By Kishor Napier-Raman and Noel Towell
As prime minister, Anthony Albanese gets plenty of generous gifts and advice, solicited or unsolicited. The latest item to land on Albo’s desk? A copy of Dick Smith’s memoir My Adventurous Life, sent by the eccentric, folksy entrepreneur-cum-anti-immigration campaigner himself.
Smith told CBD he considered Albanese a mate since the now-PM’s days as infrastructure and transport minister and felt the book might be up Albanese’s alley.
Illustration: Joe BenkeCredit:
“I think Albo’s a good bloke, and I reckon he’d appreciate some light reading,” he said.
There was even a slightly subtle policy-related message for the PM. Smith’s book has a chapter called “Don’t complain about your tax”, which is a plea for more taxes on the wealthy.
“I’ve always been pro the wealthy paying more tax,” he said. “Rich Australians, including myself, can and should pay more.”
Smith says he hasn’t heard any feedback from the Lodge, although recently announced tax increases for superannuation balances of over $3 million suggest that even if the PM isn’t listening, he and Dick might be on the same page.
Regardless of Albo’s thoughts, the book has been well-received in some quarters, with a particularly glowing endorsement from Paul Hogan, of Crocodile Dundee fame, who described Smith as “part Bear Grylls, part Bill Gates, but 100 per cent Aussie larrikin”.
ODDS-OFF
The claim that betting odds are better barometers of an electorate’s mood than opinion polls is a bit of an urban myth.
For more evidence, look no further than Sportsbet, who were offering a staggering $51 for independent Northern Beaches mayor Michael Regan to nab the state seat of Wakehurst from the Liberals.
Northern Beaches mayor Michael Regan, who is running as an independent.Credit: James Brickwood
Now Wakehurst might look safely Liberal but Regan – who says he’s not a teal but certainly looks like one, and has endorsements from MPs Sophie Scamps and Zali Steggall to prove it – is making things rather tight. Plus the Liberals just seem a little ... resigned.
Word of those odds spread like wildfire among more punt-inclined politicos, such that the market was flooded with bets – some in the thousands – on Regan. Enough to drive his odds down to $3, before Sportsbet axed the market.
The betting giant wouldn’t tell us why, or whether those bets over the weekend were voided. Then again, this is the same mob that lost $5.2 million by paying out a day early on a Bill Shorten election win, so we reckon they’re used to getting these things a bit off.
THE GRIM EATER
The backlash in the hospitality industry against a review written by “Australia’s only national food critic” John Lethlean is going strong with the owners of Melbourne’s 1800 Lasagne printing a few hundred stickers declaring “Management reserves the right to refuse entry to John Lethlean”.
Owner Joey Kellock told us that he and his staff, most of whom hadn’t heard of Lethlean before the furore broke out, didn’t want to be part of a pile-on against an individual.
But Kellock said they took a stand because their issues with the article – published, then removed by News Corp-owned food site Delicious.com.au and which criticised a young restaurant employee for both her “revealing” attire and professional skills – were so serious.
“I would protect my staff to the death from someone who was commenting on what they were wearing,” Kellock told CBD. “He [Lethlean] wasn’t reading the room, he wasn’t in the room, he wasn’t even in the house that the room is in, he’s so far out of touch.”
Lethlean shot back at his critics, telling CBD he called it as he saw it.
“I’m sorry I caused offence but I’m just not interested in the prevailing chatbot-like restaurant industry sycophancy and regurgitated PR puff that passes as commentary these days. The review was seen, and subsequently published, by a Delicious editor – a woman – with no flags raised whatsoever, and yet … context is everything.
“Restaurant reviewing is about observation, commentary and the reader. I conveyed what I observed. I don’t write for the industry, I write for consumers, and if a few of the so-called journalists in this space did the same, they might have long careers too.”
Delicious editor Kerrie McCallum didn’t respond to requests for comment.
DOOR OPENER
Former Bill Shorten chief-of-staff Ryan Liddell has done well for himself from a change of government, with his lobbying shop raking in high-profile clients since the election.
So well that he can now start taking on work free of charge, with recently crowned Australian of the Year and body positivity activist Taryn Brumfitt registered as a pro bono client last month.
Does an Australian of the Year, with all their fancy ribbon cuttings and access to the most powerful rooms in the country really need the services of parliamentary door openers? Yes, it turns out.
2023 Australian of the Year Taryn Brumfitt.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
The duo, who live around the corner from each other in Adelaide, were connected because, despite her gong, winners such as Brumfitt get no real administrative support, assistance in handling a sometimes relentless media glare or a map for navigating the corridors of power.
Liddell says he’s keen to help Brumfitt connect with people in parliament, as he did for previous recipient Dylan Alcott. The Instagram advocate might need a bit of help winning over sceptics – her announcement incited plenty of smug whingeing among a few grumpy old men of journalism.
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