Off The Record: South Australian Labor leader Peter Malinauskas worth more than South Pacific cruise
In this week’s Off the Record, find out why state Labor leader Peter Malinauskas is worth more than a South Pacific cruise and take a peek at Gina Rinehart’s happy snap from the White House State Dinner for Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
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In this week’s Off the Record, find out why state Labor leader Peter Malinauskas is worth more than a South Pacific cruise and take a peek at Gina Rinehart’s happy snap from the White House State Dinner for Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
ALP leader first port of call
LUNCH with Opposition Leader Peter Malinauskas at Parliament House is clearly more appealing for some high-profile real-estate types than a seven-day Pacific cruise.
Property identities Bernard Booth and Susan Brock waged a bidding war at a charity auction this week for lunch with the state Labor leader.
Booth, the director/auctioneer of his eponymous firm, fended off spirited bidding from Brock, the wife of auctioneer Michael Brock, at The AdvertiserFoundation and Channel 7 Grand Final Luncheon.
He paid $2200 for the lunch for four, with food and drinks included.
The auction was in support of the Channel 7 Children’s Research Foundation and the Sammy D Foundation.
The latter organised the lunch with Malinauskas, who must be an appealing fellow.
Lunch with him cost $200 more than the P&O Pacific Island Hopper cruise for two, departing from Brisbane and visiting Noumea, Lifou and Port Vila while enjoying the comfort of an Oceanview Stateroom. Meals and entertainment were included in the auction item, donated by Phil Hoffman Travel.
Property agents have been enraged by state land-tax changes, which erase a legal loophole that allowed investors to split property ownership between legal structures to minimise their bill.
Many of them would be keen to bend the ear of the Labor leader over land tax, which has resulted in several rusted-on Liberals turning on the party.
Ironically, most real estate agents were firmly in the Liberal corner ahead of May’s federal election, because Labor proposed to limit negative gearing concessions to new homes.
Booth did not explain his spirited bidding and did not return messages. Susan Brock declined to comment.
Malinauskas said only: “I’ll have lunch with anyone in the name of a good cause.” Malinauskas donated the lunch personally and, therefore, no taxpayer funds will be spent.
Lunch with Premier Steven Marshall was not on the auction list.
Happy snap from dinner at the White House
IT’S nice when friends send you pictures of themselves from abroad with famous people. In our case, mining and pastoral tycoon Gina Rinehart sent us a happy snap this week of her with former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, who now is President Donald Trump’s attorney.
We asked Rinehart — the principal owner of Adelaide-based pastoral firm S. Kidman & Co — about her chat with Giuliani on the steps of the White House ahead of the State Dinner to welcome Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Rinehart said: “I had met Rudy before, immediately after President Trump’s election. I thanked him again for what he did for New York, with his success in reducing crime via his policies when mayor.”
She stressed she did not discuss in any way his position as Trump’s attorney.
The state dinner had US wines with an SA flavour. Served was a pinot noir from the Argyle Winery in Oregon, co-founded by SA’s Brian Croser, and a sauvignon blanc from California’s Spring Mountain, whose winemaker Barrett Anderson studied his craft at Adelaide Uni.
Our intrepid colleague Andrew Hough, who is covering Morrison’s visit, also sent us some snaps from an American Australian Association function in New York.
Adelaide-based Thomas Foods International chief Darren Thomas was there, along with Spence MP Nick Champion, who is at the United Nations on the traditional federal MPs’ placement.
Red alert
A DEVELOPMENT in the continuing mystery of Adelaide United can be revealed. It turns out high-profile businessman Ian Smith, pictured above among the Reds’ advisory board, is a director of the club.
He was quietly installed on March 15, two weeks after Off the Record spoke to his predecessor, Brisbane lawyer Freeda Stevenson. Smith and Reds’ chairman Piet Van der Pol are now Adelaide’s directors. But we’re still no closer to finding out the full ownership structure.
Van der Pol has said he is an owner but whether he owns one per cent or 99 per cent is unclear. As previously reported, Adelaide is 100 per cent owned by a company called Australian Football Opportunities, a subsidiary of Global Football Opportunities set up by China-based businessman Rob Van Eck.
On the move
MOVEMENT in the ranks of Liberal press secs. Gemma Coombe is returning to Adelaide from London, where she worked for the BBC, to assist Sport Minister Corey Wingard. Wingard flack Ken McGregor is moving to Health Minister Stephen Wade. Coombe is the daughter of Andrew Coombe, former COS to Isobel Redmond.
RAA government and public policy guru Jayne Flaherty (pictured) has joined the board of the South Australian Tourism Commission.
Sandy Pitcher will head up the Higher Education and Skills division of the Victorian Government’s Education and Training Department.
A former chief of SA’s Environment Department, Pitcher was one of four public service execs sacked after Steven Marshall became Premier. She has spent the past year as a consultant at OZ Minerals.