Julie Bishop brings home the bacon with Palladium board role

Former foreign minister Julie Bishop. Picture: AAP

It pays to have friends in high places.

Multinational private foreign aid contractor Palladium mid-last year appointed Australia’s former foreign minister Julie Bishop to its board of directors.

The job with one of Australia’s biggest foreign aid contractors came just a few months after Bishop left federal parliament, with the appointment prompting Labor to allege a breach of ministerial standards.

Now look.

Palladium in recent weeks has landed at least two hefty federal government contracts worth a combined $7.6m to assist in fighting the coronavirus pandemic that’s sweeping the globe.

There’s been a $2.5m deal to help the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade via its foreign aid program screen outbound Pacific travellers, as well as a $5.1m contract also with DFAT via foreign aid for logistics support to the Australian response to the COVID-19 outbreak in the Asia Pacific.

Both contracts are for six months’ work.

Illustration: Rod Clement.

Notably, Bishop shares the Palladium board table with former local cruise ship operator Carnival Australia boss Ann Sherry, who quietly left that job last year before COVID-19 had even come to pass in the Chinese city of Wuhan.

Carnival, of course, operates the Ruby Princess, with Australian businesswoman Katie Lahey now on the board of Carnival’s listed global parent, Carnival International. Sherry’s knack for timing is further reflected in her exit from the Rugby Australia board in April last year, making us wonder whether the former Westpac exec and now National Australia Bank director carries about a crystal ball.

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Playboy’s life

The galloper Live And Free finished first at Randwick last Thursday. It seems there’s hope for its star studded owners including former Seven West Media boss Tim Worner, occasional Seven presenter ­Hamish McLachlan, his brother Gillon, the AFL CEO, Billabong co-founder Scott Perrin and fund manager David Paradice.

The John O’Shea-trained runner didn’t quite collect the chocolates as it was just a trial with Glen Boss in the saddle.

Live And Free (green and blue silks) wins at Randwick in January last year. Picture: AAP

Live And Free — the slogan Seven has used for its sports coverage — is the promising five-year-old son of Savabeel that has won $363,000 in prize money since the owners paid $200,000 in 2016.

Its last run was fourth on Boxing Day at Randwick.

The same syndicate also own Live and Loaded, which also trialled last Thursday but is yet to race in Australia.

Warner separately owns a stake in the three-year-old David Hayes-trained Irish colt, Constantinople, in a syndicate that includes crocodile farmer from Darwin, Mick Burns, the Qantas chairman’s lounge member and property developer Neil Wherrett, and an Australian kung fu pioneer, Barry Pang.

The syndicate dozen paid nearly $1.6m for the horse last September, about a month after Worner quit working for billionaire Kerry Stokes with a $2.6m golden goodbye.

Former Seven West CEO Tim Worner. Picture: James Croucher

Constantinople ran an encouraging fourth in the Caulfield Cup but 13th in the Melbourne Cup, and now faces the unkindest cut of all.

There were unfulfilled hopes of a run in the recent Sydney Cup, after he disappointingly finished third last in the Australian Cup last month.

“Post-race endoscopy detected a degree of internal exercise‑induced pulmonary haemorrhage that may have affected the horse’s racing performance,” the stewards’ report read.

It has since been advised that it was the stable’s intention to geld and spell Constantinople, which prompted some racing wags to suggest it was odd to prescribe castration as a treatment for a lung condition.

Of course Worner is best known for his stable of fillies, including Centrefold Spread, Legs Akimbo and She Likes to Party.

Having moving closer to the water, Worner spends his days at Manly, having upsized to a $9.5m home bought from Oroton chief executive Ross Lane, upon selling nearby for around $6.6m in 2016.

He’s no doubt enjoys the recent reports of strong prices. Manly clocked up a $17.5m record next door when outdoor advertising boss Ray Balcomb and wife Julie sold to Brookvale homewares distributor James Smail and his wife Tracey.

Given the gardening leave, Worner’s not been heard from other than paying tribute after the death last month of his long-time friend and colleague, Bradley Lyons.

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Daisy do

The Dead Daisies, the hard rock collective founded by Westfield shopping centre family scion David Lowy, will release a new single Unspoken this week, amid scrapped plans for a 2020 tour of Europe.

The song is taken from the band’s next album, Holy Ground, which was recorded last December at La Fabrique Studios, located hillside in a 19th century farm house in Saint-Remy de Provence.

The studio is heavily booked with sessions last year from Lisa Simone, Cat Stevens and former Smiths frontman Morrisey, who recorded Knockabout World there.

Sounds far more professionally done these days than the early 1970s when the Rolling Stones were tax exiles shacked up for around two years at Villa Nellcôte at Villefranche-sur-Mer on the Côte d’Azur.

The Dead Daisies back in 2014, when Jon Stevens was lead singer. Picture: Supplied

Margin Call does note there were Facebook references to hearing the Dead Daisy boys from 10km away.

Glenn Hughes, ex Deep Purple, wrote the Unspoken single for the album which comes out later this year through Spinefarm Records, the home of hard rock and metal within the Universal Music.

Glenn Hughes. Picture: Belltone Publicity

“I transported myself back to 1972 just for a moment,” he told the Blabbermouth industry blog.

“It’s bombastic, primeval and haunting. This song is about letting go, getting past the fear, and to breathe again.

“It was a great moment to make this record with those guys in that genre of a castle — chateau,” Hughes said.

Hughes praises Lowy as “a studious guitar player … he works his socks off”.

With their songs having included Can’t Take it With You since its formation in 2012, the band has featured some 20-plus members and toured with the likes of Aerosmith and KISS.

“It’s been an amazing collaboration,” the G550 flying Lowy, now in lockdown in New York after having arrived back from Sydney, recently told his followers.

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Watsons Bay wonder

Justin and Dom Hind, co-founders of the WiTH Collective digital advertising agency, have relisted their Watsons Bay home. Exquisitely timed for its Belle cover this month.

Having sought $15m-plus last August they’ve gone with Michael Pallier at Sotheby’s International on their second marketing campaign with $17m hopes.

Dominique and Justin Hind at their Watsons Bay home, which is back on the market. Picture: AAP

They paid $9m for the then home of fashion designer Collette Dinnigan and Bradley Cocks in late 2016. The Hinds bought it after their digital consultancy sold to Dentsu Aegis Network, the Toyko-based company whose shares have halved in value this year due to — among other issues — the postponement of the Olympic Games.

While the terms were to see the couple remain at Dentsu for five years, the couple finished up last December with Justin’s Linkedin profile advising he’s on gardening leave until mid-year.

Dinnigan and hotelier husband Cocks quit the classic Beaux-Arts style contemporary home for life in Italy where they have been in lockdown.

Dinnigan gained $2.75m during her 18 months ownership of the 1920s Masonic lodge which she’d bought from James Packer ’s then right-hand man, Matthew ‘Ched’ Csidei and his lawyer wife Lauren Roscoe.

The mostly white four-bedroom, five-bathroom home still has parquetry floors from an 18th century chateau in France’s Loire Valley, but had another renovation under the Hinds. The works by Weir Phillips Architects included a $5m transformation.