By Kishor Napier-Raman and Stephen Brook
In the wealthy, teal-tinged pockets of our capital cities, the rumour mills churn overtime, fuelled by a thousand overworked residential WhatsApp groups.
No home comforts for Assange: Barrister Geoffrey Robertson.Credit: John Shakespeare
And the latest persistent bit of scuttlebutt, with its roots in the Melbourne bayside suburb of Brighton, has even reached the ears of federal MP Zoe Daniel and whipped its way through the corridors of power.
Namely, that legendary human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson KC was buying WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and wife Stella a mansion in the suburb to live in.
Assange had spent years in exile in London facing extradition to the US over conspiring to obtain and disclose classified US national defence documents. But late last month he returned to Australia for the first time in 15 years after he attended court in the Northern Mariana Islands and pleaded guilty to a felony count of disseminating classified information.
Legal sources told CBD it was all happening and a suitably grand house was found with trampolines in the backyard for the couple’s two children.
After Assange triumphantly flew into Canberra, he and his family vanished, leading to much speculation about where they might ultimately settle. Queensland, where Assange was born, is one theory, but he also spent time living in Melbourne.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and family, not in Brighton.Credit: Stella Assange
On Monday up popped a social media post of the family enjoying a windswept beach. It didn’t look very Far North Queensland to us.
But equally it looked a long way from Brighton, so CBD reached out all the way to Robertson at London’s Doughty Street Chambers (Winner UK Bar Awards 2023), who told us: “No comment.” Bayside real estate agents also laughed us out of the building.
Luckily, a well-placed snout was on hand to tell us that the rumour was “utterly and demonstrably false”. Turns out Robertson, despite being a stout campaigner for Assange’s freedom, had not been in touch with the WikiLeaks founder or his family for several years.
“It would be wrong and silly to suggest that he is helping to find him a house in Melbourne or anywhere else.”
So if we see Assange and family dropping out for brunch by the bayside any time soon, we will eat our hat.
TOTEM POLLIE
In the annals of “well they didn’t last that long in Canberra, did they?” we can add Nick Hayden, former ABC golden boy turned senior advisor, strategic communications and media for Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers, the government’s very own golden boy. But what’s not to like about that gig, we wonder?
CBD loyalists will recall last year we reported that Hayden was joining Team Chalmers as a speechwriter (our bad) having left the ABC last July following a stint as head of entertainment, where he had a hand in programs such as Spicks and Specks and Julia Zemiro’s Home Delivery. What’s not to like about that gig, we wonder?
But after doing his best to give the treasurer a much-needed dose of rizz, now comes the announcement that Hayden is off to join digital-first media content company Totem. Totem, founded by documentary maker, author, entrepreneur and keynote speaker Steve Crombie has already made the move LinkedIn official, announcing Hayden as the new head of content. Plenty to like about that gig – even if we don’t really know what it entails.
“I’m thrilled to be joining Totem, to help grow their already exciting business. Totem are world leaders in social video and digital-first media with an audience focus unlike any other company,” Hayden said in a statement.
We were keen to find out just why he had departed Canberra, but didn’t hear back.
Totem has an open invitation to “work and collaborate with amazing humans”. Looks like they found their guy.
KEAN CANDIDATES
Chair of the Climate Change Authority and enemy of Liberal conservatives, Matt Kean.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Ever since former NSW treasurer Matt Kean abruptly quit politics and enraged Liberal conservatives by taking a job as chairing the Albanese government’s Climate Change Authority, his old party comrades have been busy doing what they do best – fighting over valuable parliamentary real estate.
CBD readers would recall that state Liberal vice president and corporate lawyer James Wallace, also known as Kean’s “numbers guy”, has already put up his hand to take a major pay cut and seek preselection in the very safe seat of Hornsby.
The other frontrunner is fellow moderate and Hornsby councillor Michael Hutchence. Another bloke? The Liberals really don’t change a thing.
There is a woman in the race though – barrister Ishita Sethi, who also ran unsuccessfully for a Senate spot last year. And she’s clocked up some intriguing endorsements, with former premier Nick Greiner, shadow attorney-general Alister Henskens, and top Voice to parliament wrecker Nyunggai Warren Mundine hosting a drinks and canapes event for Sethi at Dural Country Club this weekend.
Given Warren’s recent track record with preselections, this feels like a kiss of death.
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