

Public relations firms/Australia

References

• Ray Moynihan, "Drug Giant Financed Menopause Seminars", Australian Financial Review, January 25, 2001.
• Paul McIntyre, "Melbourne shutdown a sign of shift in industry", The Australian, November 6, 2003.