Sophie Mirabella now orbits Planet Gina Rinehart

Illustration: Rod Clement.

It’s all happening on Planet Gina Rinehart.

While the notably trim mining billionaire was poolside at Rio, watching the Australian swim team she sponsors, news broke of her latest newest recruit: former Liberal frontbencher ­Sophie Mirabella.

The iron ore empress has been dubbed the “matriarch” of the Australian Olympic team for kicking in an estimated $5 million into a host of sports — swimming, synchronised swimming, rowing and volleyball.

Some of her many enemies in the Liberal Party are calling the Mirabella hire a further act of Rinehart charity.

The divisive Liberal figure — who lost her Victorian country seat of Indi to independent Cathy McGowan at the 2013 election, and ran and lost again on July 2 — is now in charge of media and government relations at Rinehart’s iron ore company, Hancock Prospecting.

In listed land, it’s what you would call a “brave appointment”. But private money is more adventurous.

We hear Rinehart — who has a fortune last valued at $6 billion — became a fan of Mirabella because of her outspoken scepticism on climate change, among other issues.

Mirabella has appalling relations with much of the Liberal Party — particularly in Victoria, where her relationship with president Michael Kroger is said to be poisonous.

That background raises an interesting scenario.

Could the new Hancock gig encourage her move to Perth, perhaps as part of an attempt to relaunch her career in the Liberal Party’s West Australian division? Stranger things have happened.

Counting against it are Mirabella’s roots, family and property in Victoria, which could keep her there — although probably in Melbourne, rather than Indi, where the locals have been so cruel. Twice.

And, of course, her predecessor Jason Morrison — the former radio host, who now runs Seven’s Sydney newsroom — did the Hancock gig from ­Sydney.

Chops and changes

It’s been a time of great flux in the secretive Rinehart kingdom.

Former trade minister Andrew Robb was last month ­appointed as Gina Rinehart’s representative on the Ten board.

The well regarded Robb — a former Liberal federal director and once an adviser to Kerry Packer — replaced John Klepec, who was formally the chief development officer at Hancock Prospecting.

Klepec was considered something of a lone voice at Hancock. The former BHP business development manager was not afraid to tell the boss when he disagreed with her — which, we gather, is not really how things operate in that pocket of Australian mining.

After a heroic six years with the company, he left in April.

After his departure, Jay Newby was moved to be executive director, a position he took up last month.

But the white knight in the kingdom is Garry Korte, who — unlike many other Hancock executives — was not shown in the voluminous court documents to have an appalling relationship with Rinehart’s children, Bianca Rinehart and John Hancock, who are engaged in protracted legal warfare over the family trust. Korte was made CEO last month.

And Tad Watroba — officially Hancock’s executive director — has pulled back a bit and is now something like the boss’s travelling buddy. Just have a look at the happy snaps from Rio.

Cat prowling

Good friends can be hard to find in the media.

Domain boss Antony Catalano seems to have found a few who might assist with any tilt he might want to take at the still Greg Hywood-occupied top office at the digital property classifieds business Fairfax Media.

Catalano has known billionaire investor Alex Waislitz (separated but still married to Heloise Pratt) for some time.

The pair were seed investors in tech company Updater, which listed on the ASX last December. Its core offering is a platform that aims to become a one-stop shop for people looking to move house.

Hoperidge Asset Management’s Rod Jones is also a big shareholder.

As a Fairfax investor, Waislitz has been vocal about the need to fast-track plans to shut down weekday print editions of its metro mastheads, a scenario that would concentrate the power of Catalano’s profit-producing Domain. That would potentially boost The Cat’s credentials for the top office.

As well as cosying up to shareholders, the multi-millionaire has been getting chummy with Nick Falloon’s Fairfax board. This month he was on Fairfax director Jack Cowin’s superyacht in the Mediterranean, cavorting with several fellow Fairfax execs. Maybe time we suspended our disbelief about his CEO chances?

Roger and out

Former Fairfax chair Roger Corbett’s burgeoning duties as chair of pharmaceutical company Mayne Pharma was the official reason for pulling the plug as a consultant to his old shop Woolies, but — really — who believed that?

We gather new boss Brad Banducci was none too happy with Corbett’s consultancy arrangement — particularly his direct line to chairman Gordon Cairns — and sought to put his stamp on how the arrangement would play out. Banducci set down an ultimatum that Corbett either answer directly to him or take a directorship. Nothing in between.

That didn’t cut it with former CEO Corbett, who decided to leave the Bella Vista consultancy gig after just seven months.

It would be ancient history were it not for the intrigue it sets up on the ALH Group board where, as of June, Corbett is chair.

The apparently unshakable Corbett is there for his mate — and fellow Mayne Pharma investor — billionaire Bruce Mathieson, who owns a quarter of the pub and pokies operation with Woolies controlling the rest.