Off the Record: Too quick to judge in childish rant
TODAY in Off The Record, “Budgie Nine” member Jack Walker keeps his pants on at Flemington and the daughter of a Chief Justice apologises for a Facebook rant against an Advertiser court reporter.
TODAY in Off The Record, “Budgie Nine” member Jack Walker keeps his pants on at Flemington and the daughter of a Chief Justice apologises for a Facebook rant against an The Advertiser court reporter.
TOO QUICK TO JUDGE IN CHILDISH RANT
THE fiery Facebook post from barrister Claire O’Connor SC claiming sexual harassment by a District Court judge and legal industry sexism has had the fraternity captivated. But Chief JusticeChris Kourakis says he has been unable to do anything about the post.
However, his daughter – criminal and family lawyer Chloe Germanos-Kourakis – has been eager to share her opinion. Even if she is now regrets it.
In a bizarre Facebook rant this week, Germanos-Kourakis attacked exclusive articles about O’Connor by The Advertiser’s chief court reporter Sean Fewster.
“I want to meet the sexist prick who wrote this article ... the headline is insulting,” she wrote. “It encompasses everything Claire was deploring ... it mocks the sexual harassment, both direct and indirect, we endure every day.
“Sean Fewster, you are a misogynistic dickhead.”
The attack left legal eagles scratching their heads, given there wasn’t a shred of sexism or misogyny in the way Fewster or The Advertiser reported on O’Connor’s explosive post. Germanos-Kourakis, 29, the eldest of Chief Justice Kourakis’s daughters, works for Von Doussas. But yesterday, after being contacted by Off the Record, she was highly apologetic and promised to apologise in person to Fewster. “I am really sorry. It was in the heat of the moment. I deleted it quite quickly,” she said. “It was not appropriate and I am sorry. I am embarrassed.”
Despite the apology, Germanos-Kourakis still found time for one last crack. “I am disappointed that my comments, which I meant to be read only by my friends, are to be published more widely, because of who my father is,” she said.
The Chief Justice declined to comment on “his adult daughter’s Facebook posting”.
Regarding O’Connor’s claims of harassment, a spokesperson for Kourakis says an aspect of judicial independence is that the conduct of judges is a matter for the principal judge of the court concerned – in this case the District Court – and Parliament. The Law Society meets on Monday to decide what action, if any, will be taken on O’Connor.
VERY RACY, EVEN WITH HIS TROUSERS ON
OFF the Record almost didn’t recognise him with his clothes on, but former Government adviser and “Budgie Nine” member Jack Walker managed to scrub up all right for the races at Flemington.
His girlfriend, Ella Kenny, who still works for Defence Industries Minister Christopher Pyne, captioned the pic on her Instagram account #myjailbird. Maybe she thought it funny that while the hoi polloi celebrate race day by disrobing, Jack managed to keep his on for once.
Pyne is also at the centre of another controversy, but this one is an emerging internal party dispute as conservatives continue to try to loosen the federal minister’s moderate faction’s stranglehold on the SA branch of the party.
Not only did the emboldened right manage to get their mate Michael van Dissell – who we understand is not entirely popular in the party – elected as treasurer on the state executive over Pyne’s and state leader Steven Marshall’s pick. But now it seems they even kicked off their own elder David Ridgway from the campaign committee for junior woodchuck Courtney Stephens.
There’s some thought Ridgway might be put back on the committee through his position as Leader of the Opposition in State Parliament’s Upper House, but no decision has been formalised.
In a 2010 factional stoush over control of the Young Liberals, at which Pyne and van Dissell were at the centre, the latter’s fitness and drive were strongly questioned by the moderates.
DEAL ME OUT
THE disastrous Gillman swamp deal has opened the way for the State Government to launch a new TV show – No Deal or No Deal. Now, after the Gillman failure, another major contract is looking shaky.
In September, property mob Commercial & General, which is developing the old RAH, went public with a $391 million deal to buy, among others, the State Administration Centre and police HQ on Angas St.
MD Trevor Cooke set October 28 as settlement date, but the Government is still waiting for its money, while furious negotiations take place to see if the deal can be saved.
A more ancient deal has also returned to haunt the Government. The Marion swim centre is much admired, but in 2011 its construction caused a row between liquidated builder Candetti and the State Government.
Off the Record can reveal the Government paid administrator Korda Mentha $5.66 million to settle a legal dispute in which Conlon was accused of conduct that delayed construction. The administrator wanted $24 million. The settlement was buried in Candetti’s latest financial statements.
PLANE TRUTH
THERE have been all sorts of wild predictions about the size of the settlement being sought by ex-Channel 7 journo Amy Taeuber in her legal claim against the network. Taeuber, one of identical triplets, has launched action claiming she was sacked after complaining Today Tonight journalist Rodney Lohse had allegedly sexually harassed her. It had been said Taeuber wanted as much as $1 million, but it’s believed to be closer to $200,000-$300,000.
Adding intrigue is the fact the former Seven news director Terry Plane could be called as a witness. Plane was sacked by Seven this year, despite leading the news service to unprecedented rating success.
BATTING ON
ALEXANDER Downer, better known as the State Opposition Leader in Exile, is rivalling his hero John Howard as a cricket tragic.
Our man in London was delighted to have West Indian cricket great Sir Garfield Sobers drop in to Australia House this week to renew his passport.
Sobers, 80, who played for South Australia in the 1960s, was married to Australian Prue Kirby and has kept his citizenship, despite not having lived here since 1986.
VEIL OF PAIN
HE’S given away more than $20 million to the arts but former Adelaide millionaire Neil Balnaves’ latest act of philanthropy was overshadowed by tragedy.
The media executive and actor Geoffrey Rush are the benefactors behind the floating Riverbank Palais, which will return music and dancing to the River Torrens for the first time in almost a century at next year’s Adelaide Festival.
But the Palais plan was revealed, exclusively by The Advertiser, only two days after four people died at the Gold Coast Dreamworld Park operated by Ardent Leisure, of which Balnaves is outgoing chairman.
SCRATCHING
IT’S well known state Greens MP Tammy Franks hates racing, so she must have been thrilled this week to stop the Melbourne Cup. In the Upper House at least.
In a display of bipartisanship notably absent for important matters, Labor and Liberal agreed to stop for the race.
But Franks objected, meaning the Cup break – taken in the lower house – needed to be approved by vote, at which members baulked to avoid being branded shirkers.