By Stephen Brook and Kishor Napier-Raman
At the Australian Open, AFL Commission chair Richard Goyder, along with others of his corporate stature (he is also chair of Woodside Energy), enjoyed the men’s final from the best seats in Rod Laver Arena as a guest of Tennis Australia chair Jayne Hrdlicka, whose third term as chair runs out later this year. Is this the end?
So it was great to see that those in prime hospitality positions sometimes choose the more common man options on the way home.
Richard and Janine Goyder with Leah Weckert at Richmond train station after the Australian Open men’s singles final.Credit: David King
And so it was when one of CBD’s bosses snapped this spontaneous shot of Goyder and his wife, Janine, heading along the corridor at Richmond train station after schlepping the 300 metres from Grand Slam Oval. Given the couple lives in Perth, we are not entirely sure where they were heading, but everyone knows that public not private is the quickest exit from Melbourne Park.
The duo were in the company of Coles chief executive Leah Weckert, who had earlier been enjoying the hospitality of corporate financier Barrenjoey.
Awkward moments at Another Newspaper, which in its round-up of the great and the good managed to print a photo mistaking Nine chair Catherine West for Rachel Schutze, wife of deputy prime minister Richard Marles.
Jackie Chan at the Australian Open women’s final, with pandas.Credit: Eddie Jim
Meanwhile, everybody’s favourite celebrity guest, martial arts actor Jackie Chan, doubled down with a return visit to the Open after turning heads at the women’s final on Saturday night, when he brought along two unusual plus ones: toy pandas that he perched in front of him.
Chan was a guest of the Chinese liquor brand that spends millions sponsoring the Open, Luzhou Laojiao, which plasters all those 1573 ads everywhere. But it seems Chan had engaged in some guerrilla marketing of his own with his furry friends. His latest film, not yet available in Australia, is called … Panda Plan.
Gina’s anthem for the ages
For Gina Rinehart, Christmas came early with her friend Donald Trump’s election win last November.
Since then, it’s been an everlasting festive season for Australia’s richest person, who’s been jetting off to Mar-a-Lago and Washington, DC, with missionary zeal.
But in December, Rinehart took a break from courting the world’s most powerful men to appear at a Christmas event with the humble workers at her Roy Hill mine, where she was given the kind of sycophantic welcome that would put President Trump to shame.
A 20-minute highlight reel dropped as an unlisted video on the Hancock Prospecting YouTube channel over Christmas was recently unearthed by CBD, giving your humble correspondents a rare insight into the cult-like devotion Mrs Rinehart (as she prefers to go by) inspires among her employees.
Festivities began with a choir, decked out in pink Roy Hill polos, and Rinehart-owned Rossi boots and S Kidman hats, delivering a special rendition of the Mariah Carey classic All I Want for Christmas Is ... To Make Australia Great.
Up next, a gushing tribute from Hancock Prospecting executive Gerhard Veldsman to the dear leader: “We are very, very fortunate, not just fortunate for working in this great industry ... but to be working for a great person,” he cooed.
Gina Rinehart’s Roy Hill Christmas party.
“Mrs Rinehart has really built this company from nothing. It started with a dream, and she built it up,” Veldsman said, describing the company Gina inherited from her father Lang Hancock – the mining magnate who founded the empire.
After that, it was time for the choir to unveil a brand-new hit single, Drill Baby Drill, a reference to a favourite slogan of Trump’s from the campaign trail.
“With the chairman’s guidance, we reach new heights. Merry Christmas to all, and may our dreams take flight,” went the chorus, which was only one-upped by the second verse. “To our dear chairman, we give our thanks. For leading us forward through all the ranks. Your wisdom and strength light up our way. We honour you greatly, on this special day.”
Rinehart bopped along enthusiastically, lapping it up.
As for the brains behind such lyrics, Rinehart hinted that the carols had been written by artificial intelligence.
The Queen’s speech
Rinehart herself didn’t waste an opportunity to rev up the troops.
Sporting a tiny pair of reindeer antlers, Gina was full of praise for her special Christmas choir, while urging the good folk at Roy Hill to put the word out there that coal was back.
“You might have seen my outfit at Mar-a-Lago in Florida this year and at national mining day, where I wore the very important words ‘Dig, baby, dig’,” she said.
Festivities concluded with an annual Hancock tradition – the raffle, where a handful of lucky, randomly selected employees are given a $100,000 cash bonus.
Upon receiving his giant novelty cheque from Rinehart, one fortunate Roy Hill employee celebrated with a rousing cry of: “Make Australia great again.”
All roads lead to Chadstone
Greg Hywood. Credit: Louie Douvis
SPOTTED: Before our Christmas break, some readers might have noticed that your columnist was trapped for three nights in the retail behemoth known as Chadstone Shopping Centre, along with 2 million other shoppers over the festive period. You can read that profile here.
Hanging around the Hello Kitty cafe (don’t judge us, all right), we did a double-take when we saw that the shopper plonked down at an outside table opposite us enjoying a takeaway brew was none other than the former chief executive of Fairfax Media, proud former owner of this masthead, Greg Hywood. You’ll find everyone at Chaddy.