Consulting giant Deloitte is holding a big partner bash from Thursday,flying in more than 1000 partners and nearly booking out a couple of five-star hotels in town.
Deloitte’s partner “meeting” is definitely not a party.John Shakespeare
But while CBD hears that excited staff are keen to pillage the Barossa wineries on the weekend,Deloitte insists it’s a two-day conference – and definitely not a party.
A spokeswoman told CBD:“This is an annual partner meeting that provides an important opportunity for Deloitte partners to get together and connect in person to discuss our strategic priorities and reinforce the culture and values of the firm.”
And boy do those long-suffering partners have plenty to discuss. The PwC scandal has made big four consultants,particularly those earning big bucks,the target of (we think justifiable) political opprobrium and public scorn.
All it took was one little tax scandal for the punters to wake up to the grift. The days of UNSW grads charging thousands to make excel spreadsheets telling career public servants how to do their jobs while the bosses wined and dined prime ministers might not last forever.
And while Deloitte never suffered the reputational evisceration that PwC did,its case was hardly helped by the firm’s local bossAdam Powick’sbumbling appearance before federal senators recently,where he admitted his $3.5 million salary was probably too much.
Powick then proceeded to release internal communications to staff trying to laugh it all off and pretend he wasn’t owned. On LinkedIn,he,and compared himself toSteve Waugh,before bravely avoiding fronting up to a similar upper house inquiry in NSW this month,sending a few minions instead. In fairness,we hear he’s reasonably well-liked among many of those minions,as bosses go.
But party or not,we reckon there will be a few sorrows to drown come the weekend.
OFF WITH HIS HEAD
Five months after seizing the keys to Macquarie Street,NSW PremierChris Minns is getting a taste of how complex the top job can be.
His Transport MinisterJo Haylenis fighting for her ministerial career,teachers and paramedics are fuming over pay deals,and the state budget is drowning in red ink. To add insult to injury,his favourite NRL team – the Bulldogs – are languishing near the bottom of the ladder.
Despite the headaches,Minns remains an extremely affable guy. He also seems determined to avoid bagging his political opponents for the sake of it.
Example A:During an invite-only breakfast hosted by Business Sydney at Doltone House in the city on Wednesday,Minns went out of his way to acknowledge the presence of former Liberal transport ministerDavid Elliott,who theHeraldonce memorably described in an editorial as “one of the biggest buffoons in NSW politics”.
Minns told the room he had gone out of his way as opposition leader to never call for someone’s resignation. “Exceptfor David Elliott!” he said to roars of laughter. “I sort of regret it,actually,I must have had a rush to my head.”
It felt like half the cabinet was at the breakfast,including Finance MinisterCourtney Houssos,who has been burning so much midnight oil before the September 19 budget that she has nearly lost her voice.
“Aussie” John Symond also turned up,as did NSW Police CommissionerKaren Webb,her deputyMal Lanyon,Business Sydney bossPaul Nicolaou,Destination NSW chair and former ABC radio hostSally Loane,new Venues NSW chairDavid Gallop,International Olympic Committee vice presidentJohn Coates,former WallabyNick Farr-Jones and former SoccerooMark Bosnich.Fun times!
PESKY PEXA
Last week,e-conveyancing giant PEXA released its financial results,which revealed both a $21.8 million loss,and a $412,000 cash bonus for chief executiveGlenn King.
Now,CBD wouldn’t always deign to step into the bone-dry world of online conveyancing. We can see your eyes glaze over just seeing the words. But we’ve never seen a company as flush with high-profile lobbying representation as PEXA,which floated on the ASX in 2021 the day after suffering an embarrassing operational glitch.
Last year,the firm unlisted the services of Hawker Britton,as well as former NSW premierMorris Iemma’s advisory company. Before that,the firm had also retained the counsel of Cornerstone Group,the shop founded by NSW Liberal powerbroker Joe Tannous and co-chaired by former Turnbull government ministerCraig Laundy.
In NSW,PEXA is on the books of Liberal-aligned lobbying supremoMichael Photios’Premier National (who isn’t?),and is also a client of Barton Deakin,whereJohn Howard’s old chief of staffGrahame Morris was long-time chair.
What explains the lobbying blitz? For years,PEXA held a monopoly over the e-conveyancing sector which is now under threat from reforms at a state and federal level,backed hard by upstart rival Sympli. When in doubt it helps to call in the big guns,even if they haven’t helped PEXA’s latest market performance.
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