John Shakespeare
And while the pair seemed chuffed about getting more money for social housing,not everyone was happy about the party dropping its obstructionist demand for a national rent freeze.
Jonathan Sriranganathan,the party’s candidate for Brisbane lord mayor,and whose run for council in 2016 arguably laid the foundation for last election’s greenslide,took to the socials to diss his colleagues in Canberra,accusing them of doing “a kinda shitty thing”.
“You’ve given up your leverage without extracting enough concessions,” he tweeted at Bandt.
In a reply to Chandler-Mather’s victorious Facebook post,Sriranganathan argued the party “should’ve held out for more”.
Sri’s disgruntlement seems to be that the party room made a call without consulting the lowly rank-and-file membership.
“That’s how the major parties do things,and it’s corrosive to democracy in the long term because it concentrates more and more power in the hands of politicians,” he said.
It’s quite the public spray,especially since Chandler-Mather managed Sri’s 2016 council campaign and the two have always been close political allies.
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
Property broTim Gurner,whose net worth is nearly $1 billion,has a simple message for the poor.
“In my view,we need to see pain in the economy,” Gurner told a property summit held by our stablemates atTheAustralian Financial Reviewon Tuesday.
“We need to remind people that they work for the employer,not the other way around,” he said.
Gurner was encouraged by more lay-offs,claiming that what Australia needs is “less arrogance in the labour market,” and that a 50 per cent rise in unemployment would boost productivity.
Precisely what Australia’s struggling renters needed – another pep talk from a wealthy property tycoon.
But while Gurner is a bit of a weird unit,he does,in his defence,know a thing or two about pain. For years,he’s been trying to explain that his own fortune is the result of a unique ability to endure the kind of suffering and joylessness most regular punters simply couldn’t fathom.
In 2017,he burst onto the scene with a desperate plea to millennials to stop with the $4 coffees and overpriced smashed avocados if they wanted to own homes and make a name for themselves in the property world.
If only people had listened! Instead,the haters pointed to a $34,000 loan from Grandpa that helped Gurner get started in the property game. Or how his boss fronted up the $180,000 for his first investment property.
These days,Gurner is an anti-ageing guy,putting himself through various medieval tortures – extreme saunas,ice baths,and funky diets – all in the name of adding a few more years for a man in his 80s.
All this is to say the man clearly understands pain. If only the rest of us could cop a bit more of it.
KING OF FRANCE
Ever since taking over the Liberal party’s Wentworth Federal Electorate Conference,the seat’s former MPPeter King has been pursuing plenty of his own interests.
In a recent letter to members,King called for volunteers and booth workers to help advance the No case in Sydney’s affluent eastern suburbs.
But as for King himself,the new Wentworth head honcho will be sitting out much of the referendum campaign proper after jetting off to France for the Rugby World Cup.
“I am in France to see Aussie teams win games,then home in a few weeks,” King told CBD.
Given he’s slated to return the day after the Wallabies’ final group game,perhaps he lacks optimism about just how many they’ll win.
As for the Voice,King told us he supported a free vote for Liberals in Wentworth,but was,unsurprisingly,a hard No.
“In the referendum I am advocating a no vote in the interests of all Australians,including our fellow Indigenous Australians,because I believe the Voice is divisive,poorly planned and against the national interest.”
Maybe he’s hoping to avoidMalcolm Turnbull,the man who ousted him from parliament in 2004,and who’s out campaigning for a Yes vote.
PAY ATTENTION
CBD was intrigued to note on Monday night,when tuning into Channel 10’s zany current affairs game showHave You Been Paying Attention?,that newly crowned Miss Universe AustraliaMoraya Wilson was the show’s guest programmer this week.
Good on her,we say. You gotta make hay while the sun shines in that beauty queen caper,after all.
It’s just thatThe Age revealed on Thursday that Wilson is the sole director and shareholder of 10 companies,which are the subject of “strike-off action” by the corporate regulator ASIC,with the Melbourne-based model and influencer managing to be,on her telling,unaware of any of this.
She’s not the only one who hasn’t been paying attention. JapestersAlex Ward, Lloyd Langford,Ed Kavalee,Sam Pang andTom Gleisner managed to get through the whole 45-minute show without mentioning the saga.
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories,analysis and insights..