By Kishor Napier-Raman and Stephen Brook
As the final votes are recounted in Bradfield, and the Coalition parties promise to listen better and go to therapy after their brief separation, CBD’s eyes are now turned to the latest position up for grabs in the upcoming 48th Parliament.
We’re talking about the semi-official role of crossbench whip, or the MP responsible for ensuring their crossbench colleagues all get their voices heard during the chaos of question time.
In the past, this task fell to former Greens leader Adam Bandt, or rather, his office. And when the crossbench swelled to a record 16 MPs after the 2022 election, it took on an outsized role, particularly after Labor’s leader of the house, Tony Burke, increased the amount of airtime crossbenchers got in question time.
Former Greens leader Adam Bandt.Credit: Wayne Taylor
It made sense for Bandt to take on the role since, as leader of a designated political party, he had more staff. Unlike the teal independents, who were livid after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese slashed their staffing allocations after the 2022 election in a manner that made Scott Morrison seem like Santa.
But then Bandt suffered a shock, losing his seat of Melbourne to Labor’s Sarah Witty on what was a forgettable night for the Greens.
So who will take on Bandt’s old role as king (or queen) of the crossbench? Nationals leader David Littleproud’s decision to come crawling back to the Coalition makes things a lot easier. And while Bob Katter, famed for his Homeric approach to question time, would be the most entertaining choice, we’re not sure anyone else would ever get a word in edgeways.
There’s been some suggestion out of the teal universe that one of the posse who now occupy the Liberal Party’s old leafy turf could step up, with Warringah MP Zali Steggall touted as a possibility. She’s been around a bit longer, and has a sharp grasp of parliamentary procedure. But CBD understands that Steggall is yet to decide whether she wants to take on the role.
Separately, there’s been persistent chatter that some members of the teal movement would like to form a separate political party – perhaps headed up by Steggall – which would solve the staffing question, if anything.
“The notion of party has been thrown around but hasn’t got beyond first base,” a teal source said.
But it’s a divisive concept within the tent, and a move which would no doubt thrill Liberals, who’ve spent years crying foul about “fake” independents instead of doing the hard work to win back their old seats.
Still, the teals, or community independents, as they prefer to style themselves, have always had different views, both among the MPs and the adjacent Climate 200 cash machine, about the form the movement should take going forward.
Certainly, at the parliamentary Midwinter Ball last July, as CBD watched a wave of teal MPs flood onto the dance floor to groove to Oh What a Night, or some such anthem, they looked to be a pretty cohesive grouping to us.
Mecca Waits
All is not glowing (or should we say Mecca Weekend Skin Glow Serum glowing) at Mecca, the Aussie cosmetics giant founded by ex-L’Oréal executive Jo Horgan.
First there was that issue of the cosmetics giant being a little tardy in filing its accounts, as reported by The Australian, which prompted regulator ASIC to “note the concerns raised”. Mecca promised to get its homework in soon.
Mecca founder Jo Horgan.Credit: Nicole Reed
Back in December, The Age was reporting that the brand’s giant three-floor retail colossus, dubbed by Horgan as the “biggest dedicated beauty store in the world”, was on track to open in 2025, but noted that a key heritage permit was only recently lodged.
As this masthead previously reported, Newmark Capital, which bought the Bourke Street Mall building in 2020 for $121 million and first planned to complete the fit-outs in the art deco heritage-listed building in the last quarter of 2024. Then the provisional reopening for the Mecca extravaganza was slotted for the first quarter of this year. Then it was said to be May. And now? A further delay for the three-story, 4000-square-metre outlet stocking 200 brands is certain.
Which means that the new space will not be ready in time for UK beauty queen Charlotte Tilbury – one of Mecca’s biggest brands – who is visiting Australia in June. Tilbury is hosting her Mecca masterclass at the Melbourne Town Hall. We wonder if that is one media opportunity at which Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece will not be bounding up on stage to present Tilbury with the keys to the city.
“As you might know, Mecca Bourke Street is our biggest project ever, and naturally, when you’re building one of the world’s largest beauty stores, there are bound to be a few challenges along the way,” a spokeswoman said.
“Some recent unexpected discoveries in the building’s original infrastructure mean we’re now set to open later this year. While the wait is a little longer, it will be well worth it.”
Regular readers might recall (depending on how long they have been subscribing) that the original building was completed in 1929 by famed architect Harry Norris as the G.J. Coles flagship store, one of the “most exuberant and colourful interwar buildings in the city”, according to Heritage Victoria. It later became the David Jones menswear store.
Now Mecca plans a 150-seat “Meccaversity” pod suspended from the ceiling of the first floor of building, “an educational space for Mecca’s staff and customers”. Going up!
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