By Gemma Grant and Kishor Napier-Raman
The nuked Instagram page was a dead giveaway.
Senator Dorinda Cox’s profile went dark on Monday afternoon, before news of her defection from the Greens to Labor had even made it onto the homepages. Cox’s Twitter (sorry, X) account also went private, and the Greens quickly moved to scrub her from their own website.
But the Instagram deletion was telling, probably because some of the senator’s most recent posts were bagging the Labor government’s decision to approve the extension of energy giant Woodside’s North West Shelf gas project until 2070, which she described as “catastrophic for many reasons” on the now-deleted pic.
Clearly, all water under the bridge for Cox and her new party. Albanese, whose distaste for the “Greens Political Party” is well-documented, gleefully accepted her change of colours.
Going, going, gone: Lawyer X offloads luxury Melbourne penthouse
It’s never a nice feeling to be in debt. Whether it’s paying back a mortgage or paying back your credit card loan, the dollars and cents have a tendency to hang over us.
So CBD can only assume that gangland barrister turned police informant Nicola Gobbo was immensely relieved when her bayside penthouse sold for $1.25 million last week. And that was ahead of the planned auction – nice one!
Former lawyer and police informer Nicola Gobbo in 2008.Credit: Joe Armao
Regular readers will recall that Gobbo owes an undisclosed amount (read: upwards of $1 million) to gangland figure and former client Faruk Orman after she settled a lawsuit which claimed she had corrupted Orman’s 2008 prosecution for murder.
The sale price of the apartment is at the lower end of Gobbo’s asking price of $1.2 million to $1.32 million.
The realtor involved in the sale remained tight-lipped about the whole situation. But a little birdie reminded us that it’s a difficult market out there. And that sales like these often come down to only one or two serious buyers.
When you put it like that, this is a pretty good outcome. Plus, we think the transaction should be classed as a win for someone who didn’t technically exist in the land titles registry for a while and therefore couldn’t sell any property, thanks to the power of an unprecedented special police order.
CBD enquired whether newly freed drug kingpin Tony Mokbel, another of Gobbo’s former clients, had expressed any interest in the property. No? Maybe he’s been too busy sticking to his curfew and shopping at Northland’s Myer.
Instead, our source said of the buyer: “It’s just everyday mums and dads. It’s normal people. There’s no story … [it’s] no one of any note.”
What a shame. And for those who were worried that Lawyer X might be left out in the cold, never fear. She still maintains a respectable portfolio of properties across Melbourne’s south-east.
Any of them would provide an ample place to reside. That is – if she ever manages to emerge from hiding.
Butt out, Parliament House
CBD brought word last year that the Department of Parliamentary Services was planning to review the Big House’s smoking policy, and we were told at the time that the shift was a response to the introduction of automatic doors near parliamentary chambers.
The latest draft was dropped last week, and the new policy greatly reduced the number of designated smoking areas in the parliamentary courtyard. If approved, they’ll bring the federal parliament’s restrictions broadly in line with new rules in countries like France and Spain.
The department told us consultation on the changes was closing on Tuesday.
Smoking areas in Parliament House will soon be heavily restricted.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
“Any changes will be balanced with work health and safety obligations for all people who work and visit Australian Parliament House,” they said.
But we also hear that a major driver of the new policy is Senate President Sue Lines, who takes a far dimmer view of smoking than one of her recent predecessors, Liberal Scott Ryan. He used to be seen sparking up in the Senate president’s courtyard.
Senate President Sue Lines.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
That said, Lines is probably on the right side of history. Lung lollies are practically extinct in parliament, where anyone under 35 has switched to the also restricted vapes (despite Health Minister Mark Butler’s best efforts to ban a product available at every convenience store in the country).
And practically no pollie will even admit to being partial to a dart any more. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he’s never smoked. Ever. Notable exception – firebrand independent senator Lidia Thorpe. Ex-NSW premier Dom Perrottet used to admit to a sneaky vape.
Others known to have indulged include Labor’s Karen Grogan and Jo Ryan. CBD would often get a heady aroma outside the Nationals party room. And former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce was certainly partial, although the big fella is now on a health kick, quitting booze after being found sprawled on a Canberra pavement and having recently undergone surgery for prostate cancer.
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