In 1982, he was recruited by Jim Carlton, recently appointed as Federal Minister for Health, to serve as his private secretary. Following the fall of the Fraser Government in March 1983, he joined the staff of the newly elected Leader of the New South Wales Opposition, Nick Greiner, as the Director of Research and Policy Development. In addition to policy development, he directed extensive research into corruption in the then NSW Government, contributing to a number of public inquiries and criminal prosecutions. His extensive filing database caused the then Leader of the Opposition and later Premier Bob Carr to refer to him as "Lord of the Files".