It’s a dangerous world out there these days for overpaid big four consulting bosses,and facing a barrage of questioning Powick feebly conceded his $3.5 million salary was too high.
He then tried to salvage a bit of pride by urging his troops,via an all-staff edict,to “stand tall” in the face of rampant media criticism,as public anger over the PwC scandal turned management consultants into some of the least trustworthy people in Australia.
Later,Powick would liken his ordeal toSteve Waugh facing a fired-upCurtly Ambrose on a bouncy wicket. Cricket tragics might recall that Waugh followed his most gruelling battle with Ambrose in 1995 with a series-winning,epoch-shifting double hundred in Kingston.
Powick,on the other hand,seems to have found his last bumper barrage all a bit much. While Deloitte is up before a NSW parliamentary inquiry into the state’s use of consulting services on Wednesday,the boss won’t be appearing.
Instead,other members of Deloitte’s top brass,including chairmanTom Imbresi,will be fronting up. We asked the firm what was up with Powick’s snub. “Deloitte’s representatives at the NSW inquiry on Wednesday are the leaders from the firm most relevant to the matters outlined in the terms of reference,” a spokesperson from the firm told CBD.
Convenient.
MARK THE NARK
While normal Australians are caught up in the delirious excitement of the Matildas’ dream World Cup run,many politicians are using this moment to be joyless scolds by opposing a public holiday.
NSW Opposition LeaderMark Speakman on Tuesday became the latest Liberal to back a handful of sooks in the small business sector by labelling a holiday an “irresponsible thought bubble”.
“What’s going to happen in our public hospitals,what’s going to happen with surgeries that are scheduled on any public holiday?” he asked.
While he said he had been “caught up in the Matildas frenzy”,Speakman questioned why NSW PremierChris Minns was supporting the idea given the potential impact on small business.
“This is the man who wouldn’t spend $10- or $20,000 lighting up the Opera House on special occasions,” he said.
Yawn.
MOIRA MAGIC
The Liberal Party’s biggest-brained geniuses may have a cunning plan to win Sydney’s harbourside back from those rapacious teals:go full culture war on trans rights!
Undeterred by anti-trans activistKatherine Deves’ spectacular failure in Warringah last year,the Bellevue Hill and Vaucluse branches of the party have invited contentiously expelled Victorian LiberalMoira Deeming to give a speech at the Woollahra Golf Club next week. We’re sure this will resonate strongly with former Liberal voters in the party’s lost heartland.
Deeming was exiled from Victorian Liberal leaderJohn Pesutto’s party room after appearing at an anti-trans rally gatecrashed by neo-Nazis.
The dissident tag has made Deeming a star on the party’s right – she’ll be top of the bill at an event hosted by South Australian senator Alex Antic called “Why can’t women talk about sex?” in Parliament House next month.
“I just try really hard to tell people to not quit and not give up on the Liberal Party and not be furiously angry with people who voted against me,” Deeming told CBD.
BARK’S BUDDIES
A month afterDarren Bark was placed on leave,then abruptly called it quits as boss of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies,there’s still a frustrating pall of silence around the former chief executive’s departure.
While Bark’s quitting highlighted what a divisive figure he was in the local Jewish community,it also proved he has many supporters among the political class. An article published inThe Australian Jewish News the day after his resignation featured a series of gushing tributes from the likes of PremierChris Minns,his predecessorDominic Perrottet,and Opposition LeaderMark Speakman.
That praise shows no chance of slowing,with Liberal upper house MPChris Rathset to move an effusive motion in the Legislative Council next week noting Bark’s “extensive work and significant achievements” and congratulating him for a list of achievements.
It’s certainly quite a coup for a departed community leader to be memorialised inHansard like that,especially when the organisation Bark once led has kept rather quiet.
F45 FIZZLES
Embattled Australian-born gym chain F45 is set to die in darkness.
Better days:F45 founder Adam Gilchrist (right) and shareholder Mark Wahlberg on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in 2021.Getty
Just two years ago,the company floated on the New York Stock Exchange to much fanfare,at a ceremony fronted by its biggest celebrity backerMark Wahlberg.
But after a turgid 12 months,F45 announced its delisting from the NYSE this week,just months after the company was threatened by regulators with being booted after its share price had languished under $US1 for more than 30 days.
Meanwhile,the firm still hasn’t filed its 2022 annual results,asking for more time this year because of issues with its auditor. Now,rather than hand in its homework,F45 seems to be quitting school altogether.
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