By Stephen Brook and Kishor Napier-Raman
Who on earth is Daniel Nour? The GP with impeccable connections launched the Melbourne chapter of his Street Side Medics charity at Mercedes-Benz in Kings Way on Wednesday night – and the prime minister travelled across the country from Perth to be one of 250 guests in attendance.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with partner Jodie Haydon, former young Australian of the year Dr Daniel Nour and Nour’s wife, Cassandra Nour, at the Street Side Medics launch in Melbourne.Credit: Joe Armao
Other politicos there included federal Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen, and Josh Burns, the member for the federal seat of Macnamara, but not Premier Jacinta Allan, who was coming until she wasn’t. Who wouldn’t want to share the stage with Albo?
Also among the 250 A-listers: tailor for the modern man Arthur Galan and wife Mimi Galan; bookie Alan Eskander; philanthropist Amanda Smorgon; ex-Nine-turned-Collingwood executive Ian Paterson; Australian grand prix boss Travis Auld; Crown chief financial officer Alan McGregor; and chief executive of LSH Auto John Good.
The event was hosted by Victoria Racing Club board member Ann Peacock and ABC presenter Michael Rowland.
While some may be puzzled by the venue for the launch (Mercedes-Benz?!), Mercedes is the provider of vans for Street Side Medics, a mobile medical service for homeless people run by GPs, founded by Nour in 2020.
Daniel Nour designed the custom Nike Air Jordan sneakers given to key supporters.Credit:
And with homelessness growing in Melbourne, the unit will operate every Thursday evening on Bourke Street, next to the Salvation Army Twilight Cafe.
Guests at Wednesday’s launch snacked on heirloom cucumber with creme fraiche and Yarra Valley salmon roe supplied by Vue de Monde.
And some, including outgoing Qantas senior executive Andrew Parker, were clad in Street Side Medics-branded Nike Air Jordan sneakers, designed by Nour himself and given to key supporters.
The PM was no match for Kings Way traffic and arrived about 15 minutes late, breezing in with fiancee Jodie Haydon for an inspection of the two mobile medical vehicles.
“If you are thinking of a cause to support, there’s no better than this one,” Albanese told guests.
“The truth is that Dr Nour is a source of light amid the darkness. He’s someone who makes this country better.
“He’s someone who I’m proud to call a friend, and when he rang me up and spoke to me about his expansion of these services into Melbourne, I was only too honoured to accept that invitation.”
Nour, 28, from Sydney’s Royal North Shore Hospital, is undoubtedly a rising star. In 2021, he was NSW young Australian of the year. The next January that was upgraded to young Australian of the year.
In May 2023, he attended the coronation of King Charles, and in November, he flew to the US to receive a humanitarian award from the Muhammad Ali Centre. He nearly didn’t make it. Nour had thought the emailed invitation from the estate of the great boxer was fake, so originally he ignored it.
WHAT’S UP, DOCTOR?
Has Australia’s richest person added another feather to her iron-ore cap?
The few hundred punters watching Sky News’ coverage of the Murdoch media empire’s Hancock Prospecting-sponsored Bush Summit in Port Hedland last week would have noticed the billionaire mining magnate described as Dr Gina Rinehart AO.
Rinehart’s title invoked a typically smug raised eyebrow from departing Media Watch host Paul Barry on Monday night, but left this column wondering whether the University of Sydney economics dropout had acquired new academic credentials.
Now if Rinehart had completed a PhD, we’d know. Her website details all her various gongs, down to her recent lifetime achievement award from the Ayn Rand Atlas Society. But she does have one of those honorary doctorates, from Bond University, awarded in 2013 for her “commitment and contribution to the Australian economy and wider community”.
Gina Rinehart (left) with swimming legend Dawn Fraser at the Paris Olympics in July.Credit: AAP
Nobody ever called the late, great Shane Warne, granted an honorary doctorate for services to cricket from Solent University in the UK in 2006, Dr Warnie – even if the Gatting Ball was its own thesis defence.
So, was the title a new preference from Hancock HQ, much like the deferential way Olympic swimmers only ever refer to their patron as “Mrs Rinehart” when thanking her in front of the cameras?
Not quite, a spokesperson for Hancock Prospecting told us, confirming that it was a reference to the gong from Bond.
“She personally doesn’t use the title ‘Dr’, but others do refer to this honour,” they said.
DUTTON’S BRAT SUMMER
It wasn’t all that long ago that banning TikTok was one of the many faces of Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s tough-cop act. Back in March, after the US House of Representatives passed a bill that could pave the way for a ban of the app unless it divests from its Chinese-owned parent company, ByteDance, within a year, Dutton called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to do the same.
“At a time like this the prime minister doesn’t need to be weak, he needs to be strong to show the leadership needed to keep Australian children safe online,” Dutton thundered.
Will someone please think of the children!
But six months, it seems, is an aeon in politics. On Wednesday, we noticed that the opposition leader had launched his very own TikTok account, albeit one without any videos … yet. And they said Brat Summer was over!
Peter Dutton’s new TikTok account.
So what made Dutts change his mind on TikTok? Was it the need to improve his image among the youth ahead of next year’s election? Or another consequence of his steadily softening rhetoric on China?
Whatever it was, his office didn’t tell us. But we can’t wait for the content.
Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis from Jacqueline Maley. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter here.