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Cliff Obrecht Robyn Denholm,Anthony Eisen,Scott Farquhar.Credit:John Shakespeare

Atlassian is one of the big players to form the new industry group called the Tech Council of Australia. Other foundation members include Canva,Google,Microsoft,Tyro Payments and Afterpay. The Sydney-based Tesla chairRobyn Denholm is mooted to be the council’s chair,while other founding directors including Atlassian’s Farquhar,Afterpay chief executiveAnthony Eisen,Canva’sCliff Obrecht,CultureAmp’sDidier Elzinga andMina Radhakrishnan from online property management platform:Different. Former Accenture managing directorKate Pounder is expected to be announced as chief executive. Not that any of the companies or individuals involved are prepared to talk about it yet.

Thankfully CBD found an early website - in beta planning phase,no doubt - which also reveals Queensland’s former innovation and tourism ministerKate Jones and former federal assistant minister for innovationWyatt Roy to be executive directors.

A video introduction also hints at the new lobby group’s raison d’etre. In a piece to camera Microsoft public affairs boss Belinda Dennett laments what she describes as the “techlash” of the past few years.

Only the tech industry could describe one of the most prosperous periods in human history for anyone with a vaguely innovative idea as a “techlash” but there’s no point banding together if you don’t have a common enemy.

BAE’S BEACH PARTY

High profile cast members of Netflix’s Byron Baes are bound to be feeling hot under the collar after Byron Bay and Tweed police confirmed they were investigating a party held at a home believed to be occupied by castmateNathan Favro.

As readers will recall,police are probing the bash held on July 24 over concerns it went against public health orders capping household visitors to just five guests. AsCBD revealed,more than 14 influencer-types attended the evening which was enthusiastically documented on social media by Baes cast memberElle Watson and included other Insta-celebs including modelNeve Foggand robot coral farmerStephen Rodan.

But as it turns out,it’s not the only event on July 24 attended by the show’s cast members which has drawn the ire of locals and chatter of a police investigation.

Community members contacted CrimeStoppers regarding a large bash - dubbed a “bush doof” - held on the same evening in nearby Fox’s Lane attended by Baes cast matesElias Chigros,model-artistCai Leplawand spiritualistic therapistSimba Ali. Now expired social media posts from Ali and Chigros obtained by CBD show the trio at the event,while earlier in the evening both Chigros and Ali appear to have attended a “Hape and Cacao” ceremony,which Ali - who purports to practice ceremonial medicine - also documented on social media. Hape is a plant-derived substance used in traditional South American and Amazonian tribal ceremonies and often nicknamed herbal snuff. Could you get any more Byron Bae?

GUESS WHO

How’s this for an awkward online moment? Spare a thought for the Supreme Court justiceAndrew Tinney who was forced to defuse a tense situation after a court observer unmuted themselves online to call the barrister a “f---wit”.

Defence lawyerRichard Edney was deep in the cross-examination of a witness in a plea hearing when someone,watching over online court,unmuted themselves to utter “f---wit”.

“What was that? I heard an expletive,your honour. I don’t know who it was from,” Edney said,calling on the “male voice” to unmask themselves.

“Look,I don’t know – I’m not sure much is gained by that,Mr Edney,and don’t take it personally,” the presiding judge Tinney,replied.

“Obviously whoever said it didn’t intend it for your ears.”

But Edney persisted,saying there were only a small number of men watching online that it could have come from,and it wasn’t the prosecutor.

“It’s totally unacceptable. I’m doing my job,” he said.

The offender didn’t own up,and Tinney didn’t take it further.

MORNING SHOT

It’s good to see a lockdown blanketing two out of three eastern capitals isn’t stopping the business crowd from getting together. Almost 300 members of the Australian Chamber of Commerce Industry went online on Wednesday morning to hear from TreasurerJosh Frydenberg. Officially,parliamentary media’s most prolific MP went online to address members about the state of the nation and the economy. But on a day after the Commonwealth Vaccine Taskforce released its Doherty Institute modelling on a plan to transition out of the pandemic and lockdowns,the vaccination program dominated the discussion. Those tuning in included former finance ministerKelly O’Dwyer,Rex deputy chairmanJohn Sharp,and Aqualand chief executiveJohn Carfi- now sporting a lock-down beard. Others on the call included Labor Senator-turned Thales deputy chairStephen Loosley,Mackellar MPJason Falinski,HammondCare chief executiveMike Bairdand his father,former federal MPBruce Baird.

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