Paul Keating gives parliamentary inquiry the silent treatment: Cormac Barry spotted in the Birdcage

Political frenemies Paul Keating and Dominic Perrottet stroll through Barangaroo. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

It was hardly days ago that Paul Keating met with NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet for a stroll through Sydney’s Barangaroo precinct, opining with his usual flourishes on the majesty of Crown’s 75-storey tower and scolding anyone who obstinately begs to differ.

In the ensuing coverage the two politicians also heaped much praise upon one another. It’s no secret, however, that Perrottet has frequently leant upon Keating as a confidant during much of his career in cabinet, despite their orthogonal pathways along the political aisle.

Keating is hardly known for stifling opinions about anything, really, let alone his passionate project of Barangaroo.

Nor would we want him to, given his renowned capacity for heaping ridicule upon his foes, as he did that day with the Australian Institute of Architects; he dubbed them “fruitcakes” over their criticism of Crown’s tower and they’ve insisted on an apology ever since.

So why then has Keating declined an invitation to appear at a NSW parliamentary inquiry examining numerous issues with the precincts, including the sight line negotiations that took place during its early development, and whether “any biases” were exhibited that stood to benefit certain companies?

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore. Picture: Damian Shaw

Keating, however, is not the only public figure who has brushed off the request from parliament. Invitations were also extended to former NSW premier Barry O’Farrell, broadcaster Alan Jones and billionaire James Packer, all three of whom discussed plans for the casino during an off-record lunch at Jones’s harbourside apartment, in a meeting made memorable by the “unpretentious” fare of “pies and mash”, as Jones later put it.

O’Farrell is now the High Commissioner to India and Packer, formerly the controlling shareholder of Crown, was in Saudi Arabia last week.

Mike Baird, another former premier, similarly declined to appear at the inquiry.

Even Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore, whose dislike of Barangaroo’s development can be inversely measured against Keating’s admiration for it, won’t be turning up for the hearing, although she did make a submission highlighting numerous “longstanding concerns”.

So much to say, and yet so unwilling to say it? We note that it remains within the committee’s power to issue subpoenas compelling people to appear.

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Odds-on favourite

Cormac Barry, formerly the chief executive of Sportsbet, was spotted moving through the crowd in the Birdcage over the weekend, having freshly landed in Australia after quitting his job in Ireland.

Regarded as a betting industry legend, Barry left Sportsbet in March 2018 to relocate to the old country where, a month later, he took up the CEO role at car-hire software firm CarTrawler. That stint ended last month when he announced his departure in order to “recharge the batteries”, and the subtitle on his LinkedIn page – “taking a break for 12 months” – certainly suggests as much.

But his appearance in Melbourne has certainly triggered a great fluttering of rumours that he’s in contention for roles at Tabcorp (an official denied any discussions had taken place) or perhaps the even bigger prize of Gillon McLachlan’s soon-to-be vacant position as AFL chief executive. If McLachlan moves on, of course. We note that Barry is quite a fervent Carlton supporter.

On the other hand, his wife is Australian, and if he’s truly committed to escaping the corporate grind then we can think of worse places to sojourn than Victoria in the springtime.

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Giants’ recruit

Speaking of sporting roles, it looks like Tim Reed, president of the Business Council and MD at Potentia Capital, is making a play in similar territory.

He was ratified over the weekend as the latest appointment to the board of the GWS Giants, joining the hallowed company of chairman Tony Shepherd and fellow directors Melissa Doyle, Nikki Warburton and Michael Costello, a former secretary at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Reed happens to be from Geelong so presumably he’s a Cats convert, but that’s hardly an appreciable offence when former champion Jimmy Bartel, who played 305 games for the team, sits on the same table.

Besides, the Giants were only founded in 2011. They’d be hard pressed to find a lifelong supporter over the age of 12.

We’re told that Reed was nominated after holding club membership for about eight years and then being headhunted by the board to fill a vacancy. There’s much talk now of scaling up the club’s activities following its years as, essentially, a start-up, with officials looking to Reed to help nudge along that growth agenda. We assume he’ll have more time to get into the weeds of all that once Potentia’s takeover attempts of Nitro Software are finally put to bed. Some developments on Monday seemed to suggest it may be in trouble.

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Mansion mistake

Almost a fortnight ago we reported that Ed Craven, the hot young kid of crypto casinos, had settled his record-breaking purchase of Toorak’s “ghost” mansion with an $80m payment requiring no mortgage.

Unfortunately, in our haste to provide some context behind the uninhabitable mansion itself, we said the pile had undergone some construction efforts by its former owner, Leon Fink, chairman of the Fink Group of restaurants (Bennelong, Quay, Firedoor, etc.)

Not correct. The house was actually owned by an entirely different Leon Fink, the former chairman of Hoyts Corporation, who died in 1993. Apparently this has caused no end of anguish for the living Fink, who considered legal action over the flub. We hope this correction is a salve to those wounds.