By Samantha Hutchinson and Stephen Brook
With more than 10 million records sold worldwide, Tina Arena knows exactly the type of dedication needed to be a success.
So appointing the multi-award winning singer-songwriter, record producer, actress and performing artist to the board of our peak arts organisation the Australia Council last year was the perfect fit. Arena has wasted no time in using her profile to sing out long and loud over the crisis in the arts.
Singer Tina Arena.Credit: Simon Schluter
“I haven’t worked for a year and a half,” she told Stellar magazine recently, revealing she had frozen her mortgage repayments. “The arts industry is being categorically ignored. The number of people who have lost their jobs in our industry is extraordinary. I’m checking on my friends constantly; some aren’t doing well.”
She said she has expressed her concerns to the government and would continue to do so.
But one aspect of her arts council involvement was less than stellar: actually attending Australia Council board meetings. Since her appointment in March last year, Arena has only attended four out of nine meetings.
An Australia Council spokeswoman told CBD board members sent apologies for a range of reasons “including, but not limited to, prior work commitments, family obligations and illness”.
Arena’s stipend in 2019-20 was $36,000, whether or not she attended meetings. I’m in Chains (not).
Media briefing meltdown
Staffers working in the offices of state Coalition MPs smelled a rat last week. Some are convinced that the Premier's office has told Meltwater Media, the government's media monitors, to change the way they send out the morning clips to "shield Gladys" from the barrage of negative media.
Staffers told us that usually the clips start with the big stories about the NSW government but last week were mysteriously "jumbled up". So much so, that the Sally Rugg “spare us the damsel” opinion piece published in The Sydney Morning Herald was so far down the list of clippings they couldn't even find it (Rugg was very critical of the Premier). And last Wednesday, the worst day of media coverage for Premier Gladys Berejiklian, the clips weren't even sent out. How curious.
AFL schoolies
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.Credit: Illustration: John Shakespeare
Given how many southern states relocated to the Sunshine State for the event, we may as well rename the AFL grand final at the Gabba in Brisbane on Saturday schoolies for grown-ups.
The locals included Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, Industry, Science and Technology Minister Karen Andrews, representing the PM, and Queensland Governor Paul de Jersey. Other AFL guests included tennis star Ash Barty and surfing star Stephanie Gilmore.
A more vital figure than all of them to the reality of a Queensland grand final was MinterEllison Gold Coast chairman John Witheriff, who as founding chairman of the Gold Coast Suns did much to establish local Metricon Stadium, which saved the season.
Perth-based AFL chairman Richard Goyder and Sydney-based commissioner Kim Williams, didn’t make the big match, but commissioners in attendance were Major General Simone Wilkie, who was able to fly up from Canberra. Fellow commissioners, former Hawks president Andrew Newbold and Seek founder Paul Bassat had quarantined at the AFL hub at the Gold Coast Mercure.
CBD favourite David Elia, Richmond tragic and chief executive of AFL super fund Hostplus, was there. Elia and his family arrived in Queensland in September not, you understand, to escape the Melbourne lockdown but so he could “speak at various industry events”.
Will Hodgman, former premier of Tasmania, was present, no doubt to lobby for his dream of a Tasmanian AFL team.
After the match, some VIPs kicked on to Brisbane’s Hellenika restaurant and bar, where at 3am Keith “Happy” Wallis, the 73-year-old who just celebrated coaching his 1000th match at the Wests Juniors Australian Football Club at Toowong, earning the admiration of AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan and many others, was still going strong.
If ever medals were awarded for enjoying a good night out, the Norm Smith would surely go to another 3am stayer, Australian Community Media boss Antony “Cat” Catalano.
Daily double
Special mention must be made of Bart Campbell, attempting a unique double. The former Melbourne Storm chairman, who remains the club’s largest shareholder, was in Brisbane for the AFL grand final on Saturday night and immediately made preparations to head south to see his team take on the Panthers at Olympic Stadium in Sydney on Sunday night. Prime Minister Scott Morrison headed up the Hume to attend the rugby league decider. Also on the NRL guest list: NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, NSW Governor Margaret Beazley, former prime minister John Howard, Nine chief executive Hugh Marks, and rival media executive, News Corp boss Michael Miller.
The PM’s team, the Cronulla Sharks, crashed out in the elimination finals, but at least performer Amy Shark was the official grand final entertainment. The PM tipped a Panthers’ win.
Going the full Bulgari
So sorry. Last week, CBD did Australia Post boss Christine Holgate a disservice. Holgate fronted senate estimates and admitted she lavished four executives with expensive Cartier watches (worth $20,000) as a thank you. Cue outrage from the PM and everyone else, an investigation, and Holgate was quickly stood aside, an event that generated outrage from some, including Eddie McGuire, president of Collingwood, where Holgate is a board member. CBD spies spotted Holgate who turned up to the senate wearing her own Bulgari watch, which retails for as much as $48,300.
In reporting this, we were wrong. We failed to notice that Holgate’s gold Serpenti Tubogas gold watch with pave diamonds, which “coils the sinuosity of the snake with the contemporary soul of tubogas” and evokes the “sensual curves of a woman and the fluid shape of the serpent” was in fact the double spiral timepiece, unavailable in Australia, but purchasable on global shopping sites for £33,200, or about $61,000.
And we completely failed to notice Holgate had gone the full Bulgari, accessorising with a Serpenti ring (price range $10,000 to $26,000) and Divas’ dream bracelet ($7450) from the famous Italian jeweller.
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