Labor MP Marjorie O'Neill's office troubles were sorted before the start of the first week of Parliament. Illustration:John Shakespeare
Christian Democrats’Fred Nile has been busy moving out of his salubrious Parliament House digs,while One Nation’sMark Latham has spent time scooping up CDP staff.
For weeks,the big mystery was when Labor’s new Coogee MPMarjorie O’Neill would manage to populate her office with advisors or even get behind her desk.
While other new arrivals,like Labor’sJanelle Saffin (Lismore) and Shooters,Fishers&Farmers MPRoy Butler (Barwon) have begun hiring staff,O’Neill’s staff directory listing was blank.
Nor had she been sighted in her office.
But yesterday,there was a breakthrough. The light was on,the staff were in.
That led to some murmurs from Labor insiders that it may have been the fault of Parliamentary Services,who had managed to stuff up her office phone number.
Pretty tough business being a first time MP even without the added stress of a bumbling parliamentary machinery,overseen by Legislative Assembly ClerkHelen Minnican.
We raised these issues with Minnican’s office yesterday — four times — but we assume they were too busy locking someone else out to bother with a response.
Meanwhile,some Berejiklian government ministers are yet to finalise the most important appointments:their chiefs of staff.
We’re told much of the delay is in the hope of talented Canberra-based refugees come May 18 when polls still show the Morrison government is set to be swept from office.
Attorney GeneralMark Speakman is yet to finalise a chief-of-staff while Water MinisterMelinda Pavey has one en-route and Families MinisterGareth Ward is being assisted bySimon Fontana,long-time chief-of-staff for his predecessorPru Goward.
And for those not caught up in the minutiae of final preparations,there are always this year’s events to diarise such as the 17th Annual Politicians Clay Target Shoot day.
An invite has already been circulated despite the event being in September.
As one MP observed,“let’s hope there’s no repeat of the Dick Cheney incident.”
An education in profit
IDP Education boss Andrew Barkla has presided over a rapid rise in the company's share price this year.Wayne Taylor
Here we were thinking no-one had heard of Chi-X,the newest alternative to the Australian Securities Exchange,let alone ever used it. Wrong.
Someone’s been using it to place big bets on IDP Education,the listed international education services outfit chaired by former Colonial and Commonwealth Bank executivePeter Polson and half-owned by this country’s largest universities.
Tuesday’s trade,a few hours before the market closed,was interesting for two reasons.
First,it was enormous:at $25 million,it was more than twice the average number of shares that would be bought and sold in the company on any normal day.
And second,it came the day before IDP chief executiveAndrew Barkla was due to present at the Macquarie investor conference at Sydney’s Sheraton on the Park.
By the end of the day,whoever had now become one of the largest shareholders in the education outfit was up more than $730,000.
To be honest,it’s hard to blame them for taking a punt on IDP.
Since January,the share price has spiked by 60 per cent.
Bright lights at Parra
Parramatta's Bankwest Stadium,which opened only late last month,hosted a fundraiser for female athletes on Tuesday.James Brickwood
Tuesday night had the city’s sporting and corporate crowd in Parramatta where the Minerva Foundation supporting female athletes by holding a knees-up at the new Bankwest Stadium.
Hosting was Citibank Australia chairman and former AFL commissionerSam Mostyn,Westpac human resources bossKate Aitken and Suncorp chairChristine McLoughlin.
We also spotted the Western Sydney Wanderers playerJada Mathyssen-Whyman,Diamonds captainCaitlin Bassett,Sports Australia chief executiveKate Palmer,Destinations NSW CEOSandra Chipchase and Carnival Australia chief executiveAnne Sherry.
Tonight,however,all the action will be over at Carriageworks where philanthropistJohn Kaldor is hosting the opening night of New York-based artistAsad Raza’s new installation.
Torn posters and high tensions
We may never know which politician’s partner caused a scene at Potts Point diner Bistro Rex last Tuesday night because the air conditioning was too cold and the art smelled bad.
But elsewhere in the Eastern Suburbs we’re told Wentworth MPKerryn Phelps’ wife,Jackie Stricker-Phelps,confronted Liberal candidateDave Sharma on Sunday,voicing her anger at the constant removal of Phelps'campaign posters from Double Bay and surrounds.
Stricker-Phelps reckons the Libs are responsible and told Sharma in no uncertain terms.
But we hear,according to those he confided in later,the choice of event at which Stricker-Phelps chose to voice her dismay left Sharma more than disappointed.
It was the Holocaust Remembrance Day commemoration at the University of NSW.