Linfox Freight bought Hernes Freight Services in July. Like grandfather,like son,like grandson.

TWO’S COMPANY

A long-time fixture at the Institute of Public Affairs,research fellowJames Boltis leaving thethink tankfor a new challenge. It’s a big change at the freedom-loving free market ideas factory which is headed by occasional Liberal preselection candidateJohn Roskam.The IPA is regarded as a proving ground foraspiring Liberals politicians. And Bolt has racked up more than eight years inside the outfit - which is almost more than its highest profile alumni SenatorJames Patersonand federal MPTim Wilson put together.

But it’s not politics that has snared Bolt,he is heading to Sky News in a production role,an occasion to mark at Sky given Bolt is the son of network pillarAndrew Bolt. Talk about a real next-gen moment.

The young Bolt broke the news of his departure on Thursday evening in his weekly “Hey … What did I miss?” dispatch for the IPA,telling members of his heavy heart at leaving and his excitement at the next chapter. But it was his reflections on his IPA highlights that proves he’s very well suited to the Sky crowd.

“I’m always going to remember our work on freedom of speech,” Bolt Jr wrote. “In my time here at the IPA I’ve been privileged to be part of the team that led national debate on the QUT students taken to court over a Facebook post,[former James Cook University professor)Peter Ridd being sacked for not being ‘collegiate’ andZoe Buhler being arrested in front of her kids … over a Facebook post”.

In other words,all hobby horses stabled well within Sky’s libertarian wheelhouse.

It’s a shame neither James Bolt nor the more senior Bolt could be drawn to comment on the appointment on Sunday and whether the new gig would entail father and son crossing paths in the studio. If they need advice on families working in close quarters thenFirst Edition co-hostPeter Stefanovic could offer some words of wisdom. Before Sky,he racked up a marathon 15 years working alongside brotherKarl Stefanovic at Nine.

But we digress. Before his role as a research fellow,Bolt headed the IPA’s online and audio arm with responsibility for “bringing the IPA’s message to people in ways not offered by traditional media.” And given how closely the IPA and the news service echo each other,producing at Sky News will in no way be a stretch.

HEADS UP

Sydney neurosurgeon-to-the-starsCharlie Teohas told media he is considering his future in the profession after being subject to restrictions last week by the NSW Medical Council. He has also rejected revelations brought to light in Saturday’sHerald that hesettled a claimfor operating on the wrong side of a patient’s brain. Meanwhile,those inside the surgeon’s eponymous Charlie Teo Foundation which raises cash for research into brain cancer say it’s business as usual for the charity. On Sunday,a spokesman for the foundation said the NSW Medical Council’s ruling - which has imposed on the neurosurgeon a requirement to seek a second opinion from another doctor when operating on two rare brain conditions - will have “zero implications” for the outfit which has raised more than $14 million since 2018.

“Charlie remains on the board as a director and the charity forges ahead,” the spokesman said. As CBD notedlast week,the high-profile foundation which describes itself as “different,game-changing and pure Charlie” counts corporate lawyerValentina Stojanovska Cal,recruitment firm Heidrick and Struggles’ managing directorGuy Farrowand former Virgin Australia bossJohn Borghettion its board and a coterie of celebrity supporters including actorRussell Crowe.

ROTATING ROSTER

TheBen Roberts-Smith defamation trial against the newspaper you are reading now is due to resume November 1. The defence had its Afghan witnesses give evidence three weeks ago. And within little more than a week Kabul has fallen. It is almost possible to imagine that their evidence could have been heard now. But the increasing coronavirus case numbers in Sydney make a November 1 return very unlikely. The trial may not resume until well into 2022.

In the vacuum of no court proceedings,the job of shaping the narrative has fallen to the PR team helping the Victoria Cross recipient - a role which has been run with all the fervour of a military campaign.

Problem is the PR spinners backing self-confessed laptop arson and burner phone enthusiast Ben Roberts-Smith seem to have a remarkable ability to jinx the careers of those in their orbit. Former chief Roberts-Smith spinnerRoss Coulthartis now writing about UFOs.The Australian let go journalistPaul Maley midway through his assignment as the paper’s BRS defender,whileThe West Australian’sNick Butterlywas one of the few at his Perth stable who pushed back at requests to run BRS spin. He’s gone too. Running out of friends,it’s left toStephen Gibbsof theDaily Mail to run the PR lines of the federal police war crimes suspect. The strong suspicion Gibbsy is on the Roberts-Smith drip has gone all the way to the chief of the defence force. But the ADF spinners haven’t bothered doing much,mainly because of the belief no one takes theDaily Mail’s copy seriously.

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