Kimberley Kitching adds colour to Senate

Illustration: Rod Clement

Strap yourselves in, this one could be quite a ride.

The ALP’s decision to parachute former Melbourne councillor Kimberley Kitching into the Senate slot occupied (until his recent late-night resignation) by right-wing powerbroker Stephen Conroy has raised plenty of eyebrows in Yarra-side political and business circles.

Kitching’s blitzkrieg raid to secure the position on Thursday night was no doubt aided by the fact she and her husband, poison blogger Andrew Landeryou, have long been close mates with leader Bill Shorten.

But on the debit side of the register there’s an adverse finding by Dyson Heydon’s trade union royal commission, which recommended Kitching, as a Health Sector Union official, be prosecuted over a caper involving sitting right-of-entry permit tests (although nothing seems to have happened).

Also potentially problematic is Kitching’s involvement in her husband’s business affairs — particularly an episode involving billionaire rag-trader Solomon Lew that ended up bankrupting the couple and Andrew’s dad, former John Cain-era Victorian government minister Bill Landeryou.

And that’s leaving aside a byzantine episode involving the collapse of Melbourne University’s student union that saw Landeryou leave the country the day before he was to face questions in court over the issue.

He got arrested when he came back.

Lew was a backer of Lander­you’s IQ Corporation, an online gaming business that collapsed in 2003.

The billionaire claimed to be owed $3 million and vigorously pursued the Lander­you family, who had guaranteed the loan, through the courts.

Not only did Lew bankrupt all three, he also seized and sold Landeryou’s and Kitching’s Wardlow, a $1.8m mansion in leafy Parkville — a handsome Victorian pile fans of ABC’s period detective show Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries will recognise as Phryne Fisher’s digs.

Kitching’s bankruptcy was annulled — “debts settled”, according to bankruptcy records — but her husband and father-in-law had to serve the full three years.

And of course hubby was part of the collective involved in federal election morning shenanigans in Melbourne Ports for the benefit of Labor candidate Michael Danby, when Landeryou was arrested over alleged vandalism. He was never charged.

How much colour can the Senate bear?

Confected Culleton

Still in the upper house, earlier this week we were transfixed by the impassioned maiden speech of Pauline Hanson’s One Nation senator Rod Culleton.

The WA politician sank the boot into ANZ, describing how it was his experience of losing two properties following a dispute with the bank that led him to sign on with Hanson’s One Nation.

Culleton might harbour hard feelings towards ANZ boss Shayne Elliott and his institution, but it doesn’t seem to have trickled all the way down into the pollie’s financial affairs.

What Culleton neglected to reveal in his first speech to the house was that he still banks with the Melbourne Four Pillar, maintaining a joint savings account with his wife Ioanna Culleton at the bank, as revealed in his statement of interests.

A wanted man

Elsewhere in Canberra, resurgent tough cop on the corporate beat Greg Medcraft seemed at pains yesterday to remind the powers that be just how lucky they were to have him as our watchdog.

After almost being dumped as Australian Securities & Investments Commission chair in April before being reappointed by Malcolm Turnbull’s government for another 18 months and with increased powers, Medcraft would have been only too pleased to front the David Coleman-chaired House of Representatives Economics Committee yesterday.

In addressing the hearing, the Labor-appointed Medcraft just happened to drop how he’d been headhunted last year for the top job at Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority.

Despite Medcraft’s global appeal, sadly in January that role went elsewhere, leaving the corporate cop to lobby for more time in the office here.

Zuckerberg ruffled

Few could say they’ve seen Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg lose his cool.

But billionaire Melbourne investor Alex Waislitz has, as revealed with those gathered for his “Thorney Investments SpecTechUlar” at the Glasshouse last night.

Waislitz recalled being alongside Zuckerberg backstage at a Global Citizen award event in New York a few years back where they were both scheduled to speak.

While Waislitz had his wardrobe in order, his fellow billionaire was not so organised.

“He completely missed his cue and his spot on stage was cut from the live TV broadcast, because he couldn’t find his black cool T-shirt and he was abusing his staff like crazy,’’ Waislitz said, noting that even the highest of hi-tech entrepreneurs can be brought down by low-tech problems.

There were no such issues last night as the crowd, scheduled to include Marc Besen, Charlie Aitken, Antony Catalano, Silviu Itescu, Josh Lieberman, Hugh Robertson, Dean Smorgon, Gary Weiss and Geoff Wilson, partied the night away with gourmet food, nitrogen cocktails and vitamin B shots in between the bubbles, beer and fine wine.

Waislitz’s Pratt family in-laws Fiona and Raphael “Ruffy” Geminder flew the flag for Waislitz’s former better-half Heloise Pratt.

Blundy to bigger isle

Island life doesn’t seem to have suited latter-day Singaporean retail billionaire Brett Blundy.

It appears the Lovisa and Adairs major shareholder has moved to what we expect is the penthouse of a high-rise apartment block in central Singapore with his wife Vanessa Speer and their children.

The family had been on the fun island Sentosa, where all sorts of riff raff reside. Gina Rinehart is believed to own two luxury apartments in the Seven Palms Sentosa condominium there. Blundy still hasn’t sold his Cattai property Sweven on the Hawkesbury River, worth about $15 million, or the expansive Rose Bay harbourfront spread he owns that he’s listed for $45m.

Both the homes have been on the market for some time and enjoyed a range of agents seeking to offload the surplus assets for the former Aussie entrepreneur.

Lloyd’s law of gravity

The last-minute preparations of racing enthusiasts would be expected to comprise shopping for a hat or fascinator, maybe a tie or pocket square.

Maybe topping up the phone betting account or getting set with an early punt.

Not so for rich-lister and prominent horseflesh owner Lloyd Williams, who yesterday bought himself an 11th-hour share in a new horse to run in his blue and white colours in today’s $3m Caulfield Cup.

Look for Sir Isaac Newton in the Williams colours, which will offer the former Crown casino developer and proprietor the chance to win his second Caulfield Cup.

All this, while he and his son Nick Williams continue to battle in the Victorian Supreme Court the Ballarat equine clinic they say was to blame for the last-minute scratching of their 2015 Melbourne Cup hopeful Amralah.