Ray of sunlight in Graham Richardson battle

Illustration: Peter Nicholson

Labor powerbroker Graham Richardson has turned the corner towards recovery after last week bidding his wife and young son goodbye as his health deteriorated following major cancer surgery last month.

Yesterday Richardson, a sultan of Sussex Street turned political commentator on Sky News, was wheeled outside into the sunshine for the first time in a month. On Wednesday, he managed his first meal for weeks — pureed soup, a cup of tea and some apple juice.

In early April Richardson, who has an eight-year-old son with wife Amanda, had at least four organs removed in a marathon operation to stave off cancer. He is still in intensive care, where he is expected to remain for at least a week. Only days ago, he was taken off life support.

Those close to the Labor stalwart report that his condition remains critical but stable.

“No one thought he was going to survive. He looked so bad,” Amanda told us yesterday. “That he is having food is a really good sign.”

But despite his condition, the former senator for NSW is now sitting up, watching a little TV (Sky of course) and planning to turn up to his local polling booth in Malcolm Turnbull’s seat of Wentworth on July 2 to cast his ballot for the old party.

PM and the rich boys

Having spent the morning in Mornington via the tax haven of Panama, Malcolm Turnbull got back to his comfort zone on the Paris end of Melbourne’s Collins Street, stepping into a time warp for a lunchtime political fundraiser at The Athenaeum Club.

For those who don’t live in president Michael Kroger’s Victoria, that is one of Australia’s crusty private members clubs — an interesting venue choice in an election with rich versus poor faultlines.

It is also gentleman only behind the club’s heavy wooden and glass barred doors.

What would wife Lucy, who is away on a women business leaders trade delegation in Israel, think? Or his feminist school teacher daughter Daisy?

And how did that get approved by federal Liberal director Tony Nutt?

Streamlined fixer

Speaking of Nutty, the ferocious Liberal Party operative Ian Hanke has joined the federal Liberal director in the Canberra campaign bunker.

Hanke’s head has been shaved, as is the political brawler’s election tradition.

Just scan the pictures if you don’t believe us.

The public relations man last made headlines as Jame Hird’s spinner during the Essendon drugs scandal.

It’s not purely love for team blue that has enticed him back into political combat.

We hear the old pro is being paid almost $10,000 a week for his services. What’s not to love about an eight-week campaign?

Let’s all do lunch

The lunch business was in good health yesterday. Must be all this confidence-inspiring talk of “jobs and growth”.

There were some interesting couples at Romanian-born judo champion Nicholae Bicher’s Sydney power diner Machiavelli.

Perennial Value’s John Murray was lunching with fellow fund manager Ben Griffiths, a Willis Towers Perrin asset consultant. The pair were probably swapping stock tips and, to go by the Eastern Suburbs Rugby shirt Murray was wearing, union form.

Labour apparatchiks turned corporate executives Paul Howes (AWU secretary-turned KMPG partner) was with Damian Kassabgi (ex-Gillard staffer now Google Australia’s head of public policy). From the federal election campaign to tax avoidance techniques, plenty to talk about there.

On our way back to the Holt Street bunker, we almost bumped into Anthony Albanese.

Sadly the Grayndler MP jumped into his navy Ford (Rabbitohs sticker on the back) and drove off before we could ask if he had dropped by the Daily Telegraph editor Chris Dore’s office to thank him for this week’s “Save Our Albo” campaign.

According to Dore, he didn’t. And according to Albo’s office, he was off to The Project on Paul Anderson’s Ten. Weird.

Back on the turf

Racing and media identity Richard Callander has had a spectacular fall from grace since he decided to take a cut of a horse he sold to a syndicate in Hong Kong, in flagrant breach of the Australian Racing Rules.

The son of racing royalty Ken Callander was disqualified for six months from racetracks and fined $10,000 for dishonest and fraudulent conduct relating to the sale of Lil Caesar to buyers in Hong Kong.

So fancy seeing Callander laying turf at Allianz Stadium on Wednesday. And all while sporting a bushy red beard that Chris Bowen would die for.

The racing tragic used to boast that he had better media contacts than anyone in Sydney. Now he’s working for the horticultural business that is contracted to turf Moore Park.

He told our trackside operative that he was moving to Melbourne to restart his media career. We’ll keep an eye out for him at Spring Racing Carnival.

Top journos out

What to say about chair Nick Falloon and CEO Greg Hywood’s Fairfax Media?

The roll call of marquee journalists going down the lifts and walking out the door are taking the industry’s breath away.

The latest is Australian Financial Review property guru Robert Harley, whose relationships with those that pour real estate rivers of gold into Fairfax coffers are second to none.

Then there are editorial backbones like AFR economics editor Alan Mitchell, AFR international editor Tony Walker, cartoonist Rod Clement and AFR media editor Dominic White.

And they, and almost 90 others, are being paid to leave.

Birthday bashes

After that downer, on to happier subjects.

While Kerry Stokes’ resident TV consultant David Leckie opted for fishing up north to mark his 65th, party girl wife Skye gathered her faithful at Paddo’s Four In Hand on Wednesday night to mark her own birthday, which was the day before.

It was a big crowd, including money manager Charlie Aitken and wife Ellie, who later this month will celebrate her own 38th birthday.

The Aitkens were said to be in good form ahead of Charlie zipping off to a Josh Frydenberg function in Bondi. Charlie’s old boss Colin Bell was at the party too, along with broker Les Owen and wife Sam, horse trainer Bill Moses and broker Andrew and Abby McKibbon.

Former News exec John Hartigan popped into his local and got caught up the in festivities, joining guests also including Sydney society psychiatrist Bobbie Hampshire and Paddo real estate queen Victoria Morish, as well as her brother Richard Coppleson and his wife, the retired fund manager Jade.