Joe Aston set to learn defamation result
Nine Entertainment and its gossip columnist Joe Aston are poised to learn whether their defamation defence was successful on Wednesday, bringing to an end months of back and forth with venture capitalist Elaine Stead after the closely watched trial of early December.
Justice Michael Lee, who won fans for his amusing commentary and fast wit during the two-week trial, is slated to hand down his judgment after six weeks of deliberation over the summer.
He no doubt had a lot to ponder — there were the endless Twitter posts from Stead herself, the question of whether stupid is really as stupid does and more photos of Aston’s feet than we would like to mention.
For those perhaps in a bunker over those weeks last year, we refer of course to the defamation case brought by Stead, a former director of investment firm Blue Sky, over two stories and a tweet published by Nine’s Australian Financial Review in which Aston described her as a feminist cretin who had acted like a “pyromaniac” with other people’s money.
Recall that the final arguments by Stead’s counsel Sue Crysanthou pushed for aggravated damages against the media group — accusing Aston of doubling down on his insults while in the witness box.
Meanwhile, Aston’s camp, led by Sandy Dawson, have argued for his right to publish his honest opinion.
Home in Sydney from his usual residence in Los Angeles, it’s no surprise that Aston has kept his social media presence low key over the summer after his Instagram and Twitter posts were the cause of much discussion in court.
Regardless of the outcome though, the judgment, which is to be handed down over yet another Microsoft Teams meeting, will surely again draw viewers in the hundreds and on the balance of probabilities provide another gaffe when it comes to muted microphones.
Any fallout for Aston and his publisher will be closely watched by others also lining up to take on the columnist in court.
Christine’s credit card adventures
Executive expenses or waste of taxpayers’ money –— regardless of which way you look at it, the release of former Australia Post boss Christine Holgate’s credit card bills has given the public a window into the CEO’s approach to spending.
Beyond the luxury branded gifts for outgoing executives (including the $2k Mountblanc pen gifted to departing chair John Stanhope), and visits to fine dining venues like Aria or the high end local haunt Pearls on the Beach — near her own Northern Beaches weekender — it is her regular chauffeur bills that most set her apart from the average Joe.
The records, released under Freedom of Information laws, show more than $200,000 was spent on private car services across her 23-month tenure in the top job — on average more than $5000 a month.
That was even as the coronavirus pandemic began to spread across the country in early 2020, ruling out most business travel.
In March 2020 Holgate spent almost $8500 on transfers from the airport, office and home as well as a further $2000 in the two months following.
Her vendor of choice, the Sydney-based Paramount Limousines, was also called upon to drive two executives to Canberra, in her words “due to lack of airfares” in July — adding to the private car charge of $6867.41 that month.
But it is not all glamour for Holgate — the documents do show the corporate card was used to book a flight on budget carrier Jetstar in late December 2018 to attend an awards night.
Alan Joyce’s cost-cutting airline does provide a business service after all.
Whether she, or one of her execs, ultimately took the seat on that flight though is a whole other matter — with a refund for the service processed just days later.
The only other time Jetstar does get a look-in is for a “partner’s flights to a corporate event” in 2019 – we would hazard a guess that wasn’t Holgate’s husband and Downer chairman Michael Harding.
Regarding the $6089 spend on flowers over financial years 19 and 20, though, the records show a compassionate side to Holgate, who gifted bunches for get well, farewell and condolences over the period.
The lion’s share, however is for floral arrangements to adorn the group’s reception.
We must stress, though, that the investigation into the matter by law firm Maddocks did clear the former chief of any wrongdoing.
On Friday it was revealed that while the purchase of Cartier watches was “inconsistent” with community expectations, there was no “indication of dishonesty, fraud, corruption or intentional misuse of Australia Post funds by any individual involved”.
Uninviting gabfest
Taking this year’s World Economic Forum virtual should have made it easier for Australian movers and shakers to get involved in the plans to change the world.
Alas, not even cutting out the more than 24-hour flight (and consequent carbon emissions) to Davos has helped our pollies get a leg up.
When it comes to this year’s speaker line-up, it’s doughnuts in the local representative count.
That’s a worse showing than 2020, when it was just Australian artist Lynette Wallworth who was invited to say her piece, also receiving a gong and bringing the horrors of the summer bushfires to the world’s attention.
Far be it for us to leave it at that though – there’s nothing to stop us from adopting honorary Australians.
Why not just claim Boston Consulting Group’s global chief Rich Lesser — who last made a visit down under in January 2020, narrowly missing the global pandemic, or Rabobank global chairman Wiebe Draijer, who once said Australia had the “golden ticket” to solve future global food issues.
Even James Packer’s friend, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gets to give a special address on Wednesday.
No doubt Andrew Liveris will be disappointed he didn’t make the cut, with his ties to the high-profile forum likely peaking with his speech in 2017.
The Price is right for Rinehart
Gina Rinehart praised the Coalition’s Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, urged the ADF to shift to Darwin and chastised unacclimatised city folk, in a recorded address to the Institute of Public Affairs.
Diamond Joe Gutnick loses the last of his sparkle
Joe Gutnick’s last hurrah is finally coming to an end, as liquidators wind up the last company in the play that was supposed to put ‘diamond’ back into his moniker.