More push and shove at Seven West Media

Illustration: Rod Clement.

On the eve of the West Australian state election, local billionaire Kerry Stokes finally pushed the red button onthe exit of his local boss Chris Wharton.

Three months ago, in the wake of the Amber Harrison nuclear attack, Margin Call wrote that the western flank of Stokes’s media empire rivalled its sex-obsessed Sydney HQ for drama.

In that same December piece, we wrote that Wharton, who was off on “long service leave”, would retire.

Two days ago, we wrote that there had been a review of credit card expenditure across Seven West’s WA arm. Seven yesterday denied that was the case.

And yesterday Wharton’s time as the chief executive of Seven West Media WA officially ended. Stokes himself was in Perth to deliver the news to Wharton in front of Wharton’s now former staff.

The retirement statement Seven put out is worth a close read.

Amazingly for a fun-loving executive Stokes treated almost like a son, there was not a single direct quote from the mogul to mark Wharton’s 20-plus years of service at the group.

In fact, the only direct quote from the Seven billionaire in the statement was about the replacement process.

“I am happy to advise that following today’s decision, Nick Varigos, managing director of recruitment firm Oppeus International, has commenced the process and will make recommendations in the coming weeks,” Stokes said. That was it!

And what did Wharton have to say in the statement? “It’s with mixed emotions that I have made the decision to retire from Seven West Media.” That’s after last year saying it was “horseshit” that he was leaving.

Let there be no doubt, the situation in Stokes’s home town is a mess.

As we noted in December, there has been a huge executive exodus from Seven’s Perth ­offices.

Wharton’s CFO Mark Shelton left the building in a hurry, while the retirement of group editor-in-chief of Stokes’s West Australian Newspapers, Bob Cronin, was brought forward.

And in December, EY auditor partner Philip Teale was installed as general manager, where he remains.

Seven has claimed Teale’s auditing skills are coincidental. Of course.

Accounting for expenses has been an issue across the broader group for years. One Sydney Seven executive is currently in court over an alleged $8 million fraud, while even Seven’s Los Angeles office was investigated over apparently wayward money.

Meanwhile, back on the eastern front, Tim Worner’s former mistress Harrison is expected next week to counter-sue her former employee in the Supreme Court. What a shocker!

Vote 1 for cuts

Now to the West Australian election, where Kerry Stokes’s West Australian newspaper yesterday endorsed Mark McGowan’s Labor Party.

Interestingly, that’s despite the Labor leader’s pledge to cut $20m a year in government advertising spending.

As the dominant player in the WA media market — owning TV station Seven, and The West Australian and, as of December, The Sunday Times mastheads — Seven West will cop the bulk of that cut. Whatever happened to the good old days of being a media mogul?

And, in keeping with their horrible year, Seven West’s problems didn’t end there.

A freak spate of illness and injury has crippled The West Australian’s political reporter ranks as the state heads to the polls.

The paper has been forced to fly in Andrew Tillett and Phoebe Wearne from its Canberra bureau as much-needed reinforcements to the political team.

The recently rehired Gary Adshead was flying solo yesterday on the final full day of campaigning, after the paper’s three other political reporters were struck down.

Daniel Emerson has had his appendix removed, while Dan Mercer and Dylan Caporn have been quarantined with suspected whooping cough.

Bankers having a ball

It’s the social event of the year: NAB boss Andrew Thorburn is hosting a debutante ball for incoming Australian Bankers’ Association boss Anna Bligh at his bank’s Sydney executive outpost.

The other star of the March 30 event will be Steve Munchenberg, the former NAB executive that Bligh will replace at the peak banking lobby at the start of next month.

Invitations have been sent to the various peaks of the Australian financial community. Unless there are exceptional personal circumstances, count on every bank CEO — CBA’s Ian Narev, ANZ’s Shayne Elliott, Westpac’s Brian Hartzer — all being along to welcome their high-profile recruit.

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe, ASIC boss Greg Medcraft and APRA boss Wayne Byres are also all expected to attend.

However, our mail suggests no members of Malcolm Turnbull’s Coalition have been invited.

After the tantrum many of them threw over the appointment of former Labor Queensland premier Bligh, that’s understandable.

It is also understood that Treasurer Scott Morrison’s former director of communications and strategy Sasha Grebe — who we revealed this week has just joined listed engineering and infrastructure management services outfit Downer Group — will not be attending.

A lot of hot air

There were eyebrow-raising reports in this paper and elsewhere that Crosby Textor had been engaged by the oil and gas lobby to prepare a mining tax-style campaign in the event that Scott Morrison rejigs the petroleum resource rent tax in the May budget.

Is it really the case? No.

Founded by Lynton Crosby and Mark Textor, the formidable firm is the official research and strategy provider of the Liberal Party. Under federal director Tony Nutt, they remain the Libs’ chosen firm.

Preparing a campaign for Malcolm Roberts’ Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association while advising the Turnbull government would be outrageous. And it’s not going to happen. It seems some people at APPEA, or in its orbit, got a bit excited — or thought the firm’s name could be used to spook the government.

The lobby’s members include the petroleum arm of Andrew Mackenzie’s BHP Billiton, Frank Calabria’s Origin Energy and Peter Coleman’s Woodside Petroleum.

For years, Crosby Textor has done research for APPEA on the public sentiment around fracking and other oil and gassy things. That work continues, which could be the source of the confusion. But if the oil and gas lobby wants to run an anti-ScoMo campaign in the near future, they will have to take their business elsewhere.