City Beat: Adani cops a hammering ahead of meeting with Palaszczuk, Barnaby Joyce to press the flesh in Brisbane, Bevan Slattery’s big home sale

Anti-coal activists appear determined to spoil the party ahead of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s planned meeting in Townsville with the head of Indian mining giant Adani.

Tim Buckley illustration by Mark Wharton.

SPOILING THE PARTY

ANTI-COAL activists appear determined to spoil the party ahead of Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s planned meeting with the head of Indian mining giant Adani in Townsville on Tuesday.

A Greens-backed research outfit alleged yesterday that the private arm of Adani poised to build the proposed Galilee rail line is linked to offshore tax havens including Singapore, the Cayman Islands and Mauritius.

They have also reminded everyone that the Indian Government is investigating alleged money laundering, tax evasion and money laundering claims against the huge conglomerate.

Adani has denied the tax haven and corruption allegations as company boss Gautam Adani gets ready to spend a bit of face time with Ms Palaszczuk.

Of course, she would love to take credit for getting Adani’s long-delayed Carmichael megamine over
the line.

Curiously, Tim Buckley, the agitator with the left-leaning Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, managed to also praise Adani for its $10 billion strategic pivot to renewables.

“Adani is central to a profound energy transition in India, which is on track
to achieve a national
40 per cent renewable energy target by 2030,’’ he said.

The corporation also plans to build a $200 million solar plant in Moranbah and a similar facility in South Australia, winning kudos from Buckley.

PRESSING THE FLESH

KEEP an eye out for Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, who will be pressing the flesh in Brisbane over the next couple of days.

The ruddy, plain-spoken Joyce plans to hold court at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre on Wednesday for the Queensland Media Club’s last event of the year. Talking points include the state’s “untapped potential’’.

On Tuesday night Joyce will be clinking glasses with 100 or more guests at the SAS Group’s annual holiday bash. The fact that Nationals president Larry Anthony is one of the marketing group’s principals had nothing to do with it!

Among those on the guest list are local bizoids such as Trevor St Baker, Martin Albrecht and some of the gang from the JJ Richards waste group.

Labor players Grace Grace and Anthony Chisholm are expected too.

Another SAS top gun, Labor elder statesman Con Sciacca, may also show up but he’s been doing it tough healthwise lately.

Indeed, Sciacca got a shout out last week in Parliament from Opposition Leader Bill Shorten and Oxley MP Milton Dick, both of whom wished him well in the lead-up to Christmas.

SLATTERY SALE

LOW-profile Brisbane bizoid Bevan Slattery wants to trim his multimillion-dollar real estate portfolio in the western suburb of Fig Tree Pocket.

The serial tech entrepreneur has stuck a “for sale’’ sign in the posh home he bought with his wife six years ago for $6.3 million.

The five-bedroom dwelling, on a 1ha riverfront block with a pool and tennis court, goes under the hammer on December 17.

Interestingly, the property has had plenty of well-known past owners, including waste business operator Dean Wanless, ex-pollie Bruce Flegg and former coachlines chief Tony McCafferty.

Developer David Roberts and now-bankrupt former industrialist Ross Palmer also used to call the place home.

Since buying the residence, Slattery has relocated his home to a lavish estate on a nearby, which he picked up for $8.25 million in 2014.

A year earlier he forked out $1.6 million for a Jesmond Rd site.

Slattery, who made his fortune with Pipe Networks and now runs Biopixel, Superloop and Megaport, did not return a call seeking comment.