Tony Burke’s adventures in the Middle Kingdom

Burke’s quests in Middle Kingdom

Childcare in China is exciting. Labor frontbencher Tony Burke, who’s visited the People’s Republic twice in the past 10 months to visit kiddie care facilities, believes it’s “a significant growth area for Australian investment in China”.

So significant that we can’t find a word he’s spoken of the opportunity apropos of his two trips, which were personally funded by Nick Bolkus.

Both times, Burke was squired about the Middle Kingdom by mysterious Chinese ALP donor Ian Tang, who runs 123 Childcare there. It’s chaired by Nat and former deputy PM Mark Vaile, who might also be excited but didn’t call us back.

Tang has also helped ALP ministers, including Kevin Rudd, visit China in the past.

Burke reiterated yesterday that his two China adventures were taken “in a private capacity”, but he won’t say if he was on leave.

“Mr Burke has been happy to support 123 Childcare when asked, as he believes it is engaging in what will be a significant growth area for Australian investment in China,” his spinner told us. He said Burke has known Vaile and Tang for a decade.

It’s all so exciting we want to speak to Burke and Tang (who reckons 123’s journey into early learning followed an association with Eddy Groves’ ABC) about Chinese childcare opportunities, but so far, no luck.

As for Tang, he’s got little left in Australia, apart from his role as a director on ASX-listed SmartTrans and mysterious Taree-based outfit Glenn Lyonn Pty Ltd, where he is in business with (of course) Mark Vaile.

Just about everything here is either long-dead or was shut down late last year, when his Austchina companies were voluntarily deregistered.

Tang’s other venture with Vaile was Pebble Bay Land Corp, which shares a Taree accountant’s office with Glenn Lyonn. Tang resigned as a director of Pebble Bay in March 2012, and under Vaile’s charge it went on to give $20,000 to the Nats last year.

As for Tang’s “partner” at 123, Shimao Property, run by Chinese-Aussie billionaire Hui Wing Mau, all mention of China’s biggest property developer slipped from the 123 website on Tuesday night.

Just like in politics, here today, gone tomorrow.

Bleeding heart

You’d hope Fairfax chief Greg Hywood would press his Domain boss Antony Catalano to get his heart checked, what with the frequency that the real estate exec experiences chest pain.

Catalano faced court yesterday on a drink driving charge, the second time in a year.

The first case related to a 2012 random breath test stop where the Cat claimed he had chest pains and was rushed to hospital. In November he was cleared of charges over that incident after a magistrate ruled blood samples taken from him were unlawful.

With Catalano’s heart still not right, on March 10 last year cops claim he was stumbling, uncooperative and smelled of alcohol when they caught up with him in the millionaire’s playground Sorrento at the princely hour of 3.45am.

Apparently rozzers were alerted when Catalano missed the driveway and drove his Range Rover into the curb.

He allegedly refused a breath test due to a relapse of chest pains and was uncooperative before finally blowing 0.08, well above the 0.05 limit.

Chest pain appears a common ailment among high-flyers caught in driving mishaps. It was an allegation by ICAC that NSW crown prosecutor Margaret Cuneen told her son’s girlfriend, Sophia Tilley, to fake chest pains that caused an outraged Cuneen to take legal action curbing the corruption watchdog’s powers.

Working overtime

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for IOOF chairman Roger Sexton, who’s been juggling appearing before a Sam Dastyari-led Senate inquisition with the upcoming float of his Beston Global Food Company.

While on Monday Senators were interested in goings-on at IOOF, it definitely isn’t under investigation by ASIC — a fact attested by no less a figure than Sexton’s lawyer, Nicholas Iles, so never mind what ASIC commissioner Greg Tanzer says.

Sexton’s also been busy at Beston. There’s a shiny new Chinese deal but back home there’s ASIC to deal with. It extended the $130m IPO’s exposure period, resulting in a replacement prospectus filleted of financial forecasts, filed on Friday. Sadly departed are predictions of a $2.9m statutory profit in 2016, replaced by a more general discussion of the company’s prospects.

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