Troubled building firm not paying subbies threatens injunction

Tom Orel, the boss of troubled building company Oracle Homes, has lawyered up seconding a former advisor to ex-LNP minister Matt Canavan to deal with mounting legal issues.

Tom Orel, the boss of troubled building company Oracle Homes, has lawyered up.

Oracle has seconded Declan Ryan, a former advisor to ex-LNP minister Matt Canavan, from Brisbane-based Kilmartin Knyvett Lawyers to handle what we can only guess are mounting legal issues. Ryan tells us he is working under the full supervision of a qualified solicitor.

Oracle faces growing ire from unhappy clients about delayed builds and demand for more money. Orel clearly doesn’t allow Ryan a weekend off as the young bloke spent most of Saturday trying to quash your diarist’s story on Oracle not paying subbies on time.

Your diarist agreed to Ryan’s request to give Oracle until 11am on Saturday to provide a response to our story only to be confronted at that deadline with a letter from Orel threatening an injunction against publication.

An Oracle Platinum Homes under construction.

Notwithstanding the threat of an injunction we proceeded with the online publication of the story. Orel wrote to tradespeople on Friday that the company was “still waiting for a number of external settlements which have not occurred and we regret to inform you that there will be no payments made today.”

“I reiterate and say all payments have been administered on our end and are ready to go,” Orel wrote in the email. “As soon as the funds hit our account the payments will be processed. Thank you again for your support as we navigate these times and we will continue to keep you updated of any changes.”

Watch this space as Orel, who lists his address as a multi-million dollar mansion on the Gold Coast, clearly is pulling out all stops to prevent coverage of what his company is up to.

RODEO QUEENS

We hear the cowgirls are in charge in the north west. The brains behind the success of the world-famous Mount Isa Mines Rodeo belong to five women including chair Rowena McNally, chief executive Natalie Flecker, executive manager for partnership and marketing Karen Hanna Miller, finance and administration manager Kathryn Anderson and events operation manager Elli Vukasovic.

The annual event scheduled for this weekend has attracted a record 956 entries and a record purse. There also is another 85 entries in the first ever Mount Isa Mines Indigenous Rodeo Championships. The iconic event will take over Mount Isa from Thursday to Sunday in the biggest buckle battle in the Southern Hemisphere with a prize pool of over $300,000.

Karen Hanna and Natalie Flecker

Nine reigning champions are returning to defend their titles. The event dates back to 1959 when a group of locals formed the Mount Isa Rotary Rodeo Inc.

Their vision was to put the remote town of Mount Isa on the map and raise funds for charity organisations in the new city. Through 63 years of whip-cracking vision and dedication, the event has evolved into legendary status.

PR HIRES

Changes at the top of Brisbane spin doctoring outfit Elevate Communications which has hired former RACQ general manager of corporate communications Renee Smith as its head of communications. The former principal marketing officer at Brisbane City Council Shannan Peters meanwhile had has been appointed head of marketing. Elevate, which has grown steadily over the past 15 years to more than 20 staff, has a roster of clients including:

Babcock, Sodexo, Hastings Deering, University of New South Wales, New Holland

and Marquis Macadamias.

Renee Smith joins Elevate from RACQ.