By Bianca Hall and Kishor Napier-Raman
Australian provincialism is such that we tend to view those of us who gain proximity to figures of global power with a bit of starry-eyed awe. Such was the narrative around local girl made good and one-time Telstra executive Robyn Denholm when she was promoted to chair Elon Musk’s Tesla in 2018.
But Denholm’s star rose with Musk, and so it will fall with Musk. The world’s richest internet troll has dragged his reputation through the muck, thanks to a bizarre flirtation with the far right and determination to turn Twitter (Latterly known as X) into even more of a cesspit.
Tesla chair Robyn DenholmCredit: Paul Harris
So when Delaware Chancery Court Chief Judge Kathaleen McCormick voided Musk’s US$55 billion (AUD $83.6 billion) pay package following a challenge by investors, it was Tesla board members like Denholm, and another Aussie named James Murdoch (whose dad Rupert Murdoch you might have heard of) who were drawn into the firing line.
Key to McCormick’s reasoning was the fact that Tesla’s nine directors lacked sufficient independence to stop Musk enriching himself. In Denholm’s case, an admission that the USD$280 million ($426 million) she’d received through the sale of Tesla options was “life-changing” compromised her independence.
Murdoch, meanwhile, totally lacked independence because he was a close friend of Musk’s, and was recruited to the board during one of their repeated holidays together, the ruling said.
But McCormick delivered a few more particularly scathing rebukes for Denholm, which called into question her performance as chair. There was the admission that she simply couldn’t recall discussions about a new pay package for Musk at a 2017 board meeting.
Denholm’s appointment came after Musk was effectively forced out as part of a settlement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission over fraud charges stemming from a rogue tweet. Another part of that settlement included a new disclosure committee to vet any future rogue tweets.
But McCormick took a rather dim view of Denholm’s work on that committee.
“Denholm’s approach to enforcement of the SEC Settlement, including unawareness of one of its key requirements, suggests a new lackadaisical approach to her oversight obligations,” she said. This week, an SEC filing revealed Denholm planned to sell 281,116 Tesla shares, worth about AUD $80 million.
Time for quiet?
When social media crises hit, there’s a general playbook to follow: apologise, promise to do better, and just stop talking.
Susanne Horman at Robinsons Bookshop in Greensborough in 2012.Credit: Michael Clayton-Jones
So it was with some interest CBD read the latest from Robinsons Bookshop chain owner Susanne Horman, who made waves this week when old social media posts emerged decrying the supposed lack of books with “just white kids on the cover” and “traditional nuclear white family stories”.
On Tuesday, Horman posted an update to Instagram, apologising that “some people” had been upset by her posts.
“For those who are still not convinced we stock diversity reads the lovely Robinsons team have put together some great bookstacks of their favourite books to demonstrate this,” she added.
Several eagle-eyed Instagram users recognised one of the books prominently displayed in the “LGBTQ+” stack as the gender-critical feminist tome, Helen Joyce’s Trans: When Ideology Meets Reality.
“Susan [sic] this book is an anti-trans bible, did you just put it in the “lgbt+” because it has “trans” in the title???? … dig UP susan!!!!!!” wrote one.
When CBD contacted Horman on Wednesday, she was having none of it.
“Trans is a book that relates to trans issues, that’s why it was included,” Horman said. “We believe it’s important to provide a balanced selection representing different views.”
“We have lots of trans and LGBTQ+ books, lots of Indigenous books, etc. What we don’t have is books with white males as the hero. Customers are wanting more of these books outside the crime section [but]authors and publishers aren’t providing them. It’s a fairly simple message and I am not sure why some people are upset by this.”
Lowe blow
Sometimes, you almost feel bad for former Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe.
The man who promised interest rates wouldn’t rise until 2024, before presiding over a dozen rate rises – and then told Australians struggling with the housing crisis to consider getting flatmates, moving home or simply working more – just couldn’t catch a break.
After Treasurer Jim Chalmers dumped Lowe last year, the outgoing governor said he’d become unpopular because he’d made “tough decisions” and had a brief swipe at media clickbait. Perhaps we misunderstood him!
Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe gives his final speech in the job last September.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos
But we weren’t the only ones. Australia Day came and went last week with the usual round of tired culture war nonsense, and Lowe did not receive a gong.
You’d have to go back to the 1990s to find a departing RBA governor who wasn’t made a Companion of the Order of Australia on their way out the door.
The last one to miss out was Bernie Fraser, whose appointment by the Hawke government angered the Liberals, who’d just stormed to power before his term ended.
Fraser’s three predecessors all received gongs too, which just makes Lowe’s snubbing all the more pointed. We asked the Governor-General’s office whether Lowe had been nominated, and if he was snubbed. We didn’t hear back.
To lose one ...
CBD reckons few have a way with language like the late Oscar Wilde, whose prescient words must be ringing through the ears of interim Optus boss Michael Venter: “To lose one may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose two looks like carelessness.”
The day after news broke that incoming head of corporate affairs Danielle Keighery had been poached by Qantas – before she’d even begun at Optus – comes more bad news for the telco.
Optus has confirmed senior director of corporate affairs Sally Oelerich left her role on Wednesday, after six years.
Regular readers will recall Oelerich’s 2022 interview with pugnacious former 2GB host Chris Smith, when she struggled to explain the reasons behind the Optus data breach.
A source close to Oelerich rejected suggestions she had not left on her own terms, which certainly seemed to be backed up by Optus’ vice president of Regulatory and Public Affairs, Andrew Sheridan.
“Sally’s commitment, determination and enthusiasm was evident in all her dealings for Optus, and we thank her for her contributions,” he said. “While we are sad to hear of Sally’s decision to leave Optus, we wish her all the best for the future.”
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