By Kishor Napier-Raman and Stephen Brook
Parliament tends to have a feral “last days of school” vibe during the end of a term. Senate estimates, in which our elected representatives take great pleasure in bullying the only people in Canberra dorkier than them – public servants – has a feral vibe at the best of times.
This week’s estimates sessions were particularly heated – so heated that Parliamentary Workplace Support Service chief executive Leonie McGregor wrote to senators warning them to fix their behaviour.
Senate estimates hearings this week were particularly heated. Pictured: Opposition minister for finance Jane Hume.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
“Over the course of the current Senate Estimates hearings, the PWSS has observed behaviour by a small number of senators which is not respectful, courteous or aligned with the behaviour codes so recently endorsed by this Parliament,” McGregor wrote.
“The Behaviour Code for Parliamentarians sets out expectations for how you should behave towards each other and others you engage with in the course of your work.”
McGregor went on to remind senators of their obligations under the new Behaviour Code for Parliamentarians, regarding respect, diversity and prohibited behaviour, urging senators to “behave in ways that exemplify courtesy and respect for others”.
What triggered that reprimand from parliament’s behaviour cops? The PWSS said the letter wasn’t sent in response to any particular incident. And while the week in Canberra saw a few febrile moments, it’s nothing we haven’t come to expect from estimates.
After a witness appearing before the Environment and Communications Legislation Committee on Tuesday complained about their treatment, chair Karen Grogan warned her colleagues about “badgering” public servants.
Earlier in the week, a session was paused following an increasingly heated exchange between Liberal National senator James McGrath and Foreign Minister Penny Wong over antisemitism, which escalated into a shouting match.
McGrath, we hear, has been particularly fired up all week. But he didn’t take up CBD’s offer to share some of that fire with us.
We’re sure they’ll all be on their best behaviour once the election campaign kicks off.
New member
There’s been another twist in the tale of The Daily Telegraph’s undercover investigation into antisemitism.
The man at the centre of a Daily Telegraph sting is a card-carrying member of the Australian Labor Party.Credit: Nine News
CBD can reveal that the man, who wore a Star of David cap at popular Enmore Road joint Cairo Takeaway while a crew from the News Corp tabloid lurked outside, is a card-carrying member of the Australian Labor Party.
Ofir Birenbaum joined the party late last year, according to local Labor sources, and was assigned to the Rosebery branch. That’s the same branch as Environment Minister and Labor Left icon Tanya Plibersek.
Cairo Takeaway’s management confronted the man and the Tele crew. He has subsequently denied making provocative remarks towards restaurant staff, with both parties disputing what happened at the popular Newtown establishment.
CBD hears Birenbaum popped up in a new branch member’s report shortly after joining the party last year. He is believed to have attended some branch meetings.
Birenbaum was contacted for comment via his lawyer.
Washed up
One might imagine life on Wolseley Road, Point Piper – Australia’s most exclusive street – to be rather peaceful.
But for multimillionaire Crystal Car Wash founder Anthony Sahade, it’s been marked by a series of bizarre neighbourly feuds.
Sahade bought his waterfront mansion, Cerisca, for $11.25 million in 2006. That year, an elderly neighbour made a complaint about him.
In 2013, a local court magistrate threw out two assault charges against Sahade over an altercation with another neighbour.
A year later, the two neighbouring families who shared the strata title block with Sahade won an order from the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal not to “threaten or act in an aggressive manner” toward them.
In the end, money proved the ultimate peacemaker. In 2017, Sahade bought out his neighbours to the tune of an estimated $25 million, creating a sprawling block extending from the street to the harbour.
But the car wash king’s latest renovation plans – an elevated swimming pool on the edge of the harbour foreshore – also failed to gain much love from his wealthy neighbours.
After the development application wracked up 10 objections, it was sent upstairs to Woollahra Council’s local planning panel for ruling last week. With the council planners recommending the panel refuse it, Sahade hastily cobbled together an eleventh-hour submission with a handful of design tweaks, which sent the panel on an impromptu site visit.
All this was for nought, as Sahade’s application was still rejected. Among the reasons given was that the development was inconsistent with the principle of Sydney Harbour as a public resource.
Sahade’s only recourse is to appeal to the Land and Environment Court. Given his familiarity with courtrooms, we’d be surprised if he didn’t.
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