Birds of a feather … Chloe and Bill Shorten.John Shakespeare
Chatter around the track was that the government’s online gambling review was keeping federal ministers away but that didn’t stop former Labor leaderBill Shortenshowing up with wifeChloe Shorten.
And the man mountain from the Hunter,Dan Repacholi,couldn’t be missed,giving that towering Crown marquee a run for its money.
Things were looking a little flat at Lion’s double-decker pavilion to promote its Geelong beer brand Furphy and continue a two-decade quest to steal market share from rival Carlton United Brewery. Upstairs the usual political suspects included Nationals leaderDavid Littleproud,former Nationals leaderMichael McCormack,deputy Liberal leaderSussan Leyand her rebellious backbench colleagueBridget Archer.
But suddenly,at about 1pm,a trio of enthusiastic but novice Furphy brand ambassadors appeared on the ground floor. Making an entrance with billionaire Pratt family nepo babiesFiona Geminder andHeloise Pratt wasRupert Murdoch’sniece and Herald and Weekly Times chairPenny Fowler.
Next door at Tabcorp’s marquee,David Gallop,a board member of the gambling giant and former chief executive of the NRL and Football Australia held court. Meanwhile,across the room,former Test captain and lemon lime and bittersMichael Clarke wasn’t having much luck on the punt.
“Not at this stage but fingers crossed,” he told CBD’s correspondent.
No bragging rights for him,given his tip was Cup favourite Gold Trip.
BROAD CHURCH
At the Crown marquee after the race,Ley and Archer were spotted gal-palling,while NSW Liberal lobbyist and powerbrokerMichael Photiosbulked out the booth. A broad church indeed.
Not too far away stood the tallest guy in any room,recent former AFL chief executiveGillon McLachlan. There’s no hotter topic in sporting circles than Gil’s post footy plans but so far he’s maintained a gnomic silence about whether he’d be interested in becoming Racing Victoria chair.
Let’s hope his spring racing punting record isn’t an omen. Reliable sources tell CBD that Gill hasn’t backed a winner ... since the Caulfield Cup.
NO JBISH
The Lexus marquee attracted serious star power on Derby Day,with Hollywood actorsMatt Damon and Elsa Pataky,but was rather more subdued for the Melbourne Cup.
Birdcage stalwart,former foreign ministerJulie Bishop,was supposed to be in attendance but cancelled due to an undisclosed emergency.
MEANWHILE,IN SYDNEY
Racing NSW CEOPeter “Showbags” V’landys had the ear of Nine chief executive (and our boss)Mike Sneesbyat his rival Big Dance race,while Seven’sJames Warburton was relegated to the next table over.
PREMIER’S READING CHALLENGE
The Sydney Writers’ Festival’s programming has been decidedly mid in recent years,with lineups far more heavy on local Twitter celebrities and ABC luvvies than serious literary figures.
But at least the festival’s latest move is sure to go down well among two key target demographics – Labor true believers and lovers of children’s books.
Former lawyerAnna Minns,wife of PremierChris Minns,has just been appointed the children’s reading ambassador in a two-year voluntary role,which is a first of its kind for the festival.
Minns is not a writer,but is a “passionate reader”,with an interest in young adult fiction,children’s books and heist novels,according to the festival’s chairKathy Shand.
In a statement Minns quoted that titan of 20th century American letters and high school yearbook favourite Dr Seuss.
“Dr Suess said it best when he wrote,‘The more you read,the more things you will know. The more that you learn,the more places you’ll go’.”
TREE OF STRIFE
“Be careful what you post on social media” is timeless advice,especially so if you’re running a fledgling cryptocurrency start-up targeting a capital raise.
This advice was not heeded bySam Joel,the founder of metaverse charity outfit GiveTree,who unleashed a series of ugly LinkedIn comments over the weekend. One of the targets of Joel’s spray,prominent venture capitalistElaine Stead,described them as “abusive,sexually harassing and vile”.
On Tuesday morning,after Joel had deleted his account,GiveTree posted a lengthy apology on his behalf.
“Over the weekend,our founder Sam Joel made some very inappropriate and hurtful comments toward women on LinkedIn. Unfortunately these recent comments form part of a larger and ongoing pattern of behaviour for Sam,that urgently needs to change,” it said.
Noting Joel’s history of PTSD during a period of homelessness,the statement said that he would “attend therapy to address his sexist and,at times,misogynistic behaviour towards women”.
There was also an offer for any “affected women” to reach out to the company for a personal apology.
In a bit of a twist,one of Joel’s online targets,PR agency founderHannah Moreno,who’s also a feminist advocate and author,helped draft that apology.
While Joel didn’t comment further,he’s since offered to personally apologise to those targeted and CBD has confirmed he’ll be stepping down as GiveTree’s chief executive.
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