Credit:Joe Banke
Strong economy
We’ve been keeping close tabs on former prime ministerScott Morrison’s forced readjustment to the indignity of backbench life. In the latest episode,a forlorn-looking Morrison was spotted flying from Canberra to Melbourne last Friday,shuffling into seat 6F (a window seat) on a Qantas economy flight with his suits in a dry-cleaning bag. It’s quite the step down from Shark One,as the prime ministerial plane was known in the Morrison years.
And just to increase the indignity,he had to squeeze past rookie Labor MPCarina Garland,seated on the aisle,who didn’t look all too thrilled about getting up to let him through.
Still,it wasn’t all bad. In Melbourne,Morrison managed to get some quality time with “Jen and the girls,” catching the Van Gogh exhibition at the Lume gallery,which he described as “absolutely magical”.
Cry me a Rio
CBD brought word last week of the hottest Friday lunch date in town – an $85 a head luncheon held by the Melbourne mining club,with a special address from Rio Tinto’s chief executive,AustraliaKellie Parker.
Parker was drafted following the mining giant’s destruction of 46,000-year-old Indigenous rock shelters at Juukan Gorge back in 2020,and it seems the aftershocks of that act of cultural vandalism are still being felt ... in a way.
When the chief executive was asked about her legacy during the lunch,Parker,a 20-plus-year veteran of Rio,got all emotional.
“The events at Juukan were tragic for not only the PKKP[local Aboriginal community] and traditional owners and Indigenous Australians but so tragic for our employees,” she said.
“What drives me every day is making sure that I can build that pride back ... and that people want to wear the Rio Tinto shirt and be proud. That’s what drives me.”
Won’t somebody spare a thought for the poor Rio Tinto employees!
Forster Entry
Berlin techno den Berghain is notoriously the hardest nightclub in the world to get into,and Liberal Party stalwartChristine Forster, sister ofTony Abbott,was no exception to the list of wannabe entrants. She and wifeVirginia Flitcroft were unceremoniously denied entry during a recent holiday with the usual:“Nein!”
Unusually,though,the pair talked back. “What? Are we too old,too lesbian,too Australian?” they asked. It worked – they were ushered inside,where they danced for hours on the techno floor.
“It was fabulous,” Forster confirmed.
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