Angel said no attempt was made to seek comment from police or fact-check Strazdins’ claims before they were broadcast and published by Bolt.

“We will not tolerate our police officers being subject to fanciful stories that have not been fact-checked. We will not cop that,” said Angel.

Nice touch,Beck.

Neither Sky News nor News Corp Australia,publisher of theHerald Sun, responded to our requests for comment. Strazdins could not be contacted for comment.

ELITE-RATURE

This week in CBD book club,we’re delighted to feature a new tome fromRichard Alston,the communications minister inJohn Howard’s Coalition government,probably most famous for his groundbreaking – and widely imitated – work weaponising the ABC’s complaints process against the broadcaster.

The title of Richard’s new paperback,The Trouble with Elites,and the Anti-Democratic Impulse,should give us a decent clue what to expect of the 106-pager.

The basic problem,Alston’s blurb explains,is that “just because you are a famous film star,sporting hero or business tycoon,let alone a wealthy retiree,doesn’t entitle you to pontificate,often on subjects you know little about”.

We’re delighted to confirm there’s no danger of Alston falling into that error.

He grew up in upmarket Brighton and was educated at Xavier College – 37 grand a year these days – and the University of Melbourne before completing his legal training at blue-blooded law firm Mallesons.

He was federal president of the Liberal Party and high commissioner to the United Kingdom,has chaired the boards of three publicly listed companies in Australia and been a director of a number of others here and overseas,and also sits on the board of the National Gallery of Australia.

So you’d expect Alston to have accumulated more than passing knowledge of “elites” in their natural habitats. Let’s call it a lifetime of research in the field. Now look,we haven’t read the book,but are prepared to recommend it nonetheless on the basis that the former minister has stuck,with his subject,to that hardy old literary tenet:write what you know.

We gave Alston a shout on Tuesday,hoping for an elite-level quote or two. Never heard back.

BATTERY POWER

It’s all the rage these days for Labor-aligned union types to step into the world of big business and wind up breaking bread with their former big-end-of-town adversaries.

Take the latest case of former ACTU presidentSharan Burrow,who also co-chairs withMalcolm Turnbullthe campaign for a royal commission intoRupert Murdoch’sNews Corp,a push which has been,let’s face it,a bit of a flop so far. Burrow on Monday joined the board of global battery technology company Novonix,where she’ll be among a different crowd from her union comrades.

Novonix is closely linked to former Dow Chemical bossAndrew Liveris,also a past adviser to bothDonald TrumpandBarack Obama. And by closely linked,we mean it’s practically a family affair for Liveris,who is also the Brisbane Olympic Games honcho.

Novonix chairAnthony Bellas is Andrew’s brother-in-law. Chief financial officerNick Leveris is his son.Andrew Liveris,also known for being the architect of then-PMScott Morrison’s “gas-led recovery” policy,is taking an unaccustomed lesser role,as a mere non-executive director.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories,analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.