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Will Glasgow

More heat on way for Ahmed Fahour

Illustration: Rod Clement.
Illustration: Rod Clement.

Ahmed Fahour is not off the hook yet. And the $5.6 million man has only himself and Labor senator Sam Dastyari to blame.

Ahmed Fahour squirming at estimates
Ahmed Fahour squirming at estimates

Last night Fahour — the now outgoing Australia Post boss, who will soon collect his $4.3m defined benefits pension plan — was refusing to confirm his attendance before Senate estimates on Tuesday morning.

Seems he was too busy in the make-up chair ahead of his fleeting cameo on The Project last night to turn his mind to it.

Fahour remains in charge of Australia Post until July, so his non-attendance would be extraordinary.

But the Boston Consulting Group consultant turned investment banker then NAB banker and, finally, postie has plenty to be worried about after his last performance.

“One of the more unedifying performances I have ever seen,” said one observer of Fahour’s estimates train wreck last October

Dastyari’s to thank for that. The Senator for Showbiz asked more than 50 questions in an attempt to get Fahour to disclose his salary, surely a fair request of the boss of a government-owned enterprise.

Success for Sam Dastyari
Success for Sam Dastyari

Acting like a man with something to hide, Fahour refused.

Dastyari has confirmed to us that he’ll be there on Tuesday morning. His fellow senators have scheduled a generous hour-and-a-half session with Australia Post (plus 15 minutes for morning tea). Plenty of time for a final carve-up.

Australia Post chairman John Stanhope, who in reported comments has poured the bucket on the CEO he inherited, has also confirmed his attendance.

Communications Minister Mitch Fifield will be there too, trying to keep a low profile, while counting down the minutes until the following session with ABC boss Michelle Guthrie.

There won’t be any circus over salary for the Auntie boss. It’s $900,000, fully disclosed and — unlike Fahour — a fraction of her commercial sector peers.

Busy Lowy boys

The sort of access shopping ­centre billionaire Frank Lowy enjoys in Israel means there’s been no need for the retail businessman to fall over himself for time in Sydney with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Frank, Peter & Steven Lowy at last year’s WWTC launch.
Frank, Peter & Steven Lowy at last year’s WWTC launch.

Crunching the numbers have so far kept the Lowys away from Bibi during his historic Australian visit. Their Scentre Group, which holds their Australian and New Zealand shopping centres, reported on Tuesday. Yesterday the results of their overseas shopping centre business Westfield were out and keeping Steven Lowy busy.

Westfield’s annual accounts show Steven and his co-CEO Peter Lowy took home almost $10m each in cash pay last year, while dad Frank (last valued at $8.26 billion) got $450,000 as chair.

Bibi’s schedule today is blacked out for “private meetings” so a Lowy audience with the leader still isn’t out of the question.

Pleasant surprises

Listed aged-care operator Estia’s results yesterday revealed it was less troubled than some had feared. Stock in the much shorted outfit shot up 14 per cent on the happy diagnosis to close at $3.25, giving it a market cap of almost $850m.

Estia chairman Gary Weiss. (Hollie Adams/The Australian)
Estia chairman Gary Weiss. (Hollie Adams/The Australian)

That’s great news for chairman Gary Weiss, who, along with his magnificent hair and lovely partner, was at Wednesday’s Netanyahu festival.

Weiss is still on the hunt for two more Estia directors. With so much uncertainty around the business, it’s been a tough recruiting assignment. Yesterday’s results should help.

The dream candidates are experienced in healthcare, have a good handle on numbers and, ideally, are women.

Aside from chief executive Norah Barlow, the Estia board is currently a men’s club.

Could it be a project to nurse former NSW health minister Jillian Skinner?

The long-serving Liberal member for North Shore might be 72 years old, but she’s not for being idle — as she made abundantly clear to Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

Despite her credentials, sources close to the board suggest perhaps she shouldn’t raise her hopes.

Marks and sparks

Nine boss Hugh Marks has no appetite to get under the covers with his Seven counterpart Tim Worner.

While Marks says the pair “talk all the time”, he says he won’t be offering the disgraced Worner any advice on the enduring scandal concerning Worner and the Seven chief’s former workplace lover Amber Harrison.

Tim Worner and Hugh Marks attending an event at Parliament House in Canberra. (Picture: Kym Smith)
Tim Worner and Hugh Marks attending an event at Parliament House in Canberra. (Picture: Kym Smith)

“I think it would be a bit condescending to give him advice,” Marks told us yesterday, after revealing a well-received half-year result.

“I’m going to stick to my own business.”

And what about the potential for Marks’ flagship current affair program 60 Minutes to sit down with Harrison — if Seven’s ferocious legal team ever allow her to speak again?

“I don’t believe 60 Minutes ever expressed an interest in that story. I think it was just a rumour,” he said. “There’s no plans to do any interviews at the moment.”

No plans, sure, but still a bit of wiggle room.

Packer’s pay day

As if there was any need for introductions, Crown Resorts’ new knife-wielding executive chair and media veteran John Alexander began his inaugural results by shaking hands and personally introducing himself to all gathered in the Melbourne casino’s Crystal Boardroom yesterday.

Crown’s 65-year-old man-of-the-people will get $3.5m a year for his expanded duties, which will increase to $4m if he does a good job.

Outgoing Crown chief Rowen Craigie and new executive chairman John Alexander back in 2007.
Outgoing Crown chief Rowen Craigie and new executive chairman John Alexander back in 2007.

Outgoing chief Rowen Craigie got a base of $3.1m.

As chair of the board, one of Alexander’s first duties was to preside over its decision to pay a special dividend from the proceeds of Crown’s selldown of its Macau casino interests, which delivered its major shareholder James Packer more than $400m in cash.

That’s on top of the generous payout to Crown investors at the full year, so that Packer has taken out about $640m cash from the entertainment group in the past 12 months.

That’s one way to keep sweet with the boss.

Questioned whether sceptics may ask about Packer’s influence on the company’s decision to pay a massive special dividend, Alexander replied: ‘‘If you weren’t a sceptic you would say it delivers a windfall to all shareholders, of which there are many.

‘‘He is the best recipient, he is lucky. All our capital management procedures go through a rigorous process at board level.”

The windfall comes as the impact of Packer’s $1.5bn financial settlement more than a year ago of his late father Kerry Packer’s will with his older sister Gretel Packer continues to bite.

Packer is taking a much more prudent approach to debt at his private Consolidated Press, with the vehicle now being run by his long-standing lieutenant Guy Jalland after investment banker Rob Rankin (who was also Crown chair) was packed off in January. Jalland was at the Crown Resorts board meeting in Melbourne on Wednesday in person as an observer, while Packer dialled in from offshore.

And now the cheque’s in the mail.

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/margin-call/more-heat-on-way-for-ahmed-fahour/news-story/a80b4f44c6cd080052ef0b6599168647