Workers race against time to have Packer’s Barangaroo apartment finished

James Packer is preparing to take up residence in his Barangaroo penthouse for the first time.

James Packer is flying into Sydney next month for a long-­mooted holiday with his family, the plan being to stay at their two-level apartment inside One Barangaroo Crown Residences for about 10 days.

Set above Sydney Harbour sits the Crown Residences at One Barangaroo.

It’s a first for Packer. He may have built the tower, but he’s never sighted it himself; his last visit to Sydney was in January 2020, when on-site visits at Crown still required high-viz and a hard-hat.

Well, he may still need them. A slight problem with the renovations, overseen by ex-wife Erica, is that they’ve taken far longer to finalise than expected. Tradesmen are said to have been working almost around the clock to get the job done for Packer’s arrival on March 26. Blame it on the supply crunch, of course.

James Packer said ‘the apartment is going to be ready’.

“It isn’t anywhere near ready and currently resembles an episode of The Block,” said one of Margin Call’s more reliable informants.

Not that the state of affairs is worrying Packer at all. “The apartment is going to be ready,” he told us in definitive terms on Tuesday, or was it more of a decree? We’re sure he’ll get what he wants, of course. As long as he doesn’t mind the scent of Taubmans on arrival.

Tradesmen are said to have been working almost around the clock to get the job done for Packer’s arrival on March 26.

Powerful return

Perth businessman Neville Power is back to deal making after his inconveniences with the law a year ago.

Power, an ex-Fortescue chief who was head of the Morrison government’s Covid-19 response committee, is backing what we understand to be a speculative venture in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia.

Readers will recall that Power was handed a suspended jail sentence for flouting Western Australia’s hard border laws – that was for flying his chopper from Queensland into WA in the midst of the Delta wave without the required paperwork, and then failing to quarantine properly. Look, we were all tempted to try it, but we weren’t all leading a government response devoted to the matter.

Not to worry. Power’s enduring cred with conservatives has led him out of the sin bin and into a partnership with West Australian Liberal Ben Small; and Small’s apparently teamed up with advisory shop Pique Partners in Perth to tap the market for private equity deals. Looks like he and Power have already spied some sort of diamond in the rough.

Margin Call tried – and failed – to nail down what the pair were dabbling in, but the name of the venture, Gascoyne Salt, suggests, well, salt mining in the Gascoyne.

It’s a region currently dominated by Salt Bush Mining, owned by Japanese conglomerate Mitsui. Small has a bit over 11 per cent of the vehicle while Power has about a third. Negotiations, we hear, are in train.

Paradice’s big bash

Fund manager David Paradice was once playfully likened to the old TV detective Columbo in a piece written by our colleague John Stensholt some years ago.

Why Columbo? There’s his shrewd probing of company managers, coupled with a famously rumpled appearance – his pairing of odd-coloured socks, scuffed-up shoes, and a tie often twisted at an alarming angle.

But with about $17bn under management, these imperfections are hardly the concern of his A-list clients.

Some of whom will most certainly be attending the bash that Para is throwing atop of the Museum of Contemporary Art at Sydney’s Circular Quay on Thursday to honour the 20th anniversary of his funds management outfit.

13/7/22: Fund manager David Paradice at Centennial Park. John Feder/The Australian.

To be precise, Paradice Investment Management is actually in its 23rd year of doing business; previous attempts to fete the anniversary were dashed by the Covid-19 pandemic. But why cavill over minor discrepancies in the timeline?

The fact that Paradice is even holding a party is somewhat incredible given his long-held disdain for lavish spending of any description. It’s even more ironic then that he’s paying for the lot – about $300 per head for each of the 300 guests on the invitation list.

It also didn’t escape our attention that the invitation stipulates a strict dress code of “Business Attire” for the evening. Presumably that means Columbo will be turning up as himself.

We can only wonder if there will be a best dressed prize (little chance of Para winning on that front, of course) but the evening does promise a feast of food and beverage, along with music, too.

A presidential selfie

Fancy a selfie with Barack Obama? It’ll only cost a few thousand dollars.

Platinum ticket holders to the former US president’s speaking events scheduled for next month in Sydney and Melbourne – styled as An Evening with Barack Obama – are being offered upgrades at a price of $3300. That would be on top of the $895 already paid.

But the expense is accompanied by a number of alleged perks. “You will have access to a VIP entrance to the event, complimentary parking, VIP floor seating closer to the stage than all other ticket holders,” said the pitch from Growth Faculty, the organiser.

Don’t forget a copy of his memoir! But the main game is really a picture with Barry, of course, with the photos to be snapped prior the event.

Anyone plucky enough to pay has to sign an agreement – marked confidential – and surrender a raft of particulars (DOB, gender, citizenship, country of birth, etc.). But the deal’s off if anyone tests positive for Covid.

Helpfully, the document says officials can test for the virus on location in a “non-invasive, discrete, and confidential manner”. As Obama himself once prophetically said: “Money is not the only answer, but it makes a difference.”

Tabcorp exit

Betting giant Tabcorp has lost its chief industry and corporate affairs officer Tom Callachor after eight years with the company.

Closely affiliated with the NSW government, namely Treasurer Matt Kean, Callachor was known for his skilful management of industry stakeholders and as a point-man for a few of the more cantankerous actors circling the industry. Apparently he’s one of the few people at Tabcorp who Peter V’landys, the Racing NSW CEO and chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission, was actually prepared to speak with.

Not sure what that says about Tabcorp CEO Adam Rytenskild. He issued a statement last week acknowledging Callachor’s departure from its executive leadership team among some other adjustments. The part about Callachor was two lines long.

“Our chief industry and corporate affairs officer Tom Callachor will be leaving the business. I want to thank Tom and acknowledge his significant efforts over the past eight years,” Rytenskild wrote.

He said Tabcorp’s industry and corporate affairs team would now form “the office of the CEO, working with me and the executive team” as it pursued a reform agenda across several jurisdictions.