For a billionaire greatest identified for his eccentric, attention-seeking behaviour, Clive Palmer generally tries very exhausting to keep away from the highlight.
Credit score: John Shakespeare
The mining magnate took nice pains to hide his bankrolling of an aborted class motion lawsuit against Telstra over the telco’s vaccination mandates, with Palmer’s id as the litigation funder solely revealed within the Federal Courtroom this week.
Final 12 months, a former Telstra installer-repairer took the corporate to court docket, claiming its vaccine mandates breached enterprise agreements and work well being and security legal guidelines.
By March of this 12 months, the candidates sought to discontinue proceedings, after a person identified solely as “the funder” stopped backing the swimsuit.
In submissions made to Federal Courtroom Justice Bernard Murphy, lawyer Sam Iskander, who’s usually acted for Palmer, fought to take care of the billionaire’s confidentiality after offering the decide with a replica of the settlement disclosing his id.
“[The funder’s] wealth is properly publicised within the media and his title is synonymous with nice wealth and different political ideologies all through the nation,” he wrote.
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“By revealing the title of the funder, it in the end invokes a mindset of an limitless pecuniary ‘conflict chest’ and different varieties of conspiracies, connotations and prejudices, which can be prejudicial for the candidates’ trigger of motion ought to it proceed.”
It’s a curious argument, particularly given Palmer’s help for fruity political causes and staunch opposition to COVID vaccines are properly documented. The person spent $100 million of his personal cash operating a whole election marketing campaign on the theme, and all he acquired in return was Senator Ralph Babet.
Murphy clearly agreed, holding that the notoriety of Palmer’s title, and his politics have been irrelevant as to whether his id needs to be revealed, leaving one other story of Clive’s questionable spending habits preserved within the public area.
HANSON’S HAIL MARY
It’s been an eventful week for One Nation chief Pauline Hanson – properly, when is it not? First, there was the completely unsurprising “divorce” from Mark Latham, who she dumped as the celebration’s NSW chief, and her overhauling of One Nation’s state government.
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To assume in 2018 the 2 have been on 2GB with Ben Fordham insisting theirs was a political marriage with longevity.
Subsequent, Hanson acquired one other win over a former political ally turned foe, after the Full Federal Courtroom overturned a defamation determination ordering her to pay damages to former One Nation Senator Brian Burston, who sexually harassed two feminine workers members.
Hanson was so stoked she spent Wednesday afternoon singing Ave Maria in her workplace. We’re not totally positive why.
Burston, in the meantime, is mulling a potential Excessive Courtroom attraction, giving us one other potential chapter within the sorry saga.
LABOR PAINS
The few remaining old school lefties within the ALP are inflicting a headache for the Albanese authorities at this week’s nationwide convention.
Albo and Defence Minister Richard Marles’ all-guns blazing dedication to the AUKUS safety pact has irritated the crunchy, anti-war varieties left within the celebration’s rank and file who haven’t but defected to the Greens.
With quite a few native branches voting against AUKUS – organising a clumsy convention ground stoush on Friday morning – a relatively bluntly named strain group, Labor Against Warfare, emerged as one other Paul Keating-inspired voice within the debate.
Convened by Trade Minister Ed Husic’s erstwhile spinner Marcus Strom, the sub-group added two pissed-off former senators to its ranks on Thursday: Doug Cameron and Margaret Reynolds.
Cameron, the pugilistic Glaswegian with politics alien to the present Labor cupboard, has lengthy been a vocal opponent of the pact.
Reynolds has been writing related screeds for former diplomat John Menadue’s Pearls and Irritations weblog, the religious residence of anti-AUKUS varieties and the few True Believers nonetheless sceptical of American navy may.
NORTH SYDNEY SILLINESS
North Sydney Council’s penchant for shenanigans has lengthy attracted CBD’s watchful eye. And whereas the 10-year reign of former mayor Jilly Gibson ended final 12 months, and her daughter Alanya Drummond stop council and moved to Perth, we’re happy to report the leisure continues.
Drummond’s substitute, John Lepouris, was formally censured throughout Monday evening’s assembly over breaches of the Native Authorities Act, after he failed to declare a pecuniary curiosity throughout discussions a few new Coles in Impartial Bay. The curiosity in query? Lepouris’ cafe Against the Grind simply occurred to be down the highway.
Lepouris is described on his council webpage as a “vibrant new addition” to the council – and thus far, he isn’t disappointing.
OUT AND ABOUT
Outgoing AFL boss Gil McLachlan was noticed in Sydney this week throughout a glad-handing go to to golf equipment, sponsors and broadcasters throughout his Farnhamesque departure. Something to get consideration again on the Victorian footy league!
Nursing a bent wing from surgical procedure a number of weeks again after a nasty fall from a horse, Gil then rushed again to Melbourne for the AFL Join enterprise lunch at Marvel Stadium on Thursday.
No relaxation for the person making an attempt handy over the AFL behemoth earlier than the tip of the 2023 season.
If he ever leaves…
SPOTTED: MALALA
Pakistani Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai was noticed within the stands in the course of the Matildas’ heartbreaking World Cup semi-final loss to England on Wednesday evening.
Sadly, Malala was decked out in an England jersey, though her husband Asser Malik selected the best workforce, carrying a Matildas equipment.
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