Palmer’s memories come flooding back

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As administrators run the fine-tooth comb over Clive Palmer’s myriad companies and seek to uncover the money trail from Queensland Nickel, the businessman cum pollie is combing through his own affairs and getting his house in order.

The one-time billionaire has always been light on when it comes to parliamentary disclosures of his affairs, where the onus rests on pollies to stay up-to-date with the register.

No doubt all the scrutiny has reminded Palmer of a few gaps in what he’s told the parliament about his interests and those of his wife Anna.

On Tuesday Palmer remembered that for three years he’d been a director of dinosaur park Palmer Coolum Resort (which has also experienced a spell in administration) and added it to the register.

He also remembered he’d resigned as a director of Waratah Coal and Cosmo Developments almost two years ago.

And almost slipping his mind were the four Singaporean special-purpose vehicles, which held shipping interests, that he’d gotten rid of about a year ago.

All oversights, we’re sure.

Messenger vindicated

Don’t mess with gun CBA analyst Ben Brownette — that’s the lesson learned by former Downer EDI boss Geoff Knox.

Brownette was the first analyst to tell his clients that Downer’s $1.9bn Waratah project was a dog, cutting the stock to “sell” in April 2010.

Downer duly tumbled by a quarter a couple of months later, when Knox finally admitted the scale of the imbroglio to the market and booked a $190m writedown.

But counsel for shareholders suing the company in a class action, Norman O’Bryan SC, yesterday told the Victorian Supreme Court Knox was keen to “shoot the messenger” — Brownette.

“Someone needs to front Ben’s superiors with the facts, I feel,” Knox said in an April 2, 2010, email to other execs. “He is playing with fire and inference.”

Another Downer exec, investor relations boss Ross Moffatt, felt Brownette was “trying to make a name for himself in a crowded analyst market”.

His brave Downer call caused Brownette no end of woes thereafter, even though he was eventually vindicated.

He, along with the rest of the CBA analyst shop, finishes up in May because the bank has decided to shut down its equities division.

Kaftan capers

Patterned fabric is all a-flutter at the Darlinghurst HQ of kaftan queen Camilla Franks, whose Camilla empire — which supplies muumuus to the likes of Oprah Winfrey — is at legal loggerheads with an American outfit, of all things, over rights to a web address.

In November a panel ordered a US company called Mrs Jello to transfer the rights to the Camilla.com domain name to the kaftan queen — a big win for the clothing company, which currently hangs its cybershingle at the camilla.com.au address.

This came after Mrs Jello, which had paid $US16,500 for the name, refused to sell it to the kaftanistas for $50,000 (Aussie).

But Mrs Jello, the nom-de-web of late internet entrepreneur Igal Lichtman, is set in its ways and has appealed the decision in US Federal Court in New Jersey.

It has told the court it turned the address from a porn site into a source of ad revenue, and it had never heard of our Camilla — whose frocks are favoured by the likes of social debutante Paula (Hitchcock) Pratt and the odd Kardashian — until she came knocking to buy the name.

It accuses Camilla of “strong arm” tactics and “reverse domain name hijacking”.

Camilla herself, last seen on Instagram clad in a flag outfit for Australia Day, couldn’t be reached for comment.

In tune with the times

Like her late father, box heiress Heloise Pratt (step-sister of aforementioned Paula) loves to belt out a tune.

We can only dream then of the possibility that the philanthropist will join her reported new squeeze, former Noiseworks frontman Jon Stevens, on stage when he headlines a series of concerts around the country for pensioners insurer APIA.

While Stevens’ (and James Packer’s) ex Jodhi Meares toddles about the Continent with her new 20-something love, her old flame is now targeting the oldies at the Suncorp-owned APIA Good Times Tour.

Pratt still lives in the Towers Road Toorak mansion she owns with estranged hubbie Alex Waislitz, with the pair agreeing to see other people despite maintaining their family unit.

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