Off the Record: Christopher Pyne’s tell-all book, where big-name Crows are ploughing their cash,
In this week’s Off the Record, find out about Christopher Pyne’s tell-all book, where big-name Adelaide Crows are putting their investment dollars, plus a leadfoot MP before the court.
In this week’s Off the Record, find out where big-name Adelaide Crows are putting their investment dollars, plus Christopher Pyne’s tell-all book and a leadfoot MP before the court.
Pyne writing tell-all book
Christopher Pyne has a deserved reputation as a political fixer who knows where the bodies are buried.
Therefore, there will be a few furrowed brows in Canberra and beyond when they learn, as we now reveal, that the former defence minister and long-serving Liberal MP for Sturt has inked a deal for a political page-turner.
Pyne, who has already unleashed some controversy in post-political life with an EY consultancy, has signed with Hachette Australia to write an insider’s view of federal politics from 2007 until the May election. This follows his 2015 memoir, A Letter to My Children, published by Melbourne University Press. This personal story documented Pyne’s childhood and political achievements.
The next book is poised to be an intriguing view of one of the most turbulent periods in Australian political history.
Pyne was the only member of the Liberal leadership team to endure from after the 2007 defeat of John Howard’s government until Scott Morrison’s against-the-odds victory in May. During that time, Pyne was a leader of the Liberal’s Moderate faction, yet was for many years a close associate of Conservative former prime minister Tony Abbott.
Pyne controversially pledged support to Abbott at an Adelaide Club meeting on the eve of Malcolm Turnbull’s 2015 coup, at which Pyne backed Turnbull.
Then, in the dying days of Turnbull’s prime ministership last year, Pyne was a key tactician in the bid to stave off Peter Dutton’s challenge, before becoming the emissary between Turnbull and Morrison as the latter became PM.
Pyne might be writing a book but he’s also found time to sit for his portrait by three artists as part of Loreto College’s springART exhibition. The Star Portrait competition involves three artists having a paint-off after one session with a prominent South Australian — in this case Pyne.
The portraits, by Adelaide-based artists Hugh Adamson, Philip David and Jessica Zoethout, will be unveiled at the college on September 7.
Top Crows looking to AFL Max out investment
We invest as One! A bit of an exaggeration but former Crow James Podsiadly’s AFL Max venture has attracted some big name investors.
The AFL play venue next to the airport was backed initially by deep-pocketed mate Darren Thomas, of Thomas Foods fame.
But every team needs an array of skills — bring on coach Don Pyke, in for $150k, captain Taylor Walker who’s gone halves with prominent businessman Richard Hockney in 4000 shares, worth $100k, and board member Mark Ricciuto with 10,000 shares, worth $250,000.
Elder statesman of the business world and big sports fan Rob Gerard is in for $100,000 also.
Victorian rich-lister, property mogul Andrew Buxton, who co-owns MAB Corporation with his brother Michael, is among the bigger investors, with 48,000 shares worth more than $1.2 million.
The AFL and the original business owners including Podsiadly and Thomas remain the biggest shareholders.
Let’s hope the business kicks some goals, unlike the Adelaide Football Club itself in recent times.
MP Tony is Pasin through
Off The Record could hardly believe it when it saw that an Antony Pasin was in the Adelaide Magistrates Court for exceeding the speed limit by 20-29 km/h.
A quick call to federal Liberal MP for Barker Tony Pasin confirmed he had stepped on the accelerator too hard, clocked going 101km/h in an 80km/h zone east of Blanchetown.
Pasin told Off The Record he didn’t contest the matter, but instead elected to be prosecuted so he could check the veracity of the police’s evidence. The speeding cost him five demerit points and a cool $810 dollars — two points and $512 more than if he’d been caught going 19km/h above the legal limit.
Pasin is often seen driving around his enormous electorate — which spans 65,000 sq km in the South-East, Riverland and the Barossa — in a 4WD clad with writing that “Pasin delivers”. If nothing else, he’s been true to his word by delivering more than $800 to the taxman. — Adam Langenberg
Nothing on Blue Sky for Port’s new board member
Newly installed Port Adelaide Football Club director Andrew Day has an impressive resume, including CEO and board experience across industry sectors including telecommunications, online technologies and investment and asset management.
Indeed, many of these are listed on the former CEO and executive director of Hastings Funds Management’s Port website and LinkedIn profiles.
There is, however, one prominent role that is not listed. Day was chairman of the high-profile Blue Sky Alternative Investments, which went into receivership in May.
Admittedly, it was a relatively brief role. Day was appointed chairman of the Brisbane-based fund manager in November last year and resigned in June. We can find no public comment from him about the firm’s demise.
There is another Adelaide link here. At Blue Sky, Day replaced John Kain as chairman. Kain is the founder and managing director of Adelaide-based Kain lawyer. Perhaps more notably, he in March last year hosted 400 Liberal Party elite at his eastern suburbs property for a garden party to celebrate the-then Sturt MP Christopher Pyne’s 25 years in Federal Parliament.
Day, an Adelaide University graduate in engineering and science, is based in Melbourne. He was appointed to the board to replace Ross Haslam. Business associates say he is an experienced financial and infrastructure operative who is held in high regard within his extensive networks.
In Port circles he has been touted as a China expert, who has good connections with a State Owned Enterprise in the country that the Power have tried to obtain funding from.
Off the Record asked Port if it could speak to Day on his appointment to the board and his experience in China, but was told that Chairman David Koch was the sole spokesperson for the club’s Board — Simeon Thomas-Wilson
Blackout
Sometimes a picture just speaks for itself — and this one seems to confirm our long-held suspicion.
Off the Record has complained a few times about South Australia’s status as the “secret state” and how difficult it can be to extract information from governments, courts and the like. The Freedom of Information system has been a particular bugbear, and judging by this picture taken at the Department of Education, things aren’t about to improve.
At least it’s prima facie evidence of an actual cover-up.
Crest call
Former speaker John Trainer is obviously a close reader of The Advertiser’s SA Weekend magazine.
That prestigious organ runs a weekly What The segment, where readers are asked to identify an obscure landmark. Trainer correctly identified a stone lion outside Parliament.
Given his previous job, not too surprising, but he added the other half of the crest, a unicorn, had been presented to the South African government. And that in 2013, he had taken a picture of our lion to South Africa to “reunite” the pair.
Charity Knees Up
The SA Mid Winter Ball has delivered another record result, this week paying out $40,000 each to its two selected charities, Operation Flinders and Canteen Australia.
Hosts Rosanna Mangiarelli and Will Goodings implored the more than 500 guests to dig deep and it seems it worked, helped along with some from BankSA in the form of eftpos terminals — who carries cash these days? It’s the eighth year the event, organised by Cameron England and Stacey Lee, has been held.