By Kishor Napier-Raman and Noel Towell
Embattled neurosurgeon Charlie Teo remains upbeat, despite being found guilty by the healthcare watchdog of unsatisfactory professional conduct this year and having restrictions placed on his ability to operate.
Teo’s latest up-yours to the medical authorities and the media he’s convinced are out to get him came in the form of a walk across the Harbour Bridge during Sunday’s Sydney Marathon, along with supporters from around the country who came “to stand in solidarity with Charlie”.
Teo’s eponymous foundation boasted that it had raised $50,000 for its “Walk with Charlie” event, although a chunk of that came from a $12,000 donation by the doctor himself.
“My gut tells me to be disheartened by my recent experiences at the hands of the Australian medical system. But then something stronger kicks in … A dogged tenacity and perseverance!” Teo wrote on a message accompanying his donation. Looks like he’s still posting through it.
As CBD recently noted, Teo was last seen at the Qatar Airways first class check-in desk at Sydney airport. But he took a break from his global jetsetting for the walk, flying from Spain especially for the event. Previously, he’d been in Nepal.
His days of driving Ubers to make ends meet never looked more distant.
And while Teo’s reputation has, understandably, lost its sheen thanks to the disciplinary action, he still counts on the support of many tabloid media personalities.
In November, the Charlie Teo Foundation’s $200-a-head “Bright Night” cocktail party will be hosted by Richard Wilkins, entertainment editor at Nine, which owns this masthead. Last year’s event was hosted by 2GB shock jock Ben Fordham (both he and Wilkins are ambassadors for Teo’s foundation) and drew a $25,000 taxpayer-funded donation from then-premier Dominic Perrottet.
We’d encourage Chris Minns not to do the same.
SCOMO’S SERMON
“How good is Queensland?” a triumphant Scott Morrison roared, after securing his 2019 miracle election win.
Credit: John Shakespeare
These days, the former PM is happy to thank his blessings from the divine.
“How good’s God, by the way,” Scomo said, during a 20-minute surprise sermon he delivered at Encounter City Church, a Pentecostal prayer barn in the Perth suburbs on Sunday.
Morrison, dressed in a grey blazer and a black T-shirt that gave off strong youth pastor vibes, gave a message to the faithful that contained a healthy dash of revisionism.
“After I stepped down as prime minister Brad [Bonhomme, his pastor] asked me to come up and say a few words,” Morrison said.
That’s a rather novel way of describing losing an election!
Speaking of losing elections, Morrison’s close political ally Ben Morton, who was too busy campaigning with the boss last May to hold his own safe seat, showed up to give his support.
Morrison’s last appearance at a WA megachurch included a strange claim that his fellow worshippers didn’t trust in governments or the United Nations. This time, the former PM avoided getting overly political, focusing on the need to submit to God’s plan, working himself into such a passion that he was practically in tears by the end of it.
“God always has a way of reminding us, doesn’t he, of who’s in charge? And it’s not us. And thank God for that,” he said.
Given the last election result, we reckon there are plenty of voters who are similarly glad he’s not in charge.
MONEY TALKS
The Yes campaign for the Voice referendum needs a little something to get the idea over the line if the polls are to be believed.
So maybe it’s time for Climate 200, the Simon Holmes a Court political fundraising juggernaut so influential at the last federal election, to sprinkle some of that electoral stardust on the Yes camp’s efforts.
If it was simply a question of money, you sense, Simon and Climate 200 CEO Byron Fay would have this thing in the bag.
Fay advised supporters on Monday that the fund had made short work, four weeks, of raising $350,000 to be divvied up to fund the grassroots efforts of 22 community operations around the country as they campaign for Yes.
The playbook will be familiar to anyone living in or near a teal seat, featuring “persuasive conversations and actions needed to shift votes, like door-knocking, street stalls, and distributing yard signs and ‘vote yes’ merchandise”.
And they’re not done yet. The call went out on Monday for donations to “chip in for the final sprint” to help “turbocharge these community efforts”.
And who knows, without those pesky donations caps that prevented Climate 200-backed independents from making a real mark on recent Victorian and NSW state elections, maybe team teal can help pull off another surprise triumph.
LOBBY LANDIS
CBD has been keeping an eye on Josh Landis, the former Clubs NSW boss dumped this year after an unsavoury spray about Dominic Perrottet’s “Catholic gut” in the midst of a debate on pokie reform.
We noted that Landis quickly set up a company – JHR Advisory – and even did a bit of freelance government relations work for Tabcorp.
Now Landis is looking more like a real lobbyist: JHR Advisory has landed on the federal lobbying register. His one client? The City Tattersalls Club. Looks like he’s still doing what he knows best.