Joe hums solitary tune at Bill’s birthday bash

Illustration: Peter Nicholson

Thousands gathered in our nation’s capital yesterday to celebrate Opposition Leader Bill Shorten’s 47th birthday.

Happy birthday, Bill!

“Let them eat cake,” declared Shorten’s Labor caucus colleagues as they furnished their boss with a frosted chocolate gateaux that was less than ample for the 1000 or so close friends gathered in the Parliament House lockup for the happy event. But while Labor comrades sang Happy Birthday to their chief, there was nothing but the hum of activity from man of the moment Treasurer Joe Hockey’s office — no American Authors’ Best Day of My Life this year for our nation’s money man.

Public support for sad-faced Hockey seemed thin on the ground, as business leaders waited for the devil of the budgetary detail.

ANZ head teller Mike Smith stuck his head up on Twitter to buck up the Treasurer and show his excitement about the impending release of Australia’s financial blueprint.

“Greater govt childcare assistance a positive for women participating in the workforce @JoeHockey — look forward to details in #Budget2015” tweeted Smith, who joined the Twittersphere only this month.

Breakfast club dash

It’ll be a mad dash for Hockey once Shorten gets to the end of his budget reply speech tomorrow night.

Hockey needs to be at Melbourne’s Crown for breakfast on Friday with a few hundred Liberal Party friends who’ve paid $2500 a table to the Higgins 200 Club to butter toast with the Treasurer.

The club, chaired by JB Hi-Fi chief Richard Murray, is one of the Lib’s most successful fundraising arms, funnelling cash to the benefit of Joe’s Parliamentary Secretary, Liberal rising star Kelly O’Dwyer.

Former Coles and Foster’s boss Peter Bartels and former Treasurer Peter Costello are patrons of the club and will be front and centre at dawn’s crack to question Hockey behind closed doors.

Bun fight with burgers

One-time TV chief Grant Blackley might have thought his messy exit from Ten Network meant he’d left media shenanigans behind. But Singo’s stoush on Monday at Kingsleys Surf ’n’ Turf risks drawing him back into the vortex.

Blackley runs Kingsleys owner, Keystone Group, and liquor authorities are “liaising” with cops in probing leathery adman John Singleton’s lunge at equally vintage Fairfax Media director and Hungry Jack’s founder Jack Cowin.

The Office of Liquor, Gaming & Racing is most likely to be interested in whether the quantity of booze served during the epic lunch violated responsible service of alcohol rules prohibiting venues filling patrons up to the pussy’s bow.

It’s not only Blackley who has an interest in the outcome: other shareholders in Keystone, which runs 20 bars and restaurants, include the executive director of Phil Green’s Alceon, Richard Facioni, grazier and former NSW state Nationals MP Bob Webster, former rugby player Stephen Lidbury and founders John Duncan, Anthony Prior and Paul Schulte.

PS: Kingsleys offers a $22.90 burger, complete with “beetroot relish”. But aren’t the burgers better at Hungry Jack’s?

Mystery website

Hello, Twiggy, is that you? Mystery website ourironore.com sounds very Andrew Forrest, slamming “multinational companies” for pumping up iron ore supply. The “group” boasts of support from all and sundry, but there’s not a name on the site. And when setting it up last week, its owners hid behind Florida-based company Perfect Privacy.

Was Twiggy planning on keeping the site under wraps until after the budget?

Defeat for Cormann

As Hockey basked in budget limelight yesterday (Scott who?) Finance Minister Mathias Cormann was again defeated by the Senate crossbench.

The government yesterday abandoned a bid to sneak legislation abolishing the well-regarded Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee through the Senate rather than have it voted down, a la Cormann’s bid to abolish FoFA protections last year (Margin Call, yesterday).

A ministerial reshuffle before Christmas handpassed responsibility for killing CAMAC to Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who won’t concede defeat. “The government will be having more discussions with senators on the bill prior to it being brought on for debate,” a spokesman said.

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