CITYBEAT: John Massey's lure of black gold

LOCAL company director and Italophile John Massey has developed a penchant for black gold . . . coal that is.

citybeat 12 feb

LOCAL company director and Italophile John Massey has developed a penchant for black gold . . . coal that is.

Massey (pictured) has sat on more boards than most during a distinguished career in Queensland business, culminating in him being awarded the AICD Gold Medal in 2010.

While winding down some directorships, he is also adding a few select positions, just popping up as the independent chairman of the giant Wiggins Island Coal Export Terminal. This is a big project. About 800 people are working on the stage one development which involves eight major coal companies and a push to construct a $2.5 billion 27 million tonne a year terminal by late 2014. The second stage involves moving up to 32 million tonnes by 2016.

Massey said bank funding of potentially up to $4 billion was in place with a good mix of Australian, Asian, European and Canadian banks committed.

Massey still chairs Sun State Cement and UQ Holdings and remains on the board of Stockyard Beef.

And his love of all things Italian? Well, Massey and his wife are good mates with an Italian count, a descendant of Dante and they tend to spend at least a week a year staying at his home, which was built in 1318 at Valpolicella, near Verona, in Italy.

No longer mates

RICH-LISTER Andrew Brice, the philanthropist who made his fortune as a start-up founder of Wotif.com, is set to take the stand next week in a Brisbane Supreme Court battle against a former business associate.

Veterinarian and grazier John Chambers has sued Brice and is seeking damages over a disputed $3.2 million deal to buy wagyu cattle. Brice is fighting back and has launched a counterclaim demanding damages from Chambers.

On the first day of a three-week trial which started yesterday, the court heard how much the two men trusted and respected one another after Brice started working as Chambers' accountant in 1990.

Even after his Wotif bet came good, Brice was still pocketing money as an accounting consultant, including $35,000 in 2007-08, the court was told.

Crack the bubbly

TOP-END property sales specialist at Johnston Dixon, Josephine Johnston-Rowell, had a "quarter of a million reasons" more to smile on Friday when she got to bank two rather fat commission cheques.

Johnston-Rowell sold the "fake prince's" Moray St, New Farm riverfront apartment for $5.65 million before auction after being engaged by the Public Trustee and another apartment next door on the river for more than $4 million.

We are reliably informed that the company's own French champagne flowed liberally to celebrate.

Calling it a day

THE man who took on the debt-laden mess of waste giant Transpacific Industries Group after the departure of founder Terry Peabody has called it a day.

Gene Tilbrook will step down as chairman of the Brisbane-based company at the start of next month.

Also departing is non-executive director Bruce Brown, the company announced yesterday.

Deputy chairman Martin Hudson will take on the top job on March 1. Transpacific has also recruited two new board members, EDI Downer chairman and Santos director Mike Harding, and UK building material executive Mark Chellow.

Room of egos

THE Chinese Club of Queensland's annual Chinese new year - and 60th birthday celebrations - went off with a bang on Saturday night.

The LNP pollies are usually at the centre of attention at this event, but it was different this year.

Acting PM Wayne Swan was there with his AFP security detail, with people lining up for photos and a chat, much to the frustration of some LNP types.

We hear that Teresa Gambaro in particular wasn't too impressed as her Labor candidate for Brisbane, Fiona McNamara, was at the big table next to Eddie Liu and Swan. Gambaro was down the back of the room.

Other notable guests includes the Governor, Chief Justice, Lord Mayor, Police Commissioner, Consul-General Glen Elmes. The Premier did not attend, which was strange.

All they needed was backbencher K Rudd, the man who generates more PR than the PM.

On the move

YOUR diarist spied Flight Centre's Graham "Skroo" Turner pounding the pavement in his usual style late last week and he looked very relaxed, and sweaty.

Probably because he knew Flight Centre was close to moving into the Middle East for the first time.

The group, which began life in 1981 with double-decker buses and things, will open in Dubai later this month.

Doesn't add up

TELSTRA loves to throw away money it seems although they made a motza last week in their half-yearly result.

A colleague, who has lived in her unit for more than 4½ years, finds a letter from Telstra in her mailbox every month addressed to a former tenant. Every month she dutifully writes "not at this address" and sends it back. Well nearly every month.

She long ago peeked inside the envelope to discover a "bill" for an unused mobile service showing $2.87 in credit. That's right - Telstra has spent more than $30 in postage chasing someone to whom it owes small change. Yep, it's a great business model.